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Special Features
New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Dina Iordanova
Editorial Reviews
The great Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov (The Cranes Are Flying), known for his virtuosic, emotionally gripping films, perhaps never directed one more visually astonishing than Letter Never Sent. This absorbing tale of exploration and survival concerns four members of a geological expedition who are stranded in the bleak and unforgiving Siberian wilderness while on a mission to find diamonds. Luxuriating in wide-angle beauty and featuring one daring shot after another (the brilliant cinematography is by Kalatozov’s frequent collaborator Sergei Urusevsky), Letter Never Sent is a fascinating piece of cinematic history and a universal adventure of the highest order.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 92 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Those persons who were impressed with the recent escape film "The Way Back" should not miss this movie. This Russian adventure film involves four geologists sent out to Siberia to search for diamond deposits. Then without warning, they are trapped by a giant, ferocious forest fire. The visuals are simply astonishing...who will survive and who will not? I never even imagined that a conflagration could be filmed like this. Are a thousand acres of trees in flame - how could that be? The geologists (and the viewers too) experience the world coming to an end. The photography, the landscapes, and the final scene stick forever in my mind.
By the way, Criterion did an exceptional job on the transfer of this film to disk. The picture quality is outstanding.
By the way, Criterion did an exceptional job on the transfer of this film to disk. The picture quality is outstanding.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By Jrum C.
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Happened upon this Criterion release quite by accident, and what a find!! I have never seen such stunning black and white photography in a film (incl. Kane, 3rd Man). Camera work, cinematography, acting, story: simply marvelous. Synopsis: 4 geologists in Siberia, battling the elements for survival. 1959, Russian, with English subtitles; in monaural. No extra features, save nice booklet/essay, but never you mind: a superb film!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It is nice to see Letter Never Sent given the deluxe treatment, but this is not one of Kalatosov's better works. Sure, it is stylish with many intriguing cinematic techniques employed, especially as a fire sweeps across the Siberian taiga, in which these four Soviet geologists find themselves in pursuit of diamond veins for the state government. It struck me as a purely ideologically driven film, as opposed to his masterpiece, The Cranes are Flying (The Criterion Collection), which captured the humanity of Soviet citizens as WWII closed in around them.
There is plenty of tension with the geological team forced to flee a raging forest fire after several weeks of mineral exploration, but it is hard to feel much empathy as it seems Kalatosov and Urusevsky were more interested in visual effects. I suppose this is partly due to the censorship at the time. The map becomes paramount in this film, not the characters. There are much better films to be had by this great Soviet filmmaker.
There is plenty of tension with the geological team forced to flee a raging forest fire after several weeks of mineral exploration, but it is hard to feel much empathy as it seems Kalatosov and Urusevsky were more interested in visual effects. I suppose this is partly due to the censorship at the time. The map becomes paramount in this film, not the characters. There are much better films to be had by this great Soviet filmmaker.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you for the impression.
He could see the movie of the recollections seen 45 years ago, and it has been moved deeply.
Thank you for the impression.
Thank you for the impression.
Published 2 months ago by Jo0034 from JAPAN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astounding
Astounding piece of work with some of the greatest cinematography of all time.
Terrific use of mirrors and reflectors.
A classic.
Terrific use of mirrors and reflectors.
A classic.
Published 3 months ago by Mark Kevin Savage
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Movie in Black and White
This Russian movie is considered a classic. Done in black and white with English subtitles, it's set in Siberia and involves a hunt for diamonds. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Scott Gordon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not for everyone
I found this film to be enjoyable from an aesthetic standpoint. The cinematography was done really well, as the back cover of the dvd states, featuring "one daring shot after... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jacob K
3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent cinematography...
Stunning cinematography and art direction. Camera angles, lighting, everything breathtaking. The plot was rather thin, though, so I dropped it to three stars. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Berner owner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinary filmmaking, entertaining story
First things first: The cinematography of "Letter Never Sent" isn't just "good" - it's quite simply some of the greatest cinematography of any film of the 1950s (which is saying a... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Thomas McNeil
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bleh
You may like this film, if: you love it when the main character's most defining aspect consists of having a beard; you like preposterous Man vs. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A visual masterpiece! Mikhail Kalatozov's "Letter Never Sent" looks...
Visually astonishing! It's the words that I can easily describe the 1960 film "Neotpravlennoye pismo" (Letter Never Sent) directed by Soviet filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Dennis A. Amith (kndy)
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Nature guards her secrets rather jealously."
*Spoiler Alert*
I love the film "The Cranes are Flying" and the incredible cinematography of Sergei Urusevsky. Read more
I love the film "The Cranes are Flying" and the incredible cinematography of Sergei Urusevsky. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Betty
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not Recommended
In the past year or so I have acquired a fair number of DVDs of Russian language movies in order to try to maintain a reasonable fluency in the language. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Nick from Shelburne VT
