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Cult Cinema: The Sannikov Land (1973) - Reviewed
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| Courtesy of Mosfilm |
Though no trace of land was ever actually found, that didn’t
stop Russian geologist and sci-fi novelist Vladimir Obruchev from turning the
story into a work of fiction in 1926.
Though Frank Capra’s 1937 film of Lost Horizon came decades
before Russia and Mosfilm conceptualized the idea of adapting The Sannikov
Land, in 1973 it was Russia’s turn to tell the tale of remote fantasy lands
hidden right under our noses. Working
from a script by Mark Zakharov and Vladislav Fedoseev, the ensemble adventure
epic which like Lost Horizon before it depicts a wintry arctic land with
a warm and idyllic hidden interior was a huge hit in Russian cinemas but
remains under the radar of domestic moviegoers.
Exiled settler Alexander Ilyin (Vladislav Dvorzhetsky) is on
a secret mission to try and enlist gold mine owner Trifon Perfilyev (Nikolai
Gritsenko) into joining forces to sponsor an expedition into the artic circle
in search of the fabled Sannikov Land which promises warm land hidden
behind the polar ice caps. Keen on the
prospect of discovering gold there, Trion agrees and soon a few others join the
entourage including officer Evgeny Krestovsky (Oleg Dahl) and escaped prisoner
Gubin (Yuriy Nazarov). Though
treacherous and below freezing temperatures the expedition crew does in fact
discover the fabled Sannikov Land but their newfound utopian existence
is about to change when they happen upon the native Onkilon tribe and its power
hungry shaman (Makhmud Esambayev) who aren’t thrilled about the arrival of
their new guests.
An action-adventure epic infused with science-fiction
elements echoing Frank Capra’s fantasy film about a perfect land hidden behind
the arctic with a cult-like society living in it, The Sannikov Land is a
big and beautiful widescreen epic made at the height of Sovscope 70mm
filmmaking. Lensed handsomely in 65mm by
At the Dawn of Our Youthful Years cinematographer Mikhail Koroptsov, the
Sovscope 70 camera captures the arctic terrain, warm and watery mountains and
even some marvelous set pieces involving a clock tower with ornate
finesse. Then there’s the playful almost
keyboard score by longtime Leonid Gaidai composer Aleksandr Zatsepin, a man who
was no stranger to mixing elements of comedy with the action-adventure
film. All in all, the flavor of this
film is one of excitement, enchantment and eventually perilous action movie
thrills.
Of course the ensemble piece wouldn’t be what it is without
the fine contributions of its gifted cast with the bearded Vladislav Dvorzhetsky
making Ilyin into a stoic but classy hero, Nikolai Gritsenko making Trifon into
a cocky go-getter and most notably Makhmud Esambayev a native shaman that will
conjure up comparisons to Henry Brandon or Ricardo Montalbán in terms of
physical appearance and intimidation. The
film requires a wealth of physical acting from the cast members, particularly
when it shifts into a survival of the elements picture and everyone rises to
the occasion when called upon.
In addition to becoming a hit at Soviet box offices, watched
by some forty-one million viewers in 1973, the film prominently featured two
original songs penned by composer Zatsepin and Leonid Derbenyov and sung by
Oleg Anofriyev, There’s Just a Moment and All Has Been, which
went on to become pop cultural hits that lived long outside of the movie’s lifespan. Seen now, even for Mosfilm who have taken
great pains to restore their back catalog including but not limited to airing
Sovscope 70mm films in 4K resolution, The Sannikov Land still curiously
remains under the radar as Mosfilm.
Whatever the case, it makes a great companion piece to Lost Horizon and
as such proves there was more to assistant director Albert S. Mkrtchyan than
scaring the Hell out of Russian filmgoers.
--Andrew Kotwicki
