Alexander Ptushko is to Soviet cinema what Ray Harryhausen is to American: a master of fantasy film-making conversant with stop-motion photography and other special effects. Ptushko's films were butchered for American screens (the wonderful Ilya Muromets, for example, was horribly re-edited for US kiddie matinees as The Sword and the Dragon) but have been available since the turn of the century in worthwhile, Anglophone friendly DVDs from the Russian Cinema Council (RUSCICO). This 30-minute semi-documentary (presumably made for Soviet television) blends scenes from Ptushko films with late-80's footage of two children stumbling their way, Narnia-like, through the director's vivid cinematic imagination. It's a decent if dated introduction to one of the greatest of fantasy filmmakers: at the very least, it will whet your appetite for more Ptushko!
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