Movie: (1956) A Russian hero leads the fight against invading Mongols.
First shown: 12/3/94
Opening: Tom leads Mike and Crow in a game Dungeons & Dragons
Intro: The Mads get a visit from their new neighbors in Deep 12, and ask M&TB to entertain; they soon regret it
Host segment 1: “A joke by Ingmar Bergman”
Host segment 2: M&tB reenact the table cloth making scene
Host segment 3: Ilya Murametz visits on the Hexfield
End: Gypsy’s review of the musical, The Mads have been on a date
Stinger: The wind demon takes a dive
(202 votes, average: 4.34 out of 5)
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• Of course, this is the third of the Ptushko Russo-Finnish trilogy, starring a lot of the same people as “Day the Earth Froze” and “Magic Voyage of Sinbad.” Like the other two, it’s based on Russo-Finnish mythology/legend, is a very pretty and clearly very expensive movie and is completely OUT THERE. The riffers have plenty to work with here and the riffing almost HAS to be good, and it is. The host segments are fun…mostly.
• You can find this episode in Shout’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol XXIV.
• When this first aired, it was the fourth new episode in 10 days. MSTies were delirious. It went back to the more typical weekly schedule after this, and within months the show was to go away for quite a while, but this embarrassment of riches was nice while it lasted.
• The opening segment is wacky fun, though “I must take my own life” is probably not the funniest punchline, especially for a sketch about this topic.
• The first time I saw this, when Mike said “Mordor and Rivendell” I said “Those are places!” right along with Tom. What a Tolkien nerd I am.
• In fact the Mads are also very nerdy this week, what with the comic books in plastic bags and the fear of girls.
• That’s Mary Jo (in Deep 13 for the second week in a row) and Bridget, of course, as the girls from Deep 12. Never did find that laundry room, I’m guessing…
• “Supercalifragilisticexpeali-wacky!” is sort of The Capital Steps meets Mark Russell. So, not really funny at all.
• When Servo riffs: “I’m Mike Wallace,” it’s because the writers thought the movie’s narrator really sounded like late “60 Minutes” reporter. But, guess what: Wallace did a lot of things in his career (he was even a game show host) and there’s a reason that voice sounds like him–It really is him!
• Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: Book, bulletin board, film canister.
• Segment 1 was much discussed in the forums. It moved too slowly for some people. Also, not everybody knew who Ingmar Bergman was, and not everybody was familiar with the Upper Midwestern tradition of “Sven and Ole” jokes. So it took some explaining.
• Callback: o/` “Heeey, it’s the undersea kingdom…” o/`
• Call-forward: a “Legend of Boggy Creek” mention.
• Segment 2 is very silly, and another chance for Gypsy to shine. I love the lyrics to her song.
• As for segment 3, well, let’s just give Kevin credit for committing to the bit. “HAM,” indeed!
• Cast and crew roundup: With a few exceptions, everybody here either worked on The Day The Earth Froze (I’ll call it “Day”) and “Magic Voyage of Sinbad” (I’ll call it “Sinbad”). If they worked on both, I’ll just say “both.” Producer/director Aleksandr Ptushko of course worked on both. Cinematographer Fyodor Provorov worked on “Sinbad.” Special effects director Aleksei Renkov worked on “Day.” Costumer Olga Kruchinina worked on “Sinbad.” Production designer Yevgeni Kumankov was art director on “Sinbad.” Music conductor: S. Sakharov worked on “Day, as did score composer Igor Morozov.
In front of the camera Yelena Myshkova was in “Sinbad.” as were Sergei Stolyarov and Sovol Martinson. Buncha commies, the lot of ’em, I’m sure.
One other note: the voice of Kalin and several other voices in this are provided by the great Paul Frees, who wrote and directed “The Beatniks” and whose voice pops up in several other MSTed movies.
• CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Kevin Murphy. Mike wrote the music for “Supercalafragalisticexpialawacky!!!” The entire staff wrote the lyrics.
