KASHCHEY THE IMMORTAL
Produced by "SOYUZDETFILM" Studios in 1944.
Studios Art Director I. Savchenko
Written by V. Shveitser, A. Rou
Directed by Alexander Row
Director of Photography - M. Kirillov Music by S. Pototsky
Production Designers - N. Akimov, V. Nikitchenko
S. Kozlovsky Ye. Nekrasov, P. Galadzhev
Cast: Naughty Guy - I. Ryzhov
Psaltery Player - S. Yurtsev Ruler - S. Troitsky
Judge - L. Korovitsky Hangman - S. Filippov
Guards - P. Galadzhev I. Bobrov, E. Geller
Starring:
Nikita Kozhemyaka - S. Stolyarov
Bulat the Joker - A. Shirshov
Marya Morevna - G. Grigoryeva
Kashchei the Immortal - G. Millyar
Here's our tale about the legendary Russian hero Nikita Kozhemyaka,
his combat friend Bulat the Joker,
Marya Morevna, the gorgeous maiden
and about Kashchei the Immortal, the malicious foe.
Once Prince Volodimir
said this:
I wonder if there are still
Any heroes in our Rus,
Who can defeat
This evil monster in combat.
A sandpiper is flying from overseas
And the sandpiper brought Nine locks with him.
Lock up my wintertime! And unlock my springtime!
Spring the Beautiful, how did you get here?
I got here on a perch, on a furrow,
On an oaten spikelet And on a wheat pie.
We've all looked forward to Spring, Spinning the last wool we got left,
Spinning the last wool we got left.
Spring the Beautiful, how did you get here?
I got here on a perch, on a furrow,
On an oaten spikelet And on a wheat pie...
Welcome, good folks, to see the bear's funny tricks!
Come on, Bear, show us how to drink wine.
And now, Bear, show us how a fair maiden goes for water.
Wow!
Weeds burst into blossom In my front garden.
They blossomed and withered, And were used as firewood.
There were heads of cabbage In my garden. But now it's bare.
A she-goat found the cabbage Ate them up and was gone.
Come on!
Don't you hide yourself, fair maiden.
Don't you hide yourself, precious.
Trust me, I never give the evil eye.
And I won't put a hex on your beauty.
Who are you, fair maiden? What's your name, dear lady?
Those who know me call me by my name.
And those who don't know me just pass by.
I swear, I can't make another step. My legs have grown into the ground.
I won't go till you say who you are.
Why do you want to know my name?
I fell for your dazzling beauty.
And every groom should know the name of his bride-to be.
I will never ever be your bride, brave warrior.
But why?
You don't think I am good-looking enough? Or not smart enough?
You are very handsome all right But I don't know if you are smart.
- Try me then, if you don't know. - But how can I try you?
That's up to you, my fair maiden.
Well, if it comes to betting...
Alright.
You'll have to solve three riddles.
Okay?
Okay!
Here's my first...
riddle.
I'm riding back home
From the battlefield in high spirits!
Woods, let me by, please.
Make way for me, my green leafy buddy.
My trusted horse, come on,
Keep on clip-clopping.
Golden days are ahead for me,
And a girl with sapphire blue eyes!
Earth around us breaths with spring
And the so long-awaited freedom,
Embracing our cherished homeland
With infinite affection.
My trusted horse, come on,
Keep on clip-clopping.
Golden days are ahead for me,
And a girl with sapphire blue eyes.
All our Holy Rus,
Whose longevity
Defies Death and Grief.
Lies right in front of me.
My trusted horse, come on,
Keep on clip-clopping.
Golden days are ahead for me,
And a girl with sapphire blue eyes.
Why are you smiling?
What are you laughing at?
You are happy to be back home, right?
How do you do, my fair maiden.
Why are you so sulky? What are you angry at?
Arert you glad that the sun Is shining bright?
Or are you jealous I'm so happy?
Stop quacking. Or you might bring misfortune to me.
Golden days are ahead of me,
And a girl with sapphire blue eyes!
This riddle is too easy to crack.
You already have your groom-to be.
And now say - who is he?
He is a brave warrior. That's who he is.
Right. So should I give you my third riddle or not?
Alright, do it!
Who a brave warrior should love
more than his father and mother? More than anything in the world?
Your dazzling beauty, my fair maiden.
Your dark eyes
and your sweet lips.
No, you are wrong, brave warrior.
You are not so smart as you say.
You got the heave-ho!
Let's go! Come on.
The cobbler should stick to his last!
On Christmas Eve I planted turnips, But they didn't come.
I planted turnips, but they didn't come!
I proposed to Marya, but she turned me down!
Fly away, my imprisoned dove.
Fly up as high as the clouds.
The captivity of this palace
Will give way to the springtime freedom.
Fly into the shady woods and fields,
My love.
Fly away and live there free.
And Godspeed you!
A falcors sweetheart,
get out of this high palace
and fly into the green meadow.
Fly to your beloved friend.
You'll encounter a warrior on your way,
who's wearing a ring on his finger.
Tell him that the maiden
Is grieving in her palace.
We have boundless fields
and primeval woods.
However birds know
Some secret ways in the skies.
The spring is frothing with full streams,
All snow has melted away.
Imprisoned birds, fly away
into the fields, where you're free.
You did bring on foul weather by your quacking. Bad girl!
- Who are you? - I'm Russian warrior Nikita.
Get a little closer to me, my friend.
I'm going to die soon. Thank you for coming here.
I have killed loads of foul scumbags.
There's a girl living outside town walls.
She's the most beautiful girl in the whole world.
If you encounter her, tell her I did crack her last riddle.
One should love his homeland more than his father and mother,
more than anything in the world.
Right?
Right.
Rest in peace, warrior.
I'll give the girl your message.
Hello?! Anybody here?
Marya, my sweetheart.
My bride-to be.
Why you are so sad, brave warrior?
I can't help it - we are in such big trouble.
What happened here?
Tell me what foe devastated our lands?
It is Kashchei the Immortal. He attacked our lands like a vulture.
Kashchei?!
Take a look.
- Wait! Where are you going? - To stop Kashchei.
To repay him for our mothers' tears,
for the widows' grief, for making children orphans!
- But will you find him? - Sure. I'll do my best to get him.
Listen to me, brave fellow.
Kashchei's kingdom is
in the rocky mountain, behind the iron fence.
And this iron fence goes high up as the sky.
And this mountain is at the end of the earth.
- Will you make it? - You bet.
Kashchei's strength can't be measured.
Like you can't count vipers in the swamp
or dark clouds in the overcast sky.
- Can you win over him? - Sure I can.
I know there's no braver heart in the world than the Russian heart.
But the problem is Kashchei is deathless.
His death is safely hidden away.
It's buried very deeply.
No evil scum can be immortal.
Only goodness will live forever.
But if I'm destined to die,
another Russian warrior will get this Kashchei's death.
I tested you with questions like steel is tested with fire.
Remember - homeland is the most sacred thing in this world.
It gives strength to people, living in it.
Bend down, Nikita Kozhemyaka.
Take a handful of your native soil
and fight for it.
I swear!
I will rid our land of this evil monster.
Since you were nice to the old crippled man
and talked to me,
take this hat off my head.
It will come in very handy, if you find yourself in danger.
Godspeed, warrior.
Thank you for you kind words.
Farewell, old shorty with the longest beard in the world!
If you go straight, you'll get killed.
If you turn right, you'll lose your horse.
If you turn left - you'll get killed together with your horse.
Stop!
You are crazy! Don't you know the law?
No, I don't. Why?
Since our kingdom was conquered,
we all worship the jackal's image
and pay him tax. -
- And who conquered you? - Kashchei the Immortal did.
Kashchei?!
Dismount your horse!
Come on, stranger, bow to him. It's not so hard, is it?
We hate it, too, but we still do it.
Death awaits you if you don't dismount!
My bow to all foul wolves and jackals is my red-hot arrow,
and I pay tribute to them with my damask sword.
You will never get away, Kashchei's tribe!
Follow me!
Our ruler is great and powerful.
I'm our ruler's greatjudge...
You?
No, I'm the greatjudge of our ruler,
whose Zodiac sign is Capricorn.
And now I'm going to give a quick
but nonetheless fair trial.
What's your name, Bulat the Joker?
- My name? - My name! Your name!
Oh, you mean my name! I'm Bulat the Joker.
Alright.
How old are you, Bulat the Joker?
Oh, Your Honour,
my age is equal to the number of clever thoughts in my donkey's head.
Are there many clever thoughts in your donkey's head?
Exactly one thought more than in yours.
Your donkey is not smart enough, I guess.
What can I do? He is an ass.
And my last question.
Why did you want to steal the magic carpet?
What will you do to me, if I lie?
- You'll say good-bye to your head. - And if I tell the truth?
Your head will say goodbye to you.
The price is the same, though the items for sale are different.
I tried to steal the magic carpet to get to Kashchei's kingdom.
And why did you want to go there?
I'm worried about his neck, Your Honour.
And why are you worried about it, the honourable Bulat the Joker?
My hands have been itching so long to wring it.
Come on, cut off his head, or we shall lose ours.
However, it doesn't matter for you at all.
Take the convicted one away.
Why are you pushing me?
One should enter the Heaven slowly, without any rush.
Bring him here!
Here he is! Get him!
Thank you, great warrior. You saved me from the hangmars axe.
But tell me - where are we flying?
To fight Kashchei.
If so, I will neither sleep, nor eat, nor drink.
Here's my hand.
I guess you just don't want to live any more.
Life is beautiful.
I've always loved life.
And now I love it even more.
Here's my hand, brother.
- Are you alright, Bulat the Joker? - Almost.
Look, this is Kashchei's kingdom.
His hideaway is so high up on the mountain, goddamn it!
Right, very high.
But where shall he fall?
Look.
Marya Morevna.
Wake up, my sunshine.
Open your eyes, my sweetheart.
She is not breathing.
This damned Kashchei put her to death.
Don't be so sad, brother.
We'll take vengeance on this evil monster.
Look, Kashchei.
How did you sleep, gorgeous?
What dreams did you have?
In my dreams I saw my village.
Blue rivers.
Golden fields.
Stop thinking about them!
You village has been burned down,
Your rivers are black with dirt now,
And my horses trampled all the wheat fields.
I'm the richest man in the world.
You'll be rolling in money, wallowing in wealth.
I have tons of gold, silver, velvet.
But I need neither your velvet, nor gold.
What I do need is a long rope
and a firm stiff twig!
To hang you on this twig so that you wouldn't fall down!
Don't you forget - you're looking at Kashchei the Immortal!
I'm asking for the last time - Will you marry me?
Or!
Wait.
If you brought it up, I'll confide in you.
You are too old, dear Kashchei.
What shall I do if you die soon?
Don't you worry, beautiful, I will never die. I'm deathless.
Wait. It is not time yet.
So what will you say, gorgeous?
I'm scared of you.
Don't be scared. I'm very gentle.
What?! You are gentle?! You're heartless.
Word is you don't have a heart.
Wrong. I have a heart!
Only it's safely hidden away. It's buried very deeply.
I don't believe you.
Listen to me, gorgeous.
You'll be the first
to know my big secret.
And now prick up your ears, Nikita.
I've hidden my heart in the black apple.
This black apple grows on the black tree.
And the black tree grows on the black hill.
And if a guy with a brave heart
approaches this tree,
the tree will leaf out - just one leaf will appear on it.
A flower will grow out of this leaf.
And this flower will turn into an apple.
And the one who splits this apple with bare hands
will find my heart there.
But the one who finds it
will turn to stone.
So you are not deathless, are you?
Now you believe that I have a heart, don't you?
Yes, I do.
I wish I could split this apple myself!
God damn you!
I'm the ruler of the world.
With a pillar from Earth to Heaven I can turn around the whole Universe!
But I can't turn around you, weak woman.
Right. You will never do it.
Then you'll be sleeping forever!
Wait, Bulat.
This is not time yet.
And you will wake up only after I die.
But it will never happen - I'm deathless.
Get lost, damned monster.
My dear Marya,
my bride-to be.
Nikita?!
My sweetheart.
How come you are here, for your detriment?
I came to get you out of here, my sunshine,
and after Kashchei's death.
But his death is not kept here, darling Nikita.
It's safely hidden in the faraway lands.
And those who come here, will stay here forever.
- I know it, my dear Marya. - So how will we get out of here?
I've got a cap of darkness.
We'll put it on and escape from this den.
Nikita, we are in big trouble. Get your cap. Quick.
- The cap has disappeared. - Let's run. We might escape.
- We're done. No way out of here. - Yes, there is one, but...
- Speak up. - We'll go Kashchei's way.
Where's that way? Show me.
It's shown in your ring, fair maiden.
- If we throw it... - Keep silent!
If she takes this ring off she'll fall into eternal sleep.
Good-bye, my dear Nikita. Remember your bride-to be.
What have you done, Bulat the Joker!
Don't be so sad, Nikita.
We'll destroy Kashchei.
And your sweetheart will wake up.
Hurry up, brave warrior.
Don't lose time!
Why did you come here? What do you want?
I'm here to test your evil strength.
You don't have the guts to do it.
I'll put you on my one palm and smash you dead with the other one.
Nothing but a wet spot will be left of you.
We'll see.
I am here not to listen to your tales, but to fight to the death.
My native soil, protect me!
People's strength, rise up!
And the one who splits the apple,
will find my heart in it.
But the one who finds it,
will turn to stone.
Wait, warrior! Let's play fair.
This is how all those who dare
to go against me will end up!
That's why you couldn't fly.
Fly away, pure dove! Come on!
Tell everybody that I finally found Kashchei's heart!
Say good-bye to life, dirty scum!
Give me a break, please!
There will be no break for you. You want to cheat me?
We'll take a rest when you have no more heads left!
After the thunderstorm
our Rus becomes even more beautiful.
Glory to heroism and honor!
Glory to our country!
Glory to truth! Glory to honor!
And to the good news about the victory!
Glory to Russian history!
Glory! Glory!
Glory to Russian history!
That's how ended our story about the Russian warrior Nikita Kozhemyaka,
his combat friend Bulat the Joker,
the fair maiden Marya Morevna
and the foul foe Kashchey the Immortal.
THE END