Well Deserved Praise

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

at first sigh - a fairy-tale. at the second - admirable manifesto in gray time. because, far of all, it is product of time. not for naive special effects, not for nationalist message. but for courage to give another image of cinema art in deep Cold War. so, it is different propaganda. an interesting and powerful exercise to discover real Russia, far from red flags and ideological cages.the performance - sweet and nice -, the music, the silhouette of characters are testimonies of a little revolution. sure, not impressive. but really essential. because it marks end of a page. the joy, the adventures, the childhood piece from myth each is scene for a beginning. the death of Stalin is only a sign. the seed can be, like many others Soviet film, this poor , charming and seductive movie. as victory of a David against Goliath. a moral victory, of course. but not insignificant.

It is worth pointing out that the link provided for those who want to buy this film takes you to where the American-International version is being sold, with the title of The Magic Voyage of Sinbad. This is a long way from being the same film. The A-I version is black-and-white rather than color, shorter, and seems as if it is not really the same film. My Betamax copy of this has not been watched in years, but I am certain lacked half of the interesting scenes, and certainly lacks the wonderful music.The original version, as Sadko, can be rented from Netflix, and presumably is rented and sold elsewhere. It became available in the West only a few years ago in a dubbed format. It is a fantasy spectacle on a level with the Korda Thief of Baghdad.

The reissuing of this film on DVD is just simply remarkable. The colors , costumes and scenes are just that -a Russian fairy tale shown in its maximum glory to enjoy. As the previous comment, this is not meant to touch on reality at all, a complete fantasy from an old Russian myth. To see the Phoenix Bird with the Song of India playing in the background is stunning. For a truly magnificent experience you must see this on a high definition LCD or Plasma TV, despite not being hi-def itself. My 35" Mitisubishi tube TV just does not do this film justice. I've been inspired so much by this film that I've decided to learn the Russian lyrics to a Song of India, accompany myself on the Er-Hu and my music Teacher will accompany me on the piano for a recital. In my Theatre Company Write Act I've called Sadko my favorite SuperHero.

The original Russian version with subtitles is one you should consider watching than the English dubbed version of Sadko called the ''magic voyage of Sinbad''. Not to say the English version is not worth watching but how can one make more of a masterpiece when it is already an acclaimed masterpiece and doesn't need any salt and pepper (re-dubbed & re-cut) to spice it up. The result can be devastating if you've already seen the original (Sadko 1952).There are good and bad comments about this film, thanks to the re-dubbed version. I'm sure everyone that has seen the original version (sadko) will give it at least an 8 out of 10.Someone made a comment that the film is goofy because Sinbad wasn't wet when he visited the great kingdom at the bottom of the sea and how did he manage to hold his breath that long. Well... the film is a fairy tale, not a documentary or reality show...nothing is real and it would have looked goofy if they were wet. As a matter of fact the underwater scenes are a feast for the eyes and a big step in special effects during its time (1952). This film should be treated with more respect. I'm sure if these critics see the original(sadko 1952), their views will be totally different. And I think ''the magic voyage of sinbad'' should not be credited with ''SADKO''. Little is known about sadko while magic voyage of sinbad was well advertised 10 years later. That explains the reason why sadko suffers the bitterness of its good for nothing sequel, magic voyage of sinbad 1962. Like I said, ''SADKO 1952'' is a classic and a masterpiece nothing more or less.