• Fave riff: “This baby can handle everything but a three-headed drago-…aw, son of a…” Honorable mentions: “Finland’s annual emotional outburst” and “Kiss your aunt Bernice.”
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My least favorite of the Ptushko Russo-Finnish trilogy, but that’s not to say it’s bad … not by a long shot. Very funny.
It is HAM that I seek … HAM!! I don’t know why, but that really stuck with me.
I remember thinking, ‘ok can we settle on what the Mads’ characters are please’. They were evil, then they were bumbling, then they were gay, now they’re geeks. Perhaps just a little too well-rounded. There’s something to be said for a little predictability.
MOVIE SIGN!
This episode brings me back to the days of playing Dungeons and Dragons and collecting comic books. Man, what a stereotypical nerd I was!
“Make me a mountain of men!”
I haven’t seen the other 2 Russo-Finnish films in this troika in 15 years, so I can’t comment on how this episode compares, but I really do like this movie. Because of the sheer craziness, I could almost (almost) watch this move without the riffs. With so much going on it’s almost as if M&TB are riffing an entire movie of stock footage, which in my opinion is when they do some of their best work.
Good times all around!
I love this episode. The movie is excellent yet bizarre, the riffing is top-notch, the sketches are fun and mesh very well with the movie. I just have a couple of comments —
1. The Brains call the Ptushko films (and Jack Frost) “Russo-Finnish.” While Day the Earth Froze was Russo-Finnish, I’m pretty sure the rest of them were straight-up Russian. And very Russian, too — Jack Frost stars Baba Jaga, even.
2. The riffing is top-notch, but at one point, they complain about the depth of the myth. “This legend could use some punching up.” This (inexplicably) bugs me. This myth has a giant hero knight who turns into stone. It’s got a Mongolian horde. It’s got treasonous nobles. It’s got a pants-o-gram. It’s got a hero who magically overcomes his disability to become a great night. It’s got a dragon (eventually). It’s even got a magic tablecloth! In other words, it’s got a lot going on.
I don’t have any episode that is a clear favorite. There are four or five episodes that take turns being my favorite, depending on the mood I’m in and how hard I laughed at the most recent viewing. At the moment this episode is my favorite. Goofy, fun, watchable film with great riffing. I love all the Finnish episodes.
Didn’t Frees also voice the helicopter pilot in Beginning of the End?
Finally, another episode I know well enough to provide a full range of thoughts on.
Movie:
* According to a bit of trivia on imdb, over 100,000 extras were included for this. Does anyone know if it holds any kind of record for that?
* Is anyone else here a Rune Factory (or Harvest Moon in general) fan? I’d give a lot to have a character be able to rip stumps out of the ground like Ilya.
* For the dub, Ilya’s wife was renamed to Vilya. This created no shortage of confusion the first time I watched.
* Did the Brains know that Paul Frees did Kalin’s dubbed voice? The initial riff of “He sounds like Boris Badenov” implies that, but of course can’t be used to prove anything either way.
* Also, did anyone else create their own riff about how the wind demon and Kalin’s emissary looked like they were related?
* Favorite riffs:
– Mike and Servo screaming in pain after every time Little Falcon fires an arrow during his “growing up” montage and the subsequent, “I’ve never hit a thing!” (Exact quote may be off.)
– And Crow’s “I want moose and squirrel!”
Host Segments:
* My brother was a big D&D fan back in the day, though he’s never seen the intro segment. I’ll have to fix that.
* Has anyone else thought of compiling a list of Lord of the Rings references/riffs throughout the series? I have the beginnings of one, but own less than half the show.
* The timing of the episodes show that the Brains used a lot of riffs based on A Christmas Story (“Wow, dad! It’s a Daisy!” especially) before the movie became popular in the late 90s. Was Mike’s bunny costume inspired from it too?
