The Snow Maiden (1952 film)
The Snow Maiden (Russian: Снегу́рочка; tr.:Snegurochka) is a 1952 Soviet/Russian traditionally animated feature film. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the Slavic-pagan play of the same name by Aleksandr Ostrovsky (itself largely based on traditional folk tales).[1] Music from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden is used, arranged for the film by L. Shvarts. The animated film was shown at movie theaters.
The Snow Maiden | |
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Directed by | Ivan Ivanov-Vano Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya |
Written by | Oleg Leonidov Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya Ivan Ivanov-Vano Aleksandr Ostrovsky (play) |
Starring | V. Shvetsov L. Ktitorov V. Borisenko Irina Maslennikova |
Music by | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov |
Edited by | Nina Mayorova |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | Soviet Union |
Language | Russian |
The film is listed as being in the public domain on the website of the Russian Federal Agency of Culture and Cinematography. The film also lapsed into the public domain in the United States when its US copyright expired, but the copyright was restored under the GATT treaty.
Plot
Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden), the daughter of beauty the Spring and Ded Moroz, yearns for the companionship of mortal humans. She grows to like the Slavic god-shepherd named Lel, but her heart is unable to know love. Her mother takes pity and gives her this ability, but as soon as she falls in love, her heart warms up and she melts.
Creators
Romanized | Russian | |
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Director-producer | Ivan Ivanov-Vano | Иван Иванов-Вано |
Director | Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya | Александра Снежко-Блоцкая |
Scenario | Oleg Leonidov Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya Ivan Ivanov-Vano |
Олег Леонидов Александра Снежко-Блоцкая Иван Иванов-Вано |
Art Director | Nadezhda Stroganova | Надежда Строганова |
Artists | Y. Tannenberg Irina Svetlitsa V. Valerianova I. Troyanova Viktor Nikitin G. Nevzorova N. Fyodorova O. Gemmerling Lev Milchin |
Е. Танненберг Ирина Светлица В. Валерианова И. Троянова Виктор Никитин Г. Невзорова Н. Фёдорова О. Геммерлинг Лев Мильчин |
Animators | Vladimir Danilevich K. Malyshev Grigoriy Kozlov Faina Yepifanova Nadezhda Privalova Boris Butakov B. Savkov Roman Kachanov Valentin Lalayants Yelizaveta Komova Roman Davydov Tatyana Fyodorova Konstantin Chikin Mikhail Botov Vadim Dolgikh Vladimir Arbekov Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin Lidiya Reztsova K. Nikiforov |
Владимир Данилевич К. Малышев Григорий Козлов Фаина Епифанова Надежда Привалова Борис Бутаков Б. Савков Роман Качанов Валентин Лалаянц Елизавета Комова Роман Давыдов Татьяна Фёдорова Константин Чикин Михаил Ботов Вадим Долгих Владимир Арбеков Вячеслав Котёночкин Лидия Резцова К. Никифоров |
Camera Operators | Nikolai Voinov Yelena Petrova |
Николай Воинов Елена Петрова |
Sound Operator | Nikolai Prilutskiy | Николай Прилуцкий |
Editor | Nina Mayorova | Нина Майорова |
Vocals | V. Shvetsov (as Bobyl Bakula) L. Ktitorov (as Grandfather Frost) V. Borisenko (as Lel) Irina Maslennikova (as Snow Maiden) |
В. Шевцов Л. Ктиторов В. Борисенко Ирина Масленникова |
Creation history
In the first half of the 1950s the Soyuzmultfilm studio releases known movies of the "classical" direction — mainly children's, often based on application of "eclair" (rotoscoping). During this period such well-known tapes as "The Tale of the Fisherman and a Small Fish" (1950), "Kashtanka" (1952) M. M. Tsekhanovsky, and "The Snow Maiden" (1952) I. P. Ivanov-Vano, etc. are removed. In the movie "Snow Maiden" the innovative artistic touch offered by V. A. Nikitin — use of luminescent paints was used.
The edition on video
In the early eighties the animated film started being issued the Videoprogramma Goskino of the USSR video company initially on import, since 1984 on the Soviet cartridges "VK Electronics". Since 1990 the animated film is released by the film association "Krupnyy Plan" on videotapes. In the mid-nineties Studio PRO Video published the animated film on VHS in the collection of the best Soviet animated films Frost Ivanovich, Wonderful Hand Bell, Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka, Vasilisa Mikulishna, Lie's Swans and The Tale of the Fisherman and Small Fish. Since 1995, the Union of Video studio republished this animated film on VHS.
From the first half the 2000s, the animated film was restored and released on DVD by Soyuz Video studio.
References
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 287–288. ISBN 9781476672939.
External links
- Snegurochka at IMDb
- «The Snow Maiden» on YouTube (Official Russian)
- «The Snow Maiden» on YouTube (Russian with English subtitles)
- Snegurochka at the Animator.ru (English and Russian)