Also available as part of the Aleksandr Ptushko Fantastika Box. ILYA MUROMETS (THE SWORD & THE DRAGON), 1956, Mosfilm, 87 min.Legendary fantasy filmmaker Aleksandr Ptushko’s sweeping, visual F/X-filled epic 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.Based on one of the most famous byliny (oral epics) in Kievan Rus’ culture, the film stars Boris Andreyev as the bogatyr (warrior) 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.Director Ptushko began his career in the 1930s and went on to become a combination of Walt Disney, Ray Harryhausen and Mario Bava for his dazzling, bejeweled fantasies including THE STONE FLOWER, SADKO, SAMPO and RUSLAN & LUDMILA.The first Cinemascope film produced in the Soviet Union, ILYA MUROMETS was released in a truncated, dubbed version in the U.S. as THE SWORD & THE DRAGON, downplaying the epic poetry and lyricism of the original.The film has been restored in 4K for its first-ever official U.S. release in its original form by Deaf Crocodile, in association with Seagull Films. In Russian with English subtitles. Special Features: 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 New English SDH subtitles Stunning new artwork by Tony Stella
