MST3K - Favorite Moments - The Magic Voyage of Sindbad

In episode 505 we're once again treated to russian cinema - actually done by award winning director Aleksandr Ptushko (though he's credited here as Alfred Pusco) who won a special prize in Cannes in '46 for use of colour in "The Stone Flower" and won the Silver Lion in Venice with "Sadko" (as is the original title of this movie) in '53.
He's is also behind The Sword and the Dragon (Illya Muromets), and The Day the Earth Froze (Sampo) also featured in MST - as his other works they're based on russian or finnish mythology.
Actually, this movie's transformation from Sadko to Sindbad could have something to do with the impossibility of selling a commie movie to the american audience at the time...
Fun Fact - Screen adaptor for Sindbad (Sadko) was none other than a young Francis Ford Coppola!
Anyway, this movie features beards, stratego hats, a rather exaggerated version of Battlechess, beards, misunderstood pony-rides, the bird of happiness, beards, a rather friendly chicken, the vikings of Sindbad, a seahorse ride, more beards, treatable Luberia, suddenly sushi, Manicdepressiveville, clackerhats, narration by God, lots and lots of very big long beards, and thousands of russians!
Enjoy!

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• mst3k
• mystery
• science
• theater
• 3000
• 505
• magic
• voyage
• of
• sindbad
• sadko
• joel
• hodgson
• crow
• servo
• best
• brains
• sattelite
• fo
• love
• improv
• spoof
• comedy
• funny

[AtorTheFlyingEagle]

Ptushko's films shouldn't be judged by these butchered American edits with awful dubbing.

[auritone]

@AtorTheFlyingEagle That's true! But the dubbing does makes them damn funny. :)

[tritiumH3]

I don't think Ptushko was behind "Jack Frost." I'm pretty sure that was another Russian director.

[auritone]

@tritiumH3 You're right... All those Alexandrs apparently confused me. It was Alexandr Rou.

Damn! And just to emphazise the Alexandr confusion it's also the first name of the guy playing Jack Frost.

More corrections coming up. :)

[IliyaMoroumetz]

Just a note; The Sword and the Dragon episode was actually Iliya Moromets.

But you more or less nailed it on the head.

I just love these movies, the budget for them was no doubt huge and it certainly does look good for the time.

[auritone]

@IliyaMoroumetz You're right. Got the movies mixed up a bit apparently. :)

Thank you for the correction. I will rectify it. :)

[salanh]

I never knew Arabia was so Russian....Those were some really white Middle Eastern folk...

BTW the stinger of the laughing horse = insta-nightmare

[ilikethecoke]

Sinbad has returned... and no one seems to care!

[mrmonkjunkie]

stroke! stroke! stroke! drown! drown!

[textthing]

We have a pretty friendly chicken...

[AtorTheFlyingEagle]

@auritone Oh yes. I love the Joel Hodgson era Mystery Science Theater. The original versions of Sadko and IIya Muromets have been released on DVD by Image, though have since gone out of print. I would like to see the original version of Sampo released. Roger Corman and AIP also hacked up a bunch of Russian scifi films released in the late fifties/sixties. Though none of these were featured on Mst3k.

[mintystale]

I swear it's like I'm sitting right behind them while they joke endlessly

[Substantive64]

"Hey, those are the credits from I Dream Of Jeanie!"

[gekizai]

"It's the grebe of obstinance!" That is just so arcane that it makes me laugh every time.

[tritiumH3]

@auritone If it's any consolation, you're far more informed about these films than the Best Brains, who apparently thought they were all Finnish... which led to some confusion in "Sword and the Dragon" as to why a bunch of Finnish knights were fighting the Mongols.