Some mild spoilers ahead!
Don't be fooled by all the Estonians who hold this film in such a high esteem -- this is a pretty average historical adventure story of the age. (Certainly this might have been a good opportunity to show the other nations the values of their history, culture and language but that is independent of artistic value.) Nothing very special in the fields of direction and cinematography; IMHO the songs are not that great either. (Maybe these sound better in the Russian version?)
Fencing and other forms of bloodless fighting vary from decent to ridiculously bad. (Near the end, Gabriel's "fight" with the well-armed monastery guards is worse than Disney Zorro. The film's one whipping scene is much more realistic than the swordplay.) While the scenery is beautiful indeed, not much wildness in sight; I often had the impression that it was filmed in a very small and too well-kept park.
The strongholds: first of all, Ingrid Andrina is extremely cute, in a decidedly not innocent way. She has a very suggestive way of eating mutton, which is indeed the sexy highlight of the movie. We also see her nipples -- in a not-erotic context, but still very unexpected from a Soviet production. She seems to really enjoy acting in this, too!
Polan Bykov is superb (as always) in the role of the manipulative and very cynical priest.
The freedom fighters: they do also pillage and rape, a very realistic touch when compared to the French-Italian productions of the age.
Don't be fooled by all the Estonians who hold this film in such a high esteem -- this is a pretty average historical adventure story of the age. (Certainly this might have been a good opportunity to show the other nations the values of their history, culture and language but that is independent of artistic value.) Nothing very special in the fields of direction and cinematography; IMHO the songs are not that great either. (Maybe these sound better in the Russian version?)
Fencing and other forms of bloodless fighting vary from decent to ridiculously bad. (Near the end, Gabriel's "fight" with the well-armed monastery guards is worse than Disney Zorro. The film's one whipping scene is much more realistic than the swordplay.) While the scenery is beautiful indeed, not much wildness in sight; I often had the impression that it was filmed in a very small and too well-kept park.
The strongholds: first of all, Ingrid Andrina is extremely cute, in a decidedly not innocent way. She has a very suggestive way of eating mutton, which is indeed the sexy highlight of the movie. We also see her nipples -- in a not-erotic context, but still very unexpected from a Soviet production. She seems to really enjoy acting in this, too!
Polan Bykov is superb (as always) in the role of the manipulative and very cynical priest.
The freedom fighters: they do also pillage and rape, a very realistic touch when compared to the French-Italian productions of the age.