* Favorite moment:
Gypsy: “You guys are so weird.”
Mike: “B-but, I’m a bunny. Hop… hop…”
Servo: “This is the most humiliating thing I’ve ever done!”
Any idea of this film is available on DVD? If so…under what title? I love these Russian flicks and would love to watch the un-riffed versions.
“This movie’s already more expensive than every other film we’ve seen, put together!”
This is a great episode, the movie is INSANE! Loved the wind demon and the plot point hinging on the pants-in-a-barrel.
Host segment-wise: Love the opening D&D scene, my friends were all hardcore into D&D at the time and I would torture them with quotes from this sketch. The lame political musical is spot-on in nailing that annoying genre of pitifully unfunny “comedy” that the normally level-headed fans of NPR enjoy. The Igmar Bergman parody is also phenomenal, but most of all I loved the scene of Frank & Forrester interacting with their neighbors. (“Are we on a date? ‘Cause it’s OK if we’re on a date, Frank and I have been on lots of dates…” “Babylon 5 was on last night!”) The remaining host segments leave me pretty cold, despite Mike’s bunny costume.
I’m going to have to go back and revisit these Russo-Finish episodes. I remember when they originally aired that I couldn’t stand the movies even with the riffing.
“Call-forward: a “Legend of Boggy Creek” mention.”
A-ha, I was wondering if you would catch that. I had to rewind it to convince myself I wasn’t hearing things.
This is the weakest of the scandniavian movie sthey did. it still pretty good. The movie feels like it goes on and on and on. It never seems to want to end. i like the super cal host segment they didamd i really liked the igmar bergman joke. i always though that was hilarious. I really like tom servo getting all upset over gypsy’s review at the end. Overall it is still a very good episodes.
Just watched this ep for the fist time last night. (Thanks DAP) I found it to be a very solid outing. Very funny movie and host segments.
Fav. riff: “The Swedish Moses of Soul!”
I always really liked the Ingmar Bergman joke, despite not having seen any Bergman movies at the time, and despite not understanding what the punchline was a reference to. I guess I was just amused by the ridiculously long, drawn-out nature of it. And the accents, of course.
I think all the Russian movies they did are terrific, and they did a great job riffing them.
And #8, Graboidz-
The movie is available in its undubbed, widescreen version under its russian title, “Ilya Muromets.” “The Magic Voyage of Sinbad” is likewise available as “Sadko,” and they both look surprisingly good.
Don’t know if the dubbed version is available, though.
I’ve never been a fan of the Russo-Finnish eps. As colorful as they are, I find them to be incredibly dull. The Sven & Ole joke, however, gets funnier every time I see it. The longer and slower it gets, the funnier it gets. I always liked it when they tried something different(black and white, faux documentaries) during the host segments.
The movie is available in its undubbed, widescreen version under its russian title, “Ilya Muromets.” “The Magic Voyage of Sinbad” is likewise available as “Sadko,” and they both look surprisingly good.
Don’t know if the dubbed version is available, though.
Let me piggy-back on this to say that the Russian version does have a Dub track, but it’s … unusual. There is a single voice, reading (and poorly) everything or “Ilya Muromets”. He sounds like a very, very bored Yakov Smirnoff (no kidding).
According to Amazon it has been discontinued – I got it brand-new from one of the “other sellers.”
Sword & The Dragon (unMSTed) is listed at Amazon, but the reviews of the DVD aren’t good.
I recognized Sinbad, but this film has the same actors as “Day the Earth Froze”? Who, for instance?
Yes, YES, YES!! Saying that this is the weakest of the Russ-Finnish films is like saying that Tim Brown wasn’t as good as Jerry Rice. I know I rate this episode kind of low, but I think that’s just because it’s lost in the quagmirish season six.
6 Stars! The Russo-Finnish epics are among my all time faves. This film is actually quite amazing – good visual effects for the time, very elaborate sets, tons of Tougars and good cinematography.
