The Stone Flower (1946) User Reviews

An apprentice stone sculptor risks his life, soul & marriage to learn the secrets of his trade from a mountain witch.

[maksquibs · 6/10 · 9 April 2008]

This faux (?) folktale, probably the best known film of Soviet fabulist Aleksandr Ptushko, is a paean to artistic individuality: a daydreaming youth becomes protégé to an old stone carver; visits the secret cave of a mountain witch to delve into his art; and then, with the unwavering trust of his deserted bride, finds his way back into the world as absolute master of his craft. A rather non-collective idea to find in the Stalinist film world of the time. Ptushko's style often looks like some over-decorated/Russian-themed Christmas window, but it certainly fits his subject. The crudity in the technique comes off as sincerity and the USSR color processing of the era is often quite lovely if you boost the brightness level on your equipment. Aimed at kids, but probably best for grown up cultural Sovietologists.

NOTE: Check out the DVD extras for an amazing stop-motion animation clip from Ptsuhko's 1936 pic THE NEW GULLIVER.

Noir fairy-tale

[suchenwi · 8/10 · 15 April 2011]

For the record: this film was made widely available in Germany, as it came as DVD gimmick with SuperIllu magazine yesterday. The DEFA version with synchronized German sound only, except for the original Russian songs. (Still, I have great praise for them - who else would supply a Soviet movie of 1946 at a today's newsstand?) I sometimes felt bored, and at other times very excited when watching this film. Presumably a fairy tale for children.. but never condescending, so an adult can well watch it.

Some exciting visuals, but the (Agfacolor?) colors seem to have bleached over time. Other reviews suggest the colors used to be much stronger. And there was more black than it should, in my opinion. Still, excellent camera-work was evident many times.

And for the story itself, it was quite exciting for this 54yo adult. The artist's dilemma, whether to consume marriage with Katinka, or to follow the Queen of Copper Mountain into the earth's depths for ultimate stone art. I was most thrilled when he smashed his flower bowl.

In the end, all goes well, and they might live happily ever after. That's more in fairy-tale style, and less exciting. But the trials and tribulations before were definitely impressive, well-acted, and all. I had to wipe the dried teardrops from my glasses afterwards :)

Unforgettable!

[artyme · 2 December 2001]

I saw The Stone Flower back in the forties shortly after it was released. I have never forgotten it. The color was so amazing that some of the images have remained permanently imprinted in my brain! I am disappointed that it is unavailable on video nor have I ever seen t revived anywhere where I have been. I am glad there are at least a few others who remember it.

"This story's not so simple - you need brains to figure it out!"

[Quotation-of-Dream · 9/10 · 6 November 2007]

So says the grizzled old factory watchman at the conclusion of the folk tale he's been telling the children huddled around his fire through the Russian night. One of the young boys comes quietly up to him as the others leave, and tells him that he too wants to be a master-stoneworker, like the hero of the story: "ah!", says the watchman, "you got the point!" And the point's not just for children, either.

Ptushko's memorably beautiful film makes for a gripping parable about the conflict between the inner and outer life of the born artist, willing to risk sacrificing everything - even the woman he loves - in pursuit of artistic and technical perfection. At the secret heart of the Copper Witch's caverns, the Stone Flower itself represents that unattainable ideal of beauty, natural material fashioned so cunningly that it seems more real than reality itself. Danila, deeply unsatisfied with his work admired though it is by so many, has to study its form at any price, leaving his betrothal feast to pursue his ideal and hone his technique.

Will Danila break free of the Copper Witch's charms, and return to the "real world"? You'll have to watch the film to find out...

With only four significant characters - the young genius, the ageing and ailing master-craftsman who teaches (or is taught by) him, his faithful betrothed Katinka, and of course the Copper Witch herself - "Kamennyy tsvetok" is much more tightly structured and less riotously inventive than some of the other Ptuchko films I've been privileged to see, and the tension never flags.

Political content, too, is restrained - surprisingly so, given the film's date and the fact that it was (as other commentators have pointed out) the first major Russian film to be made in colour. The peasants are duly repressed by the fat and frivolous landowners and their brutal class-traitor henchmen, but (assuming that *my* brain has figured it out correctly!) the clear message is that whatever its conflicts with everyday life and relationships, art certainly transcends politics and class. Surprising indeed. There's even a moment in the beautifully depicted and choreographed folk betrothal where religious icons are bowed to with grace and reverence. It is amazing that Ptushko was daring enough to try to get that one past the censors, let alone manage to succeed!

