Legendary Russian fantasy filmmaker Aleksandr Ptushko’s sweeping, visual F/X-filled epic ILYA MUROMETS (THE SWORD & THE DRAGON) is one of his most enchanting achievements: a stunning Cinemascope ballad of heroic medieval knights, ruthless Tugar invaders, wind demons and three-headed fire-breathing dragons, all set against a mythic landscape of pastoral, unspoiled Russia. Based on one of the most famous byliny (oral epics) in Old Russian culture, the film stars Boris Andreyev as the bogatyr (knight) Ilya, waging a decades-long battle against the Tugars who threaten his homeland, kidnap his wife and raise his own son to fight against him.
directed by:Â Aleksandr Ptushko
starring:Â Boris Andreyev, Shukur Burkhanov
1956 / 91 min /Â 2.35:1 / Russian Mono
Additional info:
- Region A Blu-ray
- Audio commentary track by Steve Bissette
- Remembering Russian Film Scholar Alan Upchurch by Dennis Bartok
- Russian Fantastika Part One by Alan Upchurch
- The Making of The Sword and the Dragon by Aleksandr Ptushko (translated by Alan Upchurch)
- New restoration trailer
- English SDH subtitles