Love the opening D&D Skit + the ultra-nerdiness of the Mads and their big date with the new neighbors. LOL @ Franks awkward silence breaker “Babylon 5 was on last night” and Bridget’s response “yes .. it sure was” Always nice to see Bridget! The “Superkalifragilistic-expi-alla-WACKY” topical/satirical revue is beautiful ! A strong opening for a kickass episode.
The “out of Pier” joke is a long way to go for a lame punchline, but they way they execute it is perfect. The l-o-o-o-n-g pauses and background noises of seagulls and barking dogs really set a mood.
Fave Riffs:
“I should warn you, I’m just a torso”
“the banjo becomes angry at midnight .. what the hell are you talking about?!”
Questions;
-What’s the deal witl illya’s wife having the same name? Or it sounds the same. illya and ellya?
Like swh1939 this is my least favorite of the Russo-Finnish trilogy. Gotta love the cinematography and the cast of thousands and wacky special effects.
Unlike The Day the Earth Froze and Magic Voyage of Sinbad however this just seemed – for me at least – to lack the goofy quality that made the other two so much fun.
3 out of five.
“Hello Mr. Senator. My daddy’s out of work, and he says that it’s because of the deficit. So I saved some money in my piggy bank, and I’m going to give it to you to lower the deficit. If an eight year old kid can save money, how come the government can’t?”
Paul Frees was also in many of the Rankin and Bass produced Christmas classics. I believe he was Burgermeister Meisterburger in “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. That’a a classic.
I wonder if the movie’s producers got in trouble with Toho for Ghidora’s appearance. Still, good movie, even if it is really goofy.
I’ve haven’t seen The Day the Earth Froze. I like The Sword and the Dragon a lot more than The Magic Voyage of Sinbad. At least this movie can hold my interest, whereas Sinbad is a whole movie of “Deep Hurting.”
I give this episode 5 stars. However, I do not like the first host segment. I know that Supercalifrgilisticexpiali-wacky! is supposed to be bad, but it’s still painful to watch.
I like the Joke by Ingmar Bergman and Kevin Illya Murometz is great fun.
A favorite riff: “Kiss your Aunt Bernice!”
Off topc (I haven’t seen this movie) there’s an interesting top 10 countdown of “best”?
mst3000 movies not yet on dvd at
ragon mst3000 youtube.
One word for their #1 selection “Rowsdower!”
Correction: make that
Topless Robot mst3000 site for the countdown.
Sorry.
One of my all-time favorite episodes and closest to the Russian legend(Ilya Muromets) of these movies. Sinbad was Sadko and The Day the Earth Froze was the Finnish legend of Lemmankainen not Russian.
Hmmm, #7, “A Christmas Story” was popular before the late 90’s. I worked in a video store for most of the 90’s and I can tell you that when Christmas rolled around, that movie was always rented out.
I also remember seeing it at my cousin’s house around 88 or so. The movie didn’t do well in theaters, but man, once it hit video, word of mouth really carried it.
As someone else mentioned all four uncut Russian movies were available on DVD for a while, but are currently out of print. Fans of fantasy should check these out, because they are quite entertaining in thier uncut form. I still haven’t seen the Mystied version of this one, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for it to appear in a box set with it’s Russian brothers. :)
#20 Great quote. I love Mike’s deranged kiddy voice on that part, the final straw to send the Mads’ dates running away in terror. lol
5/5 stars. Gorgeous Russo-Finnish movie = instant great episode.
Personally, I would love Shoutrhino forever if they released all four “russo-finnish” movies in one DVD set.
I LOVE the Ingmar Bergman joke. It sucks you in as you stare at it wondering where the heck they’re going with it and when they get there you’re completely blind sided. Brilliant.
The ingmar bergman joke is tied for funniest host segment ever. Absolutely super funny!
Paul Frees—wasnt he also Burger-Meister Meister-Burger??
