The Magic Voyage
of Sinbad

(SADKO)
(1953, U.S.S.R.) color 80 minutes
Mosfilm (aka "Moss-Film") / Artkino Pictures
Screenplay: Konstantin Isayev (as "Karl Isar")
Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (from his opera "Sadko")
Musical Director: Grigori Gamburg
Choreographer: Sergei Koren
Music Arranger: V. Shebalin
Cinematography by Fyodor Provorov (as "Frank Provor")
Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko (as "Alfred Posco")

English-Language Version:
(1962) Filmgroup ?? minutes
Screenplay: Francis Ford Coppola
Song composed by John Smith
Song sung by Geno Marsh
Editing: George Stein
Produced by Art Diamond (as "Joseph Moss")
Directed by James Landis

With: Sergei Stolyarov (as "Edward Stoler") (Sadko/Sinbad), Alla Larionova (as "Anna Larion")(Lyubava/Luberia), Yelena Myshkova (Princess of Lake Ilmen/Morgiana), B. Surovtsev (as "Robert Surow")(Ivashka the boy), Mikhail Troyanovsky (as "Maurice Troyan")(Trifon), Nadir Malishevsky (Vyashta the Giant), Nikolai Kryuchkov (Omelyan Danilovich), Ivan Pereverzev (as "Irving Perev")(Timofey Larionovich), Yuri Leonidov (as "William Leon")(Kuzma Larionovich) Lev Fenin (Varangian Leader), Lidiya Vertinskaya (as "Lucille Mertisva")(The Phoenix), Stepan Kayukov (as "Arnold Kaylor")(Neptune), Olga Vikland (Neptuna), Sovol Martinson (The Monk)

***

Plot Outline: The courageous sailor of legend, Sinbad, finishes his seven voyages, battling magicians, cyclops, and monster birds. He retires from his adventures to his beloved homeland, Covosan, a bountiful land which lies far beyond Arabia and India.

Yet Sinbad returns to find Covosan an imperialist nightmare, run by greedy men who have enslaved the poor. Sinbad, who has given away all his treasure save for a magic harp, is horrified, and vows to bring his city back to glory.

Sinbad tells the citizens of a bird of happiness he has heard about, and proposes a sea voyage to locate it. Sinbad wants to free his enslaved fellows, but realizes its a tricky business. He soon meets Luberia, a poor working girl of the city, and he falls for her on first sight.

That night at a town celebration, Sinbad talks to the rich merchants and the partying workers, but receives nothing but mockery from them. Depressed, Sinbad walks to the edge of the enchanted sea, and sings a song of lament:

"Alone my soul must always be,
Is happiness beyond the sea?
Or does it hide its shining fare,
In dark caverns waiting there?
My heart laments the years I've spent,
In search of happiness.
If there's a place where kindness dwells,
My heart would find its rest.
Oh, happiness, could you be love,
In near a maiden's love?
The secret key for which I search,
In my own heart lies?
Somewhere my longing must be heard,
Is there an ear to hear my pleas?
Each day I pray for ever more,
Oh shiny star, oh moonlit sea!

Morgiana, a water spirit and daughter of King Neptune, hears Sinbad's sad song, and rises from the watery depths to join him. She invites Sinbad to live with her under the sea, but he insists he must set sail and find the bird of happiness. Seeing that Sinbad is a man of honor, Morgiana agrees to assist him by supplying golden fish to impress his skeptics and finance his journey.

Sinbad tells the villagers, and they skeptically listen. He makes a deal with the merchants. Sinbad picks his crew by submitting them to feats of strength, and soon he assembles a stouthearted crew.

Sinbad casts his net for the golden fish, and upon the third try, Morgiana honors her promise; Sinbad holds high a brilliant, glowing fish of gold, to the people's amazement.

The merchants have agreed to share their wealth if Sinbad told the truth about his magical powers, and they reluctantly honor their part of the bargain. A happy celebration ensues.

Later, Luberia meets Sinbad, and tells him how futile their love is; her parents do not approve! Sinbad insists that above all, he must search for Covosan's happiness.

Sinbad is despondent that the funds he has secured are all used up. The good Morgiana turns the golden fish into piles of gold, more than enough to finance the trip.

The next day, Sinbad bids farewell to his love. The merchants apologize to Sinbad, and ask him to take along some of their wares to sell on the voyage.

Sinbad and his brave crew set out to sea, far into the mysterious regions of uncharted lands, far from the familiar faces and sounds of Covosan, sailing into the troubled waters of the barbaric north...

Sinbad and his crew first encounter a band of barbarians on a rocky island. The angry warriors immediately make war with the peaceful visitors. A fierce battle ensues, with Sinbad's brave band winning the day. The group leaves, with Sinbad appropriating the barbarian leader's glorious white stallion.

Due east, Sinbad visits Nashapur, Abadu and Banagalor, but the bird of happiness is nowhere to be found. Soon, he lands on the coast of mysterious India.

Sinbad watches with interest the arrival of the Prince on his elephant. The arrogant Prince is incensed by Sinbad's naivete towards royal customs. Sinbad offers the haughty Prince his glorious stallion; the befuddled monarch reluctantly agrees to a game of chess to decide their fates.

