(USSR, 1962)
Directed by: Vladimir Chebotaryov, Gennadi Kazansky
Written by: Akiba Golburt, Aleksei Kapler, Aleksandr Ksenofontov
From a novel by Aleksandr Belyaev
Starring: Vladimir Korenev, Anastasiya Vertinskaya, Mikhail Kozakov
A wonderful film: part adventure, part drama, part creature-feature but in reality a unique work which cannot be ascribed to any particular genre.
What works: literally everything.
I first saw “The Amphibian Man” as a small kid.
We had a B/W TV at the time, so I’d assumed the movie was in black-and-white.
Recently I’d come across a special edition DVD (from RUSCICO) and, to my surprise, it turned out to be in colour!
Ichtyandr, a young man able to live underwater, meets a gorgeous Gutiere and falls in love at first sight. But Gutiere is engaged to a crooked Don Pedro Zurita, leader of a gang of modern-day pirates. In his battle for Gutiere’s love and against Don Pedro’s evil plans Ichtyandr is aided by his father Professor Salvator and Olsen, a nosy reporter.
A huge hit upon its release, “The Amphibian Man” drew 65. 000 000 Soviet viewers to the silver screens.
Expertly lit by Eduard Rozovsky, “The Amphibian Man” had visually reminded me of Mario Bava films. There are numerous finely-crafted visuals achieved on a limited budget. However, “The Amphibian Man” has a lot more to offer in terms of dramatic storytelling than any Mario Bava film.
Upon witnessing the sun-bleached streets and proliferation of shop signs in Spanish, I was convinced they went to
Yet, it turned out, they’d managed to convincingly reproduce
“The Amphibian Man” is one of the very best Russian films of XX century.
A picture guaranteed to entertain children while not insulting their parents’ intelligence. Highly recommended to anyone who likes romantic adventure films.
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