Cinderella (1947) User Reviews

Surprisingly decent

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 20 September 2018]

This 1947 film of the classic fairy tale story was made in Russia and is a surprisingly good and faithful version of the tale. It goes through the motions in a familiar way but works thanks to the splendid efforts of the cast, who really seem to be putting their all into their characters. However, the real winners here are the set designers and the costume makers. This looks like a 'proper' fairy tale that's come to life; it's lavish and colourful, beautifully mounted with scenery and colours to die for. Certainly one of the strongest Russian-made fairy tales I've seen put on film.

Classical movie

[mshenga · 10/10 · 10 August 2003]

One of the best examples of genius of Russian movie making. The songs are enchanting, the jokes are instant soundbites, acting is wonderful, the plot is captivating, without any fluff. Great movie not only for children, but for the adults as well.

Old Story of Never Aging Charm

[Galina_movie_fan · 10/10 · 19 February 2005]

The film starts with the words, "This is a very old fairy tale that was first told many centuries ago and still lives, and everybody tells it in a different way". The creators of the film "Zolushka", 1947 ("Cinderella"), told this old story with so much tenderness, humor, kindness, and style that it will be loved and watched by spectators of many generations, past and future, children and adults alike. "Cinderella" is the film of lasting and never aging charm. Its directing is effortless, the familiar plot never fails to captivate, the music by Antonio Spadavekkia is enchanting and absolutely fits the magic of the film. The old story is retold by Yevgeni Shvarts (who also wrote the screenplays to the masterpieces of Russian Cinema "To Kill a Dragon" (1991), "Ordinary Wonder" (1978), "Twelve Chairs" (1977), and "Don Quixote" (1957)), and he added the jokes that are still funny and biting after all these years. I just have to say a couple of words about acting. The best Russian actors of the time participated in the "Cinderella". I would never forget a touchy but kind King (Erast Garin), tender and loving Zolushka (Yanina Zhejmo, who was 38 when she took a role but she was absolutely believable as 16 year old Zolushka), and one of my favorite actresses of all time, one and only Faina Ranevskaya as an evil but unforgettable Stepmother who believes that with her powerful connections she will rule the Magic Kingdom.

about the film

[AlexK1978 · 10/10 · 13 February 2007]

a very touching film. i watched it multiple times and after each time i had an even more positive attitude towards the movie. i advise you to watch this enchanting masterpiece. the more you watch it, the more you actually understand the whole concept and point of the movie. this movie is suitable for viewing by all ages. no adult oriented scenes. this movie promotes kindness and should be treated with respect. i never knew that Yanina Zhejmo was actually 38 in the movie. she completely looks her part in the role of a sixteen year old. the prince (Aleksei Konsovsky) is 35 in the movie. he looks not much older than twenty.

makes you feel good, really good

[solstice5555 · 10/10 · 29 November 2011]

Long ago I watched this movie as a kid and loved the story. Later on I watched it many more times when my kids were growing up, sharing their enjoyment. And I still keep watching it from time to time, but not for the story of course, rather for its very special emotional value. No matter how dragged down I am, it never fails to put me in good humor. This is a magic of genuine and simple human goodness that brightens the day. The movie is BW, very simple in a sense that it doesn't have any computer-generated effects, mind-boggling stunts so typical of today's fantasy cinema-- for those you should look elsewhere. But acting in "Zolushka" is very good. So if you want something that speaks to the heart -- you'll probably enjoy every bit of it.

You cannot fail to be enchanted by Zolushka!

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 26 September 2013]

A simply beautiful and enchanting Soviet film. Zolushka is very sumptuously produced, the costumes and sets evoking a really magical fairy-tale warmth and the photography doesn't hinder them in any way, no signs of going-through-the-motions or trying too hard. The score is just lovely to listen to and very distinctively Russian in sound. The songs sparkle as much as the script and story, the lyrics are clever and the melodies easy to remember. The writing is charming and the humour is hilarious, very smartly scripted Zolushka is. The story is simply enchanting, the Cinderella story is an old- though timeless- one but with Zolushka it doesn't feel that way, the tale is told with freshness, wit, charm and warmth and all that by being faithful in spirit to the story. The two leads are great and utterly believable- even when much older than their characters as has been said already- and the stepmother is appropriately formidable, while the fairy is nicely benevolent and the king is both regal and funny. The voices are also good. All in all, really beautiful and any Soviet film or fairy-tale-musical(or both) aficionado will be under its spell(as corny as that sounds). 10/10 Bethany Cox

Classic!

[kassha-1 · 31 July 2011]

I think this is an excellent film, and far better than any of the Disney fairy-tales because, the actors are so great, and the music is so cheerful that I think kids will love it. But it's also a very funny and witty movie, and adults will enjoy it too. Here is a piece of dialog between the King and his guards as he yells to them from a tower:

King-Hellooo! Hellooo! Guards of this fairy-tale castle, do you hear me? (Guards-We hear you, your Majesty!) King-Did a girl with one shoe leave the gate of our castle? (Guards-How many shoes were on her?) King-One! One! (Guards-Was she blonde?) King-Yes! A blonde! (Guards-How old was she?) King-About 16! (Guards-Nice?) King-Very nice! (Guards-OK! We understand! No, we haven't seen her. No one has left the gate!) King-Then why have you asked me all these specific questions? (Guards-We were interested, your Majesty!)

Fairy tale for children

[Angel_Peter · 3/10 · 26 September 2015]

It have beautiful colors and nice costumes. I am quite sure children will enjoy it a lot. It is the classical Cindarella story just with some crazy twists.

But for me it was just too silly. It seemed a bit like a cartoon just with human actors. It is really magnificent colors and costumes. But all the characters are overplayed too much. Especially the king is too much overplayed and seem like a raving madman. That can have political reasons for the time but for me it just seems plain stupid.