The commentator who compared the visual feast on offer with Powell and Pressburger's roughly contemporary "The Red Shoes" was spot on: their "Tales of Hoffmann" is even closer in spirit. Ptushko's visual imagination and daring are in that league, and his colour process produced really breathtaking pictures. If his images here seem more illustrative and pictorial, less intrinsically filmic than the art of those English masters, they are none the less memorable. The magic scenes in the woods, and in the gem-sparkling caverns, are of a loveliness seldom matched in film of any era, and never surpassed.

The currently available RUSCICO DVD version is quite beautifully restored visually, and the sound is very acceptable too. With good extras, including a half-hour feature about Ptushko's life and work showcasing extracts from many of his other films, why not treat yourself and your family, if you have one, to this rich folk-tale? If you respond to it as I did, you may even manage - for one brief, shining moment - to feel that you are nine years old once again!

A brilliant and warmly glowing gemstone of a film

[Anthony_Rauscher · 10/10 · 16 January 2018]

The Stone Flower as a piece of cinematic art, seems to surpass Disney, or The Wizard of Oz, in a similar visual vein, and always clearly presents it's own unique impeccable, and intricate attention to delicate detail, not found in many other films.

There is a pleasing sense of welcoming and invitingness to the film, and with kindness and gladness it opens itself up to you to come along and enjoy.

Great care, classiness, and refinement abound in the production of The Stone Flower, and it makes for a beautiful experience to watch. And whether you can understand Russian, or not, visually the story will keep it's pace, and lead the way for you quite clearly.

The Stone Flower is a tale of folk, and a tale of beautifulness and happiness, and it is sprinkled in the icing sugar of magicalness, and fantasy!

A very lovely film! :)

A child's memory of "The Stone Flower" plus 50 years

[holcombe · 10/10 · 7 October 2006]

I saw "The Stone Flower" in 1952 at Iowa State University's (then a state college) student union. I was a second or third grader, but I have never forgotten the magic of this Russian fable, the movie's gorgeous images and its powerful drama. I remember a wicked queen who turned the heroine into stone and the soft images of the lush rose-colored stone flower that remained for the hero to find after great struggles with the evil queen and her sinister minions.

Some sets were simple and rather bare. I like the earlier comment about "The Red Shoes," another post-war film from the recovering European film industries, with the same pre-war quality story lines and great effort to use color and images well, but with truly scarce resources.

I am so thrilled to find that others remember this wonderful film that seemed to have disappeared. I hope someone can find a print to share with film historians and certainly with other children. More than 50 years later, I can thank my mother for taking me to share the beautiful Stone Flower that I have never forgotten.

Malachite....more like Mala-shite

[AAdaSC · 5/10 · 14 August 2010]

An old man recounts a fairy-tale to a group of children about a stone-cutter, "Danila", who strives for perfection and meets with the mystical "Queen of Copper Hill". She asks him to sacrifice himself and remain with her in her unreachable world of stone at the expense of his married life with "Katinka", the girl he loves and whom he has just married.

The film is made in colour which is refreshing for 1946 and it is 15 minutes longer than described on IMDb. However, the story drags. The Russian hierarchy is very effectively captured - we witness the cruelties of the ruling classes who take to flogging the poor. They don't just flog them, they beat them to death for not working hard enough or not finishing a piece of work in time. Danila's talent at stone sculpture results in him being commissioned to make a piece for a wealthy landowner who wants to show off. However, the "Queen of Copper Hill" intervenes. It takes ages for this part of the story to get going, though.

Vladimir Druzhnikov is good in the lead role as "Danila". He looks a bit gay and girlie and very much suits the artistic type that is required for the film. The sets within the world of stone in Copper Hill are interesting in a "Star Trek" kind of way but each section of the film just seems to drag on for too long. Apart from the dance sequence in the wedding episode - one of the more entertaining parts of the film.

I also felt that the ending of the film could have been better. It's a happy-ending story but it would have been far more effective as a tragedy. We are led to believe that the Queen of Copper Hill has an evil sacrifice up her sleeve and that someone is going to get turned to stone for eternity. This is exactly what the film needs. But it doesn't happen. She suddenly switches to a goodie and we get a "love conquers all" message which is a disappointment. The film keeps you watching with false expectations and I felt cheated at the end. The rules suddenly change from "You can never go back!" to "Ok you can go back now". Very lame. The film needed an effective finale, ie, some tragedy, to redeem the rest of the tedious film but it didn't happen. It scores for novelty value only.

