Alye parusa (1961) User Reviews

the red runs deep

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 2 March 2017]

Aleksandr Ptushko might be recognizable to western audiences from the riffing of reedited versions of his movies (e.g., "Sampo" retitled "The Day the Earth Froze") on "Mystery Science Theater 3000"). I understand that the original versions of these movies are worth seeing, not the sort of movies that MST3K would heckle. His "Alye parusa" ("Scarlet Sails" in English) is an impressive one. It's based on Aleksandr Grin's 1923 novel of the same name, and I understand that Grin's work enjoyed a renaissance under Khrushchev's thaw. The movie doesn't have the most complex story, but it's enjoyable enough for its hour and a half. One might interpret it as a look at the desire to break free of one's confines, whether Assol's peasant world or Arthur's aristocratic world.

So, it's not any sort of masterpiece, but I recommend it. Probably the neatest thing about the movie is the filming locations around the Black Sea.

Assol. That name has gotta make lots of English-speakers giggle.

a beautiful story and movie

[laj45 · 10/10 · 6 July 2005]

I came across this movie by chance, and what a lovely chance encounter! The production value was high, for it was easy to believe that what was seen was really a little Russian village by the sea. The ship must have been authentic, outfitted with no less than real, scarlett silk sails! The story is a simple fairy tale, following the adventurous hero and graceful heroine from childhood.

Sadly, this may not reach the audience it deserves. Perhaps that just as Western art students are reexamining Soviet creations without the political prejudice of times past, so too should these wonderful films come to light. I'd recommend this to anyone who appreciates classic storytelling.

"...miracles are made with one's own hands."

[Galina_movie_fan · 10/10 · 15 August 2005]

"Alye Parusa" aka "Scarlet Sails" (1962) which is a screen adaptation of one of the most beautiful romantic, poetic, and charming books ever written (the link to the book "Scarlet Sails" by Alexander Green is provided on the Message Board for this film) is one of my favorite movies since childhood. It's been many years since I saw "Scarlet Sails" but it still has the same power over me. Watching it again recently, I realized how incredibly beautiful it is, how wonderfully directed by "Walt Disney of the Soviet Union", Alexander Ptushko who had made such masterpieces as "The Stone Flower", "Sadko" (1953), "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", "Ruslan and Ludmila, "The New Gulliver", and many more. The film tells the story of a little girl named Asole , who meets a wizard one day. He tells her that sometime in the future a ship with red sails will arrive -- to take her away to a new, happy life. She holds onto this prediction in spite of taunts and the ridicule of her neighbors…

Ruscico DVD is great. The film's images are fresh and joyful. The DVD includes Russian version with subtitles and dubbed to English and French versions. 16 years old Anastasiya Vertinskaya whom you may remember as Ophelia in Kozintzev's Gamlet plays Asole – it was her first role ever. Vaslily Lanovoy plays Arthur Grey , the young nobleman who dreamed of becoming a sea captain since he was a boy and who made Asole's dream come true by creating a miracle for her, the only miracle she had been waiting for all her life:

"I have come to the person who is waiting only for me. I want only her, perhaps for the precise reason that thanks to her I have been able to understand one simple truth, that so-called miracles are made with one's own hands."

"But there are other miracles: a smile, gladness, forgiveness, and a word which is needed and said in time. To experience them is to possess everything. As for Asole and me, we will remain forever in the glow of scarlet sails created in the depths of a heart that knows what love is…"

Very beautiful and romantic

[starpeople · 10/10 · 3 January 2005]

"The Scarlet Sails" is one of the most beautiful and romantic tales I know. The movie follows Alexander Green's novel perfectly. It presents the story about how a miracle can happen when faith and love join together. A small girl was told once that a noble prince will come for her on a ship with scarlet sails. She believed the story and kept this faith even when she grew up. She was considered strange, the town's people laughed at her and her life wasn't easy, but she managed to preserve a golden heart and pure eyes of a child. And when a brave young captain saw her, he fell in love with her and decided to fulfill her dream.

