This 1959 Soviet-Finnish co production is renowned Russia's fantasy master Alexander Ptushko take into Finland's national epic, the Kalevala. In a mythical, ancient Finlandia, the evil witch Louhi (Russia 's Anna Orochko, relishing in her over the top performance) kidnaps the sweet maiden Annikki (lovely Estonian blonde Eva Kivi) from her village in order to get her blacksmith brother Ilmarinen (Ivan Voronov) to build a magical device known as a sampo (how it works and what a sampo actually does is never told). After Ilmarinen, along with the honest, decent woodsman Lemminkainen (Andris Oshin), rescue Annikki, Louhi retaliates by stealing the sun and putting the village in a permanent state of darkness.
This was released into the USA during the 1960s in a dubbed, truncated version called "The Day the Earth Froze". To add insult to injury, in the 1990s it was mocked in the puerile, infantile TV show "MST3K". Its solemn tone, its total lack of irony, the now outdated special effects, makes it easy to mock by modern audiences. But there is considerable talent in the way director Ptushko creates a particular atmosphere, and once one suspends its disbelief, the storytelling qualities are considerable.
This was released into the USA during the 1960s in a dubbed, truncated version called "The Day the Earth Froze". To add insult to injury, in the 1990s it was mocked in the puerile, infantile TV show "MST3K". Its solemn tone, its total lack of irony, the now outdated special effects, makes it easy to mock by modern audiences. But there is considerable talent in the way director Ptushko creates a particular atmosphere, and once one suspends its disbelief, the storytelling qualities are considerable.