Customer Reviews

Sword and the Dragon [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The original Russian title of the 1956 film "The Sword and the Dragon"was "Ilya Mporometz",Boris Andreyev plays a legendary Russian hero of the Middle ages where fact and fantasy merge by not fighting with his human enemies but with 3 headed fire breathing dragons and other strange obstacles.This is an an excellent fact/fantasy film!!

"The Sword and the Dragon" was famously skewered (and charbroiled,with mesquite sauce) by the MST3K crew;it's a wonderfully bad fantasy epic. The sword is briefly mentioned as a family heirloom of the hero,Ilya Muromets; the three-headed dragon doesn't appear until the last ten minutes of the movie. The soundtrack is great,but the dialogue is florid and clunky. It takes people five minutes to say something simple.

"The Sword and the Dragon" has an unlikely hero-the chunky,middle-aged Ilya Muromets. He looks more like a candidate for Santa Claus than the heroic savior of Russia. Ilya sets out on his quest, with his miraculously growing horse (all it needs is a bath in mountain dew) He battles a wind demon. He's mistaken for a commoner,but the prince elevates him. Russia is being invaded by evil Tugars (who look a lot like Mongols) Ilya is accused of treason&imprisoned,but his trophy wife's magical blanket feeds him. Ilya's hope was that his wife had a son (one wonders how he would've reacted to a daughter). When his wife is taken captive,his son "Little Falcon" is raised by the Tugars. When the Tugars invade again,Little Falcon takes Ilya on in combat,to get a "Falcon,I am your father" speech. Priceless Oedipal scene. The movie ends with Ilya,his son&heroic Russians battling the confused-looking three-headed dragon.

"The Sword and the Dragon" lacks eye candy for heroes,sophisticated special effects,and good dialogue--but it makes for fun viewing and a good laugh. It's a loveable bad movie,made in the USSR!

This is the story of Ilya Morometz. Ilya's an alright guy, but his legs won't work for some reason. He can only watch helplessly while his beloved country is plundered by a Mongolian race known as the Tugars. Then, one day, his life is changed forever. Some strangers visit his house and give him a special kind of dew to drink that restores his legs to full health once again. Ilya celebrates by rooting up large tree stumps and throwing them off a cliff. He tells his parents he'd like to work on the farm again but he has to stop those dog gone Tugars first.

So Ilya sets out to destroy all the Tugars. After mounting his mighty steed, Chestnut Gray, he neglects the roads that lead to riches and a wife, and instead sets out on the road that leads to death. He defeats a wind demon and takes the demon back to the prince of his land. The prince gives Ilya a ring for conquering the demon, and so Ilya is on the prince's good side. But not for long...

You see, there are traitors in the palace whose loyalty is with the Tugars. They tell the prince horrible lies about Ilya and the prince is...well...kind of gullible. He orders Ilya to be locked in a dungeon, but to be fed well. The sneaky traitors disobey the prince and won't even give Ilya a scrap of food. Ilya only survives with the help of a magic blanket his wife made for him. It has a picture of a tree on it that somehow is able to grow real fruit. It's a miracle!

When the traitors are discovered and Ilya is freed from prison, he comes up with a very complicated plan to stop the Tugars. To this day I still have no idea what Ilya's plan was. I guess it doesn't really matter though. He and his men kill the three-headed dragon of the Tugars and save the kingdom of the prince. The prince invites Ilya to become a noble or something, but Ilya declines and tells the prince to accept his son as a noble instead. I believe the last line of the film is, "We shall be proud to have with us the son of Ilya Morometz!" Awesome movie.

Thralled by the stout stalwart, the oil-boiled Tartar, the cresting conflict with smashing Cerebral component to eastern hordes, my child eyes fastened in thrill to the Philco on the occasions, special, when the old channel 5 Metromedia station in NYC (also the generous purveyor of Paramount comedies) unleashed this boyhood's dream come true. I remember November, I guess, 5 showed S & D to prop through the hols the boys bored with stiff shirts and clip-on bowties.

Shame on the Dirty Digger and his banal, treacherous Fox.

I very much enjoyed viewing this movie and will do so again and again. It's a movie I saw when it came out around 1960 and never forgot. Also I never though that I would find and own it. This experience is valuable to me because it provided another resource. Neither Turner Classic Movies or Movies Unlimited have this movie in their library and it was so good finding out that I could get it from your source. The quality of the movie, especially considering its age, is very good and I am pleased with the price and the rapidity of delivery. I look forward to ordering from you again.

An old movie that we used to watch on Million Dollar Movie back in New Jersey. It was ALWAYS on it seemed. An old turkey but we still used a bunch of lines from it even today. I was thinking about it and bought. It's a little different but still pretty funny. BUILD ME A MOUNTAIN OF MEN! And if you don't start cracking up when he says, HERE I STAND BEFORE YOU! something's wrong. Or the wind whistler. Too much.
I can't wait for it to rain so I can put it back on & watch it like I used to.

Ive seen this movie on TV and after not seeing played in the last few years i have bought the Vhs version. This movie has charm and one feels
good after viewing it cause its the old Good againt Evil subject and good
does win at the end.
After seeing the vhs version you can see that its not widescreen and boy
do you miss a lot. So i found my old tv copy from 15 years ago when it
played on tv and its also in that Ratio.
So i just ordered the DVD as there is one out there that will provide
you with a widescreen version so one can see the movie as it was supposed
to be seen....The only drawback is that its in russian with subtittles.. Cant wait..

The movie is great. The quality of the tape is very bad. I am not satisfied with that.

Elia Morimetz embarks on a self-imposed quest to rid his native land (one of many Russian city-states) of the Tugars (Mongol hoarde). With his wits as well as his incredible strength and sword, he restores peace to the land.

This film, made during the Soviet regime of Stalin, uses one of the largest man and animal casts in world cinegraphic history. It's quality of picture and sound are poor, but the story is greatly deserving of praise. The film is both humerous and enthralling, conveying an experience unlike so many western films. Suitable for all viewers.

When I first saw the cover of the box to this film, I thought it would be another boring, unappealing old movie. God I was wrong! This was the most funniest movie I've seen in a long time although I do not believe the producer did not intend to make it so. THe special effects are so crappy combined with poor audio and clearity that you just have to laugh at primitive technology. The scene where a warrior is on a "horse" bopping people in the head made me laugh for hours! I know it appears to be a crappy movie but believe me it's awesome! I actually bought it!