This movie is for everyone who has a romantic soul and believes in miracles. It's very air is full of beauty, dream and poetry and it has a lot of Christian motives in it, though this may seem strange when speaking about a Soviet movie. But it is so, because eternal virtues that this movie is about are common for all people, whether they are Russian or not. I highly recommend "The Scarlet Sails" for family viewing and for those everlasting romantics that world would have been so dull without.

Rating: 10/10

One of my absolute favourites from Ptushko

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 29 May 2013]

I've liked all that I've seen from Aleksandr Ptushko, the three films of his that have been shown on MST3K are much better than they're made out to be because the original versions are beautiful but are ruined significantly by the dubs. Scarlet Sails is one of his absolute best, if I had a top 3 I would almost certainly put it up there alongside Stone Flower and The Tale of Tsar Sultan. Like with all of Ptushko's films, it is visually stunning with photography that has a simple sweep that is kept unobtrusively and breathtaking sets and scenery that makes you wish you were in Russia. Any details seen like the ship are so well constructed also that you are convinced they're real. The music is sumptuous and has a feel of affecting romance and wondrous fantasy, it also has a very Soviet sound to it and if there was a CD of just the music I'd gladly buy it. The dialogue is noble and well-written, clearly written with heart and thought, yet it also allows for the drama and romance to speak for themselves. The story like Stone Flower is essentially a simple fairy-tale, the fairy tale elements are recognisable and have a real enchantment to them while never doing so in a complicated way, and the romantic elements are genuinely touching and don't bog the film down in any way. Emotionally Scarlet Sails is really one of Ptushko's most beautiful, mainly because the romantic elements are so well done. It also helps that the characters are so easy to identify with, and that Scarlet Sails with two outstanding lead performances is for me is the best-acted Ptushko film. In conclusion, one of Ptushko's best and a personal favourite as of now. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Romantic fairytale meets seafaring adventure

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 17 February 2017]

SCARLET SAILS sounds like a normal 1961 swashbuckler but turns out to be something else entirely. It opens as a typical Russian fairy tale would, with a beautiful young woman pining for her empty life and finding herself whisked away by a dashing adventurer to go on some seabound adventure on the titular ship.

The film offers the usual mix of Soviet ideals, moralising, social drama, and fantasy. The early scenes of the main character in the doldrums are quite well portrayed and contrast nicely with the more fantastic, ego-trip adventures of the latter half. The production values are fine. There's a greater emphasis on romance here than in other Russian fairy tale films I've watched, which meant that it wasn't really to my taste, but there's no denying the enthusiasm of those involved.

A Romantic Fairy Tale

[BirnbergLb · 10/10 · 9 February 2013]

"Alye Parusa" can best be described as a romantic fairy tale.

Its about the pursuit and attainment of true love whatever the obstacles. Alexander Grin created a world that is magical, beautiful, sentimental and captivating.

Its a shame he's unheard of outside of Russia and generations there have loved his classic novel for its adventure spirit, its belief in will overcoming the trials of the sea, time, human skepticism and the fulfillment of human happiness in the most idyllic of settings.

Vasily Lanovoy is well cast as Grey and the incomparable Anastasiya Vertinskaya shines as Assol and they stand out on the silver screen as the star-crossed lovers. Alexandr Ptushko brought the novel to life and one is drawn into a world that's timeless like a fairy tale but which never loses sight of the human element and the yearnings of the principal leads.

I won't give away the beautiful ending except to note its worth the price of admission to this movie. Its so popular that an entire festival is devoted to it in Saint Petersburg.

Its family-friendly entertainment of the highest caliber and is highly recommended!

the most romantic

[zemba7-817-69080 · 10/10 · 26 July 2012]

This is simply the most beautiful and romantic film ever made. Even stranger, it was directed by Alexnadr Ptushko, known for his fantasy films and spacial effects. I guess he wanted a change of pace from his overblown spectacles. He succeeds beautifully.

This early 20th century novella is a classic in Russia yet, like The Wizard of Oz, the film is far better than the book. The two leads are outstanding and the girl who plays Assol is stunning! The musical score should be recorded. What a pity this is not known in the West.

If you like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Random Harvest, The Bishop's Wife, One Way Passage and Somewhere in Time - and believe in miracles - this is the crown jewel.