Product Description

Based on popular Russian fairy tales, Father Frost is a beautifully costumed musical about Nastenka, a sweet girl who lives with her wicked stepmother and is forced to do all the work of the house. Nastenka falls in love with Ivan, a fine young man from the village who is turned into a bear, while Nastenka is sent to the woods to freeze by her stepmother. Will the two young lovers ever reunite? Only the good wizard Father Frost can make it possible.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12696 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-16
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: Russian, English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Russian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 84 minutes

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Russian Heathen Folk Tale!
For some reason this film is distributed under the misnamed title "Jack Frost". It is actually "Morozko", a beloved folktale from Russia's pre-Christian past. This typically convoluted tale provided the origens of many stories [more recognizable to Westerners] in Grimm's fairytale collection. It is necessary to remember that this movie was made for very young children, and is intentionally simplistic. Its "good" characters are very sweet and pretty, its "bad" ones are very unpleasant and ugly, and its