The Prince's counsel gives him bad advice, however, and Sinbad wins the game. He and his band then enter a spooky cavern in order to retrieve the Bird of Happiness.

They stumble instead upon a strange and melancholy animal, half-vulture and half-temptress. The evil avian attempts to put all of Sinbad's men to sleep forever with her horrible siren song, but they are too strong, and they resist.

Sinbad realizes that this is not the Bird of Happiness at all, but the terrible Phoenix of legend, who seduces brave souls into eternal slumber. Sinbad gathers up the monster bird, and makes his escape by forcing the Phoenix to put the Prince's army to sleep.

Sinbad sails on, past the wonders of Egypt, but wonders if this journey was after all, in vain. He thinks of Luberia, and longs for home, Finally he decides that the quest has failed, and they immediately set sail for home.

En route, the ships encounter a terrible hurricane. In order to save his dear friends, Sinbad decides to sacrifice himself to King Neptune.

Jumping off the boat, and arriving in Neptune's underwater kingdom, he finds the king and queen arguing. He placates them with some heavenly music from his harp. The undersea kingdom comes alive, with fish and octopi dancing to his music.

When Sinbad prepares to leave, Neptune orders him to marry one of his many daughters, in order to ensure his return. Sinbad chooses Morgiana, who vows to help Sinbad escape his predicament, and return to his true love, Luberia.

Morgiana gives Sinbad a seahorse to return home. An enraged King Neptune tries to chase Sinbad using a lobster-drawn chariot.

Sinbad returns safely to Covosan, and runs to his true love. Luberia is stunned to see her beloved once again. Shortly thereafter, the ships return, with the crew safe and sound.

Everyone celebrates good fortune and reunion; they have learned that happiness is to be found within the bosom of one's self, in one's loved ones, and in one's community. Sinbad intones, "Follow your heart to Happiness!"

THE END

***

One of the more straightforward of the fantasies from Aleksandr Ptushko, SADKO is essentially an elaborate costume drama with heavy political overtones. Nonetheless, there are some remarkable fantasy sequences. A traditional fairy tale retold as an anti-imperialist tract, SADKO has features rather satirical comments on current world economic policy, and this element is almost as much fun as the always-exciting visuals of Ptushko.

Early scenes in the film paint a vivid portrait of simple peasant folk, their joys and their sorrows, and we see Covosan as a beautiful, bustling seaside village in full economic bloom. There are some marvelous scenes of ship construction, as well as some excellent "slice of life" moments, including a cockfight, and a playful tussle between a strong man and a bear.

SADKO boast relatively few miniatures for a Ptushko fantasy, but more than compensates by the use of many elaborate and wonderful full-scale sets. There are also a fair number of well-choreographed, effective battle scenes, another hallmark of Russian period fantasy.

The terrible Phoenix, mistakenly believed to be the long-sought "Bird of Happiness", is a terrific effect, a half-goddess and half-vulture, spooky and beautiful, haunting and unreal. Some shots of this weird mythological creature seem to be animated, but others appear to feature an actress in full bird costume; the effect either way is striking, to say the least.

As the Phoenix attempts to induce eternal slumber to Sinbad's crew, there is an excellent optical effect suggesting a drug-dispensing rainbow. Other fantastic moments include a scene in which Morgiana the water nymph offers Sinbad a beaming golden fish as a good omen of his impending journey, and a chess game between Sinbad and the Indian prince involving a tiny, living horse.

As in much Russian fantasy, SADKO boasts an incredible, pivotal scene which takes place underwater. In King Neptune's undersea kingdom, octopus and catfish dance in a glorious sea forest. Neptune's beautiful daughters, including the sea nymph Morgiana, frolic about in gossamer gowns of seaweed. Sinbad rides a wonderful seahorse to safety at film's climax, and Neptune even has a magnificent lobster-drawn chariot! This is fantasy at its best.

The sublime score by famed composer Rimsky-Korsakov is taken from his opera of the same name (including familiar cues such as "Scheherezade" and "Song of India").

The English-Language version of SADKO, released as a Kiddie Matinee feature in 1962 by Roger Corman's Filmgroup, takes some liberties with the screenplay, but does create an effective children's fantasy in the process. It also served as training ground for two future Hollywood heavyweights: Francis Ford Coppola and James Landis.

In addition to Anglicizing the original production credits, hero Sadko becomes Western mythological figure Sinbad in the U.S. version. The Sea Princess becomes Morgiana, etc. No harm. In either incarnation, many find SADKO an exemplary entry in world fantasy cinema. But then of course, there are the true idiots: "Watch this one MST3K style only!" ("Blazing 1"), "Avoid the American version unless you're watching the MST3K version." ("Icehole4"). Is it any wonder the rest of the world depises the U.S.?

Video/DVD availability: English-Language Version: (various,oop) Original version: (Ruscico)

Links of related interest:
an excellent review

notes to a 2001 retrospective of Aleksandr Ptushko's fantasy films

Russian DVD website