“I was a baby when I last saw her, so I’ll need to see all your breasts.” I think that was in this episode.
Ilya’s affliction and subsequent recovery to become a super strong hero bears a remarkable similarity to an African myth. The hero of that one even pulls up a tree to demonstrate his strength. Russia and Africa sharing myths? Weird.
“I’m going to Helsinki to personally spear that stump-throwing son of a bitch!”
A good episode for me. Not great but still pretty good. Movie’s typical Ptushko Russo-Finnish stuff and I enjoy that. Host segments are good too, especially the Bergman joke and the girls. A bit too true, if you ask me.
I have Crow’s little song stuck in my head right now. I’m the Crimeville BANG BANG, I’m the Crimeville BANG BANG, I get shot at every day.
Of course you also have to love the time Trace flubs the song and starts dropping expletives.
Can’t really say much about the film itself since I’m unable to remember much of it (better watch it again).
It’s Crime Bill
And When you’re out of Schlitz you’re out of beer!
Favorite riff, when Kalin is advancing on Ilya: “He’s got Dick Butkus intensity.”
I hope Shout! Factory puts out a volume featuring all the MST3K Russo-Finnish films “Day The Earth Froze”, “Sword And The Dragon” “Magic Voyage Of Sinbad” and “Jack Frost”. Just a nice theme based set.
This is my favorite of the Russo-Finnish episodes and defintiely in my all time Top Ten. Ilya Murametz may be my all time favorite character from any episode. He can be so cheerful and good-natured one second, and ready to kill in the next second. And being from Virginia, I love Crow wanting some Virginia honey glazed ham, and Kevin’s response is hilarious.
Another reason I love Season 6. Definitely 5 stars.
You can’t go wrong with a good Russo-Finnish film on MST3K! I remember the first time I watched this episode, I was going through Season 6 in order, so after the frustrating Kitten With a Whip and the mind-numbing Racket Girls, this type of movie was just what I needed. (And then the next two days, I had to slog through the depressing High School Big Shot and the agonizing Red Zone Cuba. Go figure.)
“How many prologues does this movie need?” Oh, I do love the riffing in this. I’m glad that the biting yet playful Mike-Kevin-Trace team got to handle a Russo-Finnish movie (the Mike-Kevin-Bill chemistry in “Jack Frost” is a little different, but still very very funny). There’s just so much going on in this movie, even in the parts where it looks like it’s taking its time. The battle scene at the end is great high-octane riffing material. I always crack up at “Water!” *splash* “(ppft) Not for ME!”
I got a personal chuckle out of Mike’s “Matt Groening gargoyle” observation. Not only does the statue really look like something out of “Life In Hell” or “The Simpsons”, but unlike so many people at the time, Mike actually pronounced Groening’s name correctly. (It’s “GRAY-ning”, for anyone who still doesn’t know.)
There’s another moment that I love, in the tablecloth-making sequence, and I’ll try to describe it as best I can. We see a red fox, and Servo says “Hey, Redd Foxx” — classic good-bad pun. Then we see a rabbit drumming on a log, and Crow adds “Hey, Bunny Rich!” — a perfect good-bad pun, followed by that childish giggle that Trace did so dang well. And then while the bots laugh it up, Mike, without actually saying anything, puts his hands to his head in an “AAARGH” kind of way, over a shot of birds flying out of the trees that somehow acts as the perfect visual accompaniment to this motion. This bit always, always leaves me in stitches!
The Ingmar Bergman sketch is still a source of controversy to this day. Personally, I love it to pieces. A lot of people say they can’t stand it ’cause it goes on for so long (somewhere in the neighborhood of four-and-a-half minutes), but as someone who’s studied Bergman’s films in school, I know that this is dead-on accurate, and that’s what makes it funny. It’s another perfect example of “The right people will get this.” (Oh, and I also love Gypsy’s singing in the woodland critters sketch. “Yah, sure, you betcha…”)
On a final note, I’ll just say that I can’t eat ham anymore without first bellowing “Ham! HAM! HAMMMM!!!” in my best Ilya Murometz voice. Thanks, Kevin!
