Kashchei the Immortal (1945) User Reviews

Here comes Kashchey Bessmertnyy

[AndreiPavlov · 7/10 · 21 September 2005]

Black-and-white cinematography of 1944 brings us a fairy tale about love, friendship, and magic powers.

Some negative points of the movie are well justified. For instance, the fire scene is prolonged. It seems to last forever. But if the year of production is taken into account - it fits the historical background all right (deserted and burnt lands of Russia). Another one is, perhaps, simplicity of the effects and stunts. The emotional acting cures it all, though. The energetic scene with balalaika has the energy and magic to enchant the viewer. Then goes the grainy image of the picture, which is well below average quality even in the DVD release. It is not so bad after all - it ads some spooky atmosphere, everything seems to be "not of this world". Finally, the movie introduces one of the scariest creatures of Russian folklore - Kashchey Bessmertnyy (a thin man-like undead that can be killed only by destroying some estranged secret object) and one of the toughest Russian "bogatyrs" (i.e. unnaturally strong men) - Nikita Kozhemjaka. All in all, it is a good family feature with its magic moments. The outlook of the main villain and the chopping down of its head can scare some children away, but the whole story is original enough to spend about 64 minutes concerned in a very good way (for children and adults). It's just a one-hour feature, which is also very good for those who don't like to spend half of the day before a TV-set.

On the international level it is 7 out of 10. Thanks for attention.

Immortal beauty

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 7 February 2019]

Love Russian/Soviet film, especially fantasy, and an equal amount of pleasure has been gotten out of acquainting myself with their legends, fairy tales and folk tales. Have seen a good deal of Aleksandr Rou's work, and have liked to loved all seen. It is a shame though that a lot of people will be most familiar with him through MST3K with 'Morozko' ('Frosty') and its butchered American/English language dub, that doesn't do what is actually not a bad film at all any favours. Or at least that's in my opinion.

'Kashchei the Immortal', based on one of the most famous Slavic folk-tales/legends and characters (along with the likes of Baba Yaga), is for me up there as among his best and most accessible. Of my recent "re-visiting Russian film" period, it's up there with the standouts. Like Rou's other work, 'Kashchei the Immortal' entertains and charms with enough imaginative touches to give it a sense of wonder. There is a strangeness at times, but not in a way that gets too overly weird or affects the coherence of the storytelling.

A lot of 'Kashchei the Immortal' is lovingly shot in black and white and nicely designed with a good deal of atmosphere. The effects, while not what one calls special, have a charm to them and are quite imaginatively used.

Music has much lushness and atmosphere, absolutely love the song in the opening scene, and Rou directs with an assured touch that never gets too serious or farcical. The writing flowed enough and at least made sense, with the story actually pretty simple, not getting muddled, even with a good deal thrown in.

Liked the storytelling, which was fun and amiable with a sense of wonder and endearing quirkiness, handled very imaginatively while always being easy to follow and respectful to the legend and the character. An exception is the agreed overlong and dragged out fire scene. The characters are immensely colourful in personality with likeable protagonists and one does not forget Kashchei, a suitably formidable and entertaining antagonist. The acting is not always subtle but the actors are well suited to their roles and fully commit to them.

Overall, immensely charming and hard to dislike. 9/10 Bethany Cox