The Day the Earth Froze

This Soviet-Finnish co-production was condemned by Finnish critics and other nationalists even before it was made, on the grounds that only Finns could and should ever make a film about the Kalevala. When it was released, their reviews mainly listed things about it that were "un-Finnish". This was most unfair - visually "Sampo" is far more impressive than anything Finnish film-makers could have achieved at the time with their meagre resources. They haven't achieved anything comparable later either.

The digitally restored 2014 Finnish-language version is a pleasure to watch, but torment to hear because of the poorly dubbed verse dialogue and Igor Morozov's totally boring music. I would like to see the Russian-language version, which is probably better - hopefully the dialogue is not in verse. The butchered American version should be ignored.

Finns have some problem with fantasy films. There are hardly any, and few that do exist are usually crappy. Even today most new movies are set in everyday reality. That's boring! I can't understand how our country that makes a lot of heavy metal music fails so hard in making cool movies.

Sampo has great source material - the national epic Kalevala. But even with great material like that the movie didn't happen until a Russian director grabbed the project. I've heard it caused controversy that a very Finnish theme was used by foreign filmmakers but I'm glad somebody - anybody - dared to make the movie in the first place.

The movie takes some liberties and is a bit disappointing if you know the Kalevala tales. But it's still a cool movie. It's visually stunning, many of the scenes are such pieces of art that I'd put them on my wall as still images. Not a perfect film by any means but definitely better than average Finnish movie.

Finns wake up now, grab your swords and grow your Väinämöinen-beards. This is what movies are about!

I can only remember seeing this movie once, back in my schooldays in the early 70's. The tile being "The Day the Earth Froze". What most comes to mind was the fantastic atmosphere it had, very dark, gloomy almost surreal. It was about a Sampo (as far as I could make out or remember, it was a machine for making either money or gold). Everyone in the movie seemed old, dirty and poor. I think it was their quest to find the sampo or retrieve it or something like that. I would love to know if the movie ever made it to video.

Like with Sadko/The Magic Voyage of Sinbad and Ilya Muromets/The Sword and the Dragon, Sampo (or The Day the Earth Froze for its American version) is an Aleksandr Ptushko film spoilt by bad dubbing that wasn't even necessary in the first place. The American version is incoherent and unbearably goofy, but the original Soviet-Finnish film is just lovely and it is this version that I'll be talking about now. Maybe the dialogue doesn't always flow and the middle's pacing is on the stoic side. However, it is a beautiful-looking film, the costumes and sets are in equal measure beautiful and eerie, the film is nicely shot with techniques that scream of Ptushko(and in a good way) and the special effects are simple but awe-inspriring and some are wonderfully weird. The music score positively sweeps, with the fantasy-adventure themes and folk-song-like melodies wholly appropriate. The story is also simple, but coherent and mostly attention-grabbing, giving us time to breathe and admire everything. While the tone is on the most part suitably eerie and profound, there are also some nice oddball touches that don't feel out of place(if there was anything at all like that it certainly wasn't as bad as it was in its American version). The characters are very like the characters that you'll find in a fantasy/fairy-tale and they are engaging. There seems to be a mixed reception on the Witch here, depends on the version seen I think, she is irritating in the dub but in Ptushko's original she is very sinister. The acting is solid and fitting for their characters. All in all, a lovely film but sadly it has a really bad dub that because of MST3K more people will be familiar with. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Directed by Russian fantasy film maker Alexander Ptushko, so you can count on striking visuals and lots of in-camera effects (lots of dissolves, split screens etc.) Despite cheesy dubbing this film still holds much of its fantastical charm. It has a look similar to German expressionist works like Fritz Lang's 'Siegfried' or Murnau's 'Faust'. It also strikes me as possibly inspirational to Guy Madden's films such as 'Tales of the Gimli Hospital' or 'Careful'. (Its antiquated appearance is only enhanced by the poor faded color present in the prints I've seen. Definitely worthy of a Ruscico DVD restoration/release) After watching my non MST3K'O'd copy, I just can't get that crazy harp theme from the film's climax out of my head. One of the most persistent tunes since "In Heaven" from Eraserhead. "SAMPO...SAMPO...SAMPO!"