Oh man, I almost forgot one of my favorite riffs: “And thus, ZZ Top was born!” (That’s from this one, right?)
I can honestly say that the Sven and Ole joke is one of my all-time favorite punch lines. I recall when I originally watched it thinking “Okay, where is this going?” Then I laughed and thought “that was so worth it.”
“Seex-YEEEEAAAAAAWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!”
Thanks Puma & Cubby for the info. I’m gonna jump over to Amazon and see if I can pick up the uncut versions.
With the “original” DVD’s no longer available or out of print…does that mean that Shout! has a better chance of securing these films for an MST3K release?
While I think this is the weakest of the four Russo-Finnish movies they riffed, its still a very good episode. It’s actually one of the few movies that has something of a plot and is visually pleasing to the eye. Like other movies of its genre, it has its quirky moments, like the Wind Demon getting knocked off a tree and the weird lady singing to the woodland creatures. M&tB do a pretty good job riffing, although not in the gasping-for-air kind of hilarity, the jokes come pretty fast and furious and make for a good time.
The host segments really bolster this episode. The Ingmar Bergman joke is an all-time great, and Gypsy’s singing as Mike & the ‘bots dressing as woodland creatures is pretty funny.
One thing I wonder, in regards to the future of these Ptushko films being released on DVD through SF, is the quality of the movies themselves. All three, at least on my VHS tapes, come across quite grainy. I’d love to see the visual content improved, as all three of the movies MST were beautifully shot.
BTW, Netflix has Voyage of Sinbad / Day the Earth Froze as a double feature on one disc. That’s where I first saw them unMSTied.
#36
It was Crime Bill? I need to watch a copy with better sound. It did sound like CrimeVILLE to me.
When you are out of slits, you’re out of pier.
I’m the Crime Bill, BANG! BANG!
I’m the Crime Bill, BANG! BANG!
I get shot at every day!
I’m the Crime Bill, BANG! BANG!
I’m the Crime Bill, BANG! BANG!
I’m opposed by the NRA, BANG! BANG!
The movie was putting me to sleep, but the episode itself had its moments. These actors kind of overacted like they were doing a silent film.
“This is NOT the short cut!” – Crow
“At long last, our Nation says ‘no’ to Rennaissance Festivals.” – Crow
“How many prologues does this movie NEED?” – Mike
“Hold on, I’m havin’ a montage.” – Mike
“The banjo becomes angry at midnight – what the HELL are you talking about!?” – Crow
“Why are you older than me, son?” – Mike
“Okay – we got it – the cycle of friggin’ life.” – Crow
“Ah, the Golden Age of making things up.” – Servo
“I must warn you, I’ve gotta a weird scene goin’ on here.” – Mike
“This baby can handle anything but a three-headed dra – oh, son of a BITCH.” – Mike
(Ilya: “Water!” *splash!*) “Not for ME!” – Crow :lol:
are some of my favorite lines.
Host segments were good. The Kevin as Ilya kind of went nowhere, but Super…allawacky! and the Ingmar Bergman sketches are funny.
Okay, Deep 12? Never to be heard of again. :shock:
Another reference: Mike says, “Okay, where are the R.O.U.S.’s?” (Rats of Unusual Size, from “The Princess Bride”.)
Overall pretty good, but there were a lot of gaps between the riffs.
I do like this episode, but haven’t watched it in several years. So most of the great lines that my fellow forum posters reminded me of, I had completely forgotten. :oops: My fave (so far): “The Swedish Moses of Soul!” I even lol just typing it…
Fave riffs:
“Great, just try to find him among that group of fat, whiskery old guys!”
“MAN, this is some plan!”
“Now, Thats what I call a HOARDE!”