Product Details

• Actors: Anatolij Kubatskij, Aleksandr Khvylya, Sergej Martinson, Lyudmila Khityaeva, L. Myznikova
• Directors: Aleksandr Rou
• Format: NTSC, Import, Color, Full Screen, Subtitled
• Subtitles: French, German, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Ruscico
• Run Time: 69 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009JXONM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,047 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The whimsical combination of Christmas phantasmagoria and an eccentric fairy tale makes this film an unforgettable spectacle. The action takes place both in a village of Dikanka in the Ukraine and at the palace of a Russian Empress. Blacksmith Vacula has enraged the devil himself: in a church he painted the devil's figure in such a way that even the Hell's inhabitants could not help laughing. Solokha, Vacula's mother, is known to be a witch, not averse to flying on a besom. Vacula's sweetheart, Oksana, demands for a Christmas present a pair of tcherevichki (shoes) that the Empress wears. Only then she will agree to marry Vacula. And the devil promises to help the blacksmith get the Empress's shoes, on condition that Vacula sells him his soul. Meanwhile, Christmas is almost here.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CHARMING CHRISTMAS TALE!!!, July 25, 2009

By 

Richard J. Oravitz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka / Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki (DVD)

Quite surprised with this obscure Russian Christmas/Fairy tale which features a witch and the devil causing mayhem during the holiday season. The witch captures stars from the night sky and the devil has it in for the local blacksmith who has painted a rather insulting image of the devil being made to look ludicrous by the church. In order to gain approval and win in hand the young maiden, the blacksmith must procure a pair of royal slippers/shoes to present to his beloved, who appears a bit standoff-ish if you ask me!
All in all, a whimsical Christmas (in color) fairy tale for the entire family to enjoy...odd and enjoyable, strange yet familiar. Recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars A great movie, December 25, 2011

By 

Trevor M. Hardin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka / Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki (DVD)

This is a wonderful movie. I love Russian films from the mid Soviet period, and this is an excellent one. Great for the technology that was available to them.

Anyone who is a student of a Slavic language or looking to delve deeper into their Slavic American heritage will enjoy watching this around the holidays.

One thing that prevented me from giving this film the extra * was the English dubbing. I understand most of what they say, and if I don't, I make do with subtitles. A friend insisted on watching the English language version on this disk, and I was very disappointed by the poor quality voice-overs. They don't mute the original Russian speach, but play the English right along with it. In short, it makes it so you can't make out either language, as their playing at the same time.

If you could do without hearing it in English, this is a 100% top notch film the whole family will enjoy for years.