Normally I love fantasy and also cartoons, but I simply cannot recommend this unless for a family movie with children.

It's very bad for the person to miss the ball....

[levelclearer · 10/10 · 31 December 2016]

"It's very bad for a person to miss the ball, when he or she deserves one",- these words of Cinderella's Godmother describe the spirit of this movie. Paraphrasing: "It is very bad for a person to miss a watch of Soviet Cinderella movie, when he or she deserves one". And in order to deserve you shall be ready to open your heart and senses to kindness, gentleness, belief, performed by the best cast of Soviet actors in incredible narration of the world's famous fairy-tale bearing that unique fairy aroma which to me is something close to ecstatic. The moral of out-of-this-world reward for those quiet modest non-pretending loving and hoping laborers like Cinderella is delivered to the spectator with great feeling of kindness which can not be destroyed even by the pranks of the evil Stepmother. An all family must watch, 10 stars for fairy tale and 10 stars for Soviet Cinderella.

there are some things that you never assumed could exist

[lee_eisenberg · 9/10 · 30 April 2017]

Since we in the west are used to seeing the Disney versions of "Cinderella", it may surprise us that there was in fact a Soviet version. You probably never assumed that the USSR could have made such a glossy movie, but "Zolushka" is one impressive piece of work. For a country that wasn't into aesthetics, they produced a movie that was a real piece of eye candy. The screenwriters added a satirical side to it, but you'll probably best remember the costumes and scenery. During the ball, one of the stepsisters has Princess Leia hair buns.

Basically, this movie is more interesting than the ones released by Disney. I suspect that they had fun making it, especially with Faina Ranevskaya's emoting as the stepmother. An truly enjoyable time.

I bet that Yanina Zheymo had to beat guys off with a stick after starring in this.

If you want your children to grow up sane and good persons

[AndreiPavlov · 10/10 · 11 February 2008]

It is easily one of the best films ever made and if you don't like it, you should check your taste in cinema and the brain. "Zolushka" shows how the films were once made in our country: wisdom, funny jokes, superior performances, enchanting music - whatever you take, everything was done with heart on a highest aesthetic level.

The psychotic king is amazingly brought to life by Mr Erast Garin. The evil stepmother "shines" with the help of Mrs Faina Ranevskaya's talent. And the interpretation of Cinderella by Ms Yanina Zhejmo is just to the point. The innocence and goodness of Cinderella drives me almost to tears and it speaks a lot, be sure.

If you want your children to grow up sane and good persons, don't fail to show them films like this one.

10 out of 10 - it simply must not be given less while it is a timeless classic for all ages and for all millenniums. Thank you for attention.

Even without a knowledge of Russian, I enjoyed this film tremendously!

[Rschulenberg · 10/10 · 26 February 2015]

I don't understand. Russian but I enjoyed every minute of it! When I think that this was made just after WW II, it's even more amazing as it has such a lavish look to it. Several of the Russian speaking reviewers refer to the jokes and witty dialogue which, of course, I missed but there was so much to enjoy visually that I didn't feel that I was missing anything. The beautiful "exterior" sets are particularly charming and have a perfect Fairy Tale feeling to them! There appears to be a use of miniatures although if they were, everything looks so good that it's impossible to know. It's just that so many of the sets are so large it's difficult to imagine that they were full size. I was similarly impressed by the special effects which were, I believe, exceptional for the period. When I think that this was made during the Stalinist period, i'm impressed that the film appears to be free of any hint of a political message although if I understood the language, I might have detected some subtle references. I would really recommend this - even if, like me, you don't understand Russian. And P.S., I'm also stunned to know the ages of the Prince and Cinderella! The whole time I thought they were extremely gifted teenagers!

Magnificent

[sugsue · 10/10 · 25 October 2021]

I am so glad I found this movie. Although the DVD of it I obtained is damaged, along with the rest of the batch the vendor had, apparently, and I had to watch by repeatedly stopping and restarting the playback, I loved every minute of it. The story is tender and farcical at the same time. It is extraordinarily well acted by all the players and magnificently and heartrendingly sung by Zolushka (Cinderella, who has three songs) and the Prince (who has one). It is beyond belief that the actors playing Cinderella and the prince were 38 and 35, respectively, at the time of filming. They come across as 16 or even younger.

The translation that accompanies the disc I watched is neither complete nor entirely accurate. This treasure deserves better: a cleaned-up disc and a state-of-the-art translation.

Can't believe it !

[cynthiahost · 10/10 · 17 June 2010]

When I saw this movie I was going to point out that this film was meant for children audiences only cause it had the mentality of it and it wasn't meant for adults.Cinderallas being 12 years old and prince charming looking 13 . The step mother looks more like grandmother. The Two step sister could be her , Cinderella's , mother and aunt.And because the two step sister's were vying to be the wife of the prince would make it very campy by todays standard because of age differences. But I was surprised to discover that the actress ,who played Cinderella Yanina Zhejmo, was born 1909, and the actor who played the prince ,Aleksie Konsovsky,was born 1912, They didn't look that old. These actors might be dwarfs, may be . They are taller than midgets and have youth appearance. The actors playing the rest of the roles were taller than them . I might be wrong about it.It's not impossible for people to have youthful appearances but they arn't tall neither.This moves designs and costumes were shot as if it was going to be shot in color. At that time AGFA color was now available in Russia ,whay didn't they use it ? This version the prince had a single parent. His mother ,the queen, must have died . Although I don't understand Russian, It had excessive talk. The king was a bad temper character , throwing his wig and crown off every time he lost his temper .It's still very campy by todays standards