Ilya Muromets (film)

Ilya Muromets
VHS Cover
Directed by	Aleksandr Ptushko
Written by	Mikhail Kochnev
Starring	Boris Andreyev Shukur Burkhanov Andrei Abrikosov Natalya Medvedeva Yelena Myshkova
Music by	Igor Morozov
Cinematography	Yuli Kun Fedor Provorov
Editing by	M. Kuzmina
Distributed by	Mosfilm
Release date(s)	Soviet Union: 1956 Japan: March 10, 1959 United States: November 16, 1960
Running time	87 min.
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

Ilya Muromets (Russian: Илья Муромец), known in the US as The Sword and the Dragon and in the UK as The Epic Hero and the Beast (significantly altered versions), is a Russian fantasy film directed by the noted fantasy director Aleksandr Ptushko, made at Mosfilm and released in 1956. It is based on the byliny tales of the bogatyr Ilya Muromets. The film has some differences from the byliny but remains surprisingly true to the original epic poems.

Plot summary

In medieval Russia, the aging giant knight Svyatogor gives his sword to some traveling pilgrims to be passed on to a new bogatyr. Svyatogor and his horse become a mountain as he dies. Meanwhile, Asiatic pagans known as the Tugars are ravaging and pillaging the land. They raid the village where the bearded and robust Ilya Muromets lives and capture his future wife Vassilisa. Ilya is unable to defend her because his legs haven't worked since childhood. A man called Mishatychka caught by the Tugars pleads to serve them if they spare him, and promises to be a double agent for them. The pilgrims with Svyatogor's sword come upon the house of Ilya Muromets and give him a magic potion to drink, which cures his ailment. They also give him the sword. Later on, he decides to leave his family to go on an epic journey in order to defend Kiev from the Tugars. For this purpose he is given a foal by his friend which magically grows into a steed in three days. He passes by some woods and is confronted by a forest-dwelling monster known as Nightingale the Robber who blows wind so hard it parts the forest backward; Ilya defeats him by throwing a cudgel at him.

Ilya travels to the capital Kiev and presents the forest monster to Prince Vladimir the Fair Sun, who is impressed with his deeds. Ilya becomes part of a bogatyr brotherhood with two other knights Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. A Tugar envoy arrives in the city, a huge zeppelin-like man on a massive moving platform, who warns the Prince to give them their riches as tribute and they will be spared. Ilya replies by heaving a sword at the stomach of the puffy ambassador, cutting him down while the envoy runs off. Ilya leaves Kiev and finds Vassilisa captured by three Tugars and releases her. After a while Ilya departs from the pregnant Vassilisa to fight the Turgars. Upon leaving he expresses his wish for her to bear a son, to be called Sokolnichek (Little Falcon), who will become a heroic warrior.

Unfortunately Vassilisa is abducted again by the Tugars. Mishatychka has become an important adviser to the prince and he tricks the prince into believing that Ilya is disloyal to him. Ilya is imprisoned in the castle's dungeons where he will eventually spend ten years deprived of food by Mishatychka. Disgusted, Nikitich and Popovich leave the prince's court. Vassilisa has born a son, Sokolnichek, while in captivity of Tsar Kalin, the Tugar Khan. Kalin adopts Sokolnichek as his own son and has him trained as a mighty Tugar warrior. The huge Tugar army sets up camp outside the city of Kiev, ordering all of its riches and Ilya Muromets to be given to Kalin in order for the city to be spared. Ilya is released, having survived on food provided by a magic table cloth that Vassilisa had woven previously. Mishatychka the traitor is rooted out and put in the dungeons, while Ilya is allowed to lead the amassed armies of the land against the Tugar hordes. Nikitich and Popovich reunite with him. In order to gain time to gather more warriors, Ilya hatches a plan to trick Kalin by using torn sacks and broken carts to create the impression that all of the gold being paid as tribute fell out during transport. Ilya then reveals himself to Kalin who feels insulted by this deception, captures Ilya and decides to attack Kiev anyway; Ilya escapes and goes to prepare his army.

Sokolnichek is now a strong Tugar warrior who is sent to fight Ilya. While they duel, Ilya sees the ring on his son's finger and reveals his true heritage to him. Abashed, he joins his father's side and goes to free Vassilisa, together with all the Russians held captive by Kalin. Nikitich and Popovich each lead one army with Ilya leading the center army toward the Tugar hordes. The Khan orders a massive pyramid to be made out of human bodies so that he can survey the forthcoming battle. The three-headed dragon, Zmey Gorynych, is summoned by Kalin to help in the fight and flies off from his mountain sanctuary to the battle site. More of the Russian soldiers land from ships from a nearby river and fight the fire-breathing dragon, eventually slaying it. The Tugar hordes are routed and Kalin captured. The victorious Ilya is finally reunited with Vassilisa and offered kingship by the current prince but declines in order to be with his wife and go on other journeys. He gives the title and his sword to his son, who continues the heroic lineage.

Production History

• Roger Corman re-edited this film in the early 1960s for US release, changing many names: Nightingale the Robber being changed to Wind Demon, Svyatogor being changed to Invincor, Gorynych the Serpent being changed to Zuma the Fire Dragon, Dobrynya becoming Durbar, and the Khan becoming Khalin. This version featured narration by Mike Wallace and the voice of the Khan was dubbed by well-known voice actor Paul Frees. Corman's version of the film was featured as an episode on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as The Sword and the Dragon. Curiously the staff of MST3K somehow mistook the film's nation of origin to be Finland, and filled the episode with jokes about the Finnish.

• The first Soviet movie filmed in Cinemascope with a 4-track Stereo soundmix.

Actors

• Boris Andreyev — Ilya Muromets
• Ninel Myshkova — Vassilisa
• Shukur Burkhanov — Tsar Kalin
• Andrey Abrikosov — Prince Vladimir
• Natalya Medvedeva — Princess Apraksia
• Aleksander Shvorin — Sokolnichek (20 years)
• Sergey Martinson — Mishatychka
• Sergey Stolyarov — Alyosha Popovich
• Iya Arepina — Alyenushka
• Mikhail Pugovkin — Razumey
• Muratbek Ryskulov — Неврюй

External links

• Ilya Muromets at the Internet Movie Database
• Ilya Muromets at AllRovi
• Complete film at Wiki Translate
• Complete film at Google video
• Review of Krupnyy Plan DVD (Russian)