The Stone Flower, a Russian fable

[cescherm · 8 May 1999]

Seen shortly after it was released. A beautiful, and apparently rare film, since I have never seen a video of it available. Easily equal to the work of Serge Eisenstein, produced during the Stalinist days of the USSR, but is a telling of a famous Russian fable. An excellent film, which should be on video.

Magical Russian folk tale

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 9 May 2013]

I saw The Stone Flower as somebody who really liked some of Aleksandr Ptusko's other films like Ruslan and Ludmilla, Sampo and Sadko(which is only to be seen in the original Russian version, the dub ruins it), and is having a great run of Russian fairy/folk-tale films. It was also highly recommended by commentators for those respective films, regarding it as one of his best/one of their favourites of his. I am happy that there are people who remember The Stone Flower very fondly, I am one of those newly-acquainted with it from Youtube rather than those who saw it in childhood. I am also glad that I saw it, as it really is as good as people say it is, and for me it is one of Ptushko's best. It is a gorgeous film to look at, the scenery is enough to take your breath away and the film is beautifully shot as well. It is very easy to be taken by the music score as well, because it does have a sense of fantasy and adventure, it sounds very Russian in its songs and its nationalistic feel, it is lusciously orchestrated and sometimes even sounds like a tender tone poem. The dialogue is well-incorporated within the story and sounds generally natural and sincerely delivered. The story is a magical one, it unfolds beautifully and packs a very powerful punch. It does move slowly particularly in the middle, but that is not a bad thing, if anything it gave the story a sense of freedom, time to breathe and allowed us to become invested in the characters and story and also admire the Russian culture. The characters all engage, especially the wicked Copper witch, they are fairy-tale clichés certainly but that is not to be taken as a bad thing. The acting is good, the hero is noble and sincere and the Copper Witch is both entrancing and icy. I personally didn't see the ending as that much of a cheat, there have been far worse ending cheats around. Though I do think also that The Stone Flower perhaps could've been even more powerful if ended tragically. All in all, magical. 10/10 Bethany Cox

a virus came in and mess up my review i'm doing it again

[cynthiahost · 10/10 · 6 February 2010]

I have rotten temper every time some Malware comes in a messes up my work I feel like blaming it on my computer.Once again, This isn't the first Russian feature in color. The first one was in the 1930's in two color process, The nightingale. The second one was the first in three color process right before this movie was made,Russian sailor. But this one was the first single strip color process. My guess it's AGFA color. It looks it cause the reds are rather orange and this is the trait. BY this time shooting feature's in color were becoming common. In 1949 a big budget epic The invasion of Berlin,would be produced in AGfa color with a screen play by the old Murderer himself Stalin, With communist propaganda. This feature has no propaganda in it.As a little boy, Danilov is learning to be a stone cutter from his grandpa,played by Mikhail Troyanovsky. Grandpa has no patients with him. The copper queen spy's on Danilov, Played by Tamara Makarova. They live in a peasant village and Granpa get's commission's from a wealthy couple in modern clothing of the period 1840's or 60's.As Danilov, played by Vladimir Druzihnikov, grows up he knows the trade better. Grandpa hasn't aged since he was a little boy. The wealthy couple ,who hasn't gotten older neither, had commissioned grandpa for a work that he hadn't done cause he's sick. Out of desperation he give's the couple a stone box created by his grandson. They are so amazed at it they commission him a vase.In the village he falls for a peasant girl,played by Yekaterina Derevschikova as Katinka but delay's wedding cause he's not satisfied with the vase. He finally gives up and decide's to marry her but after the wedding he runs off to the wood's to search for the queen of copper to help him with the vase. It ends up as a test of charity over greed. Excellent cinema color photography. the art direction is gorgeous. The direction and editing is good . The acting is great. Alesander Ptushco would make his second color film after this an anthology it wasn't common by now to produce a color film. No propaganda at all in this film. I got this at amazon.com. NTSC version/02/07, I think,2010. It wasn't AGFA color they used. It was a 3 layer process that was patented in 1944 that was used i ,The Russian Sailor before this picture was made. Whether it was Sovo color that's the question. It contains the same kind of properties as it . Which is a reddish tint dominance. Not age. 02/08/10 wrong again it was shot in the AGFA color that was seized by the Soviets from Germany in the invasion.

What Magical Memories the Stone Flower Brings!

[Diamandapc · 10/10 · 7 February 2009]

I too saw this movie when I was a child in the late forties. It left a magical impression on me!The story was fairy tale like, I wish I could remember the details, but I see in a lake a Knight in the mist and a stone flower appearing and a lady of the lake talking to him. Most of all I remember the colors that were so pale and the magical lake where the stone flower was found. I also saw the movie Sadko by the same director. Sadko was a similar movie of Russian folklore, again made in a magical way.I found Sadko in the NTSC system and bought it and that brought all my memories back. However when I was finally able to obtain The Stone Flower from Russia, but it is on the PAL system. I know I can convert it but it might cost more than buying one in the NTSC system. Does anyone know if this movie has been made in a form to be played on our DVD players that do not have the PAL ability?

A LANDMARK FILM

[bazdol · 10 September 1999]

For the commentator below, I thought I had seen it on tape but I'm not sure. Most probably saw it an art house in Chicago or some university festival (Roosevelt University had a very good one back then).

The film's use of color was a landmark breakthrough. It was a process different and superior to technicolor. We can do it today in say, Kodacolor, and "The Red Shoes" did indeed quite approximate it but good as that was, it did not equal SF,

I wonder if Martin Scorcese, who did a commentary for "The Red Shoe" saw it. I'm sure he would have been impressed and if someone could get to him today he might even promote putting it on DVD just for gras artis gras.

The film was of some importance politically too in that it was the first kind of cultural exchange gesture the Soviets made at the height of the cold war. We probably sent them "Gone With The Wind." I mean that.

Lovely, enchanting folk tale

[I_Ailurophile · 9/10 · 20 November 2021]

The art direction and production design in the movie is really quite fetching. The physical film that was accordingly used to shoot 'The stone flower' resulted in rich, vibrant colors that allow every little trait to pop out brilliantly. Wonderful attention to hair, makeup, costume design, and set design and decoration, and every nuance of the cast's performances, is realized with inspiring vividness. Moreover, director Aleksandr Ptushko demonstrates a keen eye for arranging some fine shots, solid camerawork, and good care for lighting. And these are only just the visual aspects of what is an engaging, charming interpretation of a folk tale.

All the assembled actors put on fine displays of their skills to bring the picture to life, with Vladimir Druzhnikov especially notable as protagonist Danilo - believably portraying the young man's resolve, and obsession. Yet to discuss such facets at greater length seems unimportant when above all they serve simply as a component of the whole. It's the writing and direction that makes 'The stone flower' the entertaining classic that it is. Characters generally aren't written with especial depth, but like the acting, they work to complete the tableau. So it is too with the dialogue, very much feeling like the living communication of the sort of story that would be passed down over years - in no few ways a fable about the folly of pride, and ambition. And with that said, the fantastical scene writing and overall narrative are the greatest treasures here: terrifically entrancing, flush with detail and careful consideration, and enriching the entirety of the feature in their excellence. Druzhnikov matches the grand screenplay with adept focus and dexterity, tying the picture together with marvelous, expert finesse.

Factor in winsome set pieces, modest but suitable special effects - on par with any of the era - and gratifying instances of deftly arranged song and dance, and 'The stone flower' quite feels like it could be an early live-action production of Walt Disney's imagination. It's superb in its craft, and pleasantly endearing - really just an all-around lovely slice of cinema. If I have any specific criticism to make, it may perhaps be that the pacing struggles early on to find its footing. Yet for as splendidly well as the film is made, what slight deficiencies do crop up are negligible, and not truly significant. This is a magically, quietly engrossing movie, appropriate for all ages, that I think is surely very enjoyable for any viewer receptive to the type of story that it relates. I'd have no qualms recommending this to just about anyone - 'The stone flower' is a lot more fun, satisfying, and even rewarding than I thought it was going to be, and this is well worth checking out if you have the opportunity!

Favourite Russian fairytale

[christineballone · 10/10 · 28 October 2020]

Grew up in west Germany at the time of the iron fence and Cold War. My mother got me a book , die steinerne Blume , the stone flower, fairytales by Pavel Bazhov. The book contained numerous tales each of which would make a gorgeous movie like the stone flower. I learned to love the Russian people and share their pain and misery at the hands of the overlords.( a universal theme) I never saw the movie even though we received the East German channel which constantly showed Russian films and East German propaganda in the form of children's programs! Years ago I searched the stone flower online and to my surprise I found this fabulous film . It came very close presenting the images of my imagination. Now I am going to show it to my grand children knowing they will never have the attachment and feeling I have toward the story but that's ok, it will leave some kind of impression I'm sure!