The Sword And The Dragon (1960)



“The Sword and the Dragon” (1960) is the Americanized version of the
Russian film “Ilya Murometz” (1956) released by Valiant Pictures and
presented by Joseph Harris and Sig Shore.

The Russian original, was directed by famed fantasy film maker and
animator, Aleksandr Ptushko, and was derived from Russian folklore. It was
reportedly the first Russian film made in Cinemascope and 4-channel stereo
sound.

The Americanized version was released to television in a pan and scan,
mono-only version which nonetheless is fondly remembered by American baby boomers who saw it oft-repeated on “Million Dollar Movie” in the Sixties.

Voice-over actors in the American-version include Marvin Miller and/or
Paul Frees (sources differ) and narration is by well-known news anchor,
Mike Wallace.

I far as I know, “The Sword and the Dragon” is no longer under copyright and there are at least two versions of it on Youtube, both apparently derived from
the same very poor source. Research leads me to believe there was a version here on the IA which was subsequently deleted around 2008.

This is the reconstructed pan and scan version with new opening credits.

Excellent subtitled Russian editions of many of Ptushko’s films, including
this one, are available on DVD from Ruscico/Image.

https://archive.org/details/SwordAndTheDragon

source

27 Replies to “The Sword And The Dragon (1960)”

  1. I am wondering where they got all the Mongolians , ( Turgars ) from , good authentic clothing I found the 1956 version with the ending on the thumbnails of videos.

  2. Hey, guys! Don't waste your time here. The whole 25 mins of ending was cut off. If you'd like to see the whole version, go to MOSFILM (МОСФИЛЬМ) channel and find ILIYA MUROMETS (ИЛЬЯ МУРОМЕЦ, 1956). It has GOOD ENGLISH SUBS. The movie was released in Soviet Union in 1956. And altered version was released in US in 1963 as THE SWORD AND THE DRAGON. It's about a brave hero in medieval Russia. I watch it just yesterday and love it.

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