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To me, this movie is perfection.

That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Aleksandr Ptushko might be recognizable to western audiences from the riffing of reedited versions of his movies (e.g., "Sampo" retitled "The Day the Earth Froze") on "Mystery Science Theater 3000"). I understand that the original versions of these movies are worth seeing, not the sort of movies that MST3K would heckle. His "Alye parusa" ("Scarlet Sails" in English) is an impressive one. It's based on Aleksandr Grin's 1923 novel of the same name, and I understand that Grin's work enjoyed a renaissance under Khrushchev's thaw. The movie doesn't have the most complex story, but it's enjoyable enough for its hour and a half. One might interpret it as a look at the desire to break free of one's confines, whether Assol's peasant world or Arthur's aristocratic world.So, it's not any sort of masterpiece, but I recommend it. Probably the neatest thing about the movie is the filming locations around the Black Sea.Assol. That name has gotta make lots of English-speakers giggle.

SCARLET SAILS sounds like a normal 1961 swashbuckler but turns out to be something else entirely. It opens as a typical Russian fairy tale would, with a beautiful young woman pining for her empty life and finding herself whisked away by a dashing adventurer to go on some seabound adventure on the titular ship.The film offers the usual mix of Soviet ideals, moralising, social drama, and fantasy. The early scenes of the main character in the doldrums are quite well portrayed and contrast nicely with the more fantastic, ego-trip adventures of the latter half. The production values are fine. There's a greater emphasis on romance here than in other Russian fairy tale films I've watched, which meant that it wasn't really to my taste, but there's no denying the enthusiasm of those involved.

I've liked all that I've seen from Aleksandr Ptushko, the three films of his that have been shown on MST3K are much better than they're made out to be because the original versions are beautiful but are ruined significantly by the dubs. Scarlet Sails is one of his absolute best, if I had a top 3 I would almost certainly put it up there alongside Stone Flower and The Tale of Tsar Sultan. Like with all of Ptushko's films, it is visually stunning with photography that has a simple sweep that is kept unobtrusively and breathtaking sets and scenery that makes you wish you were in Russia. Any details seen like the ship are so well constructed also that you are convinced they're real. The music is sumptuous and has a feel of affecting romance and wondrous fantasy, it also has a very Soviet sound to it and if there was a CD of just the music I'd gladly buy it. The dialogue is noble and well-written, clearly written with heart and thought, yet it also allows for the drama and romance to speak for themselves. The story like Stone Flower is essentially a simple fairy-tale, the fairy tale elements are recognisable and have a real enchantment to them while never doing so in a complicated way, and the romantic elements are genuinely touching and don't bog the film down in any way. Emotionally Scarlet Sails is really one of Ptushko's most beautiful, mainly because the romantic elements are so well done. It also helps that the characters are so easy to identify with, and that Scarlet Sails with two outstanding lead performances is for me is the best-acted Ptushko film. In conclusion, one of Ptushko's best and a personal favourite as of now. 10/10 Bethany Cox

"The Scarlet Sails" is one of the most beautiful and romantic tales I know. The movie follows Alexander Green's novel perfectly. It presents the story about how a miracle can happen when faith and love join together. A small girl was told once that a noble prince will come for her on a ship with scarlet sails. She believed the story and kept this faith even when she grew up. She was considered strange, the town's people laughed at her and her life wasn't easy, but she managed to preserve a golden heart and pure eyes of a child. And when a brave young captain saw her, he fell in love with her and decided to fulfill her dream.This movie is for everyone who has a romantic soul and believes in miracles. It's very air is full of beauty, dream and poetry and it has a lot of Christian motives in it, though this may seem strange when speaking about a Soviet movie. But it is so, because eternal virtues that this movie is about are common for all people, whether they are Russian or not. I highly recommend "The Scarlet Sails" for family viewing and for those everlasting romantics that world would have been so dull without.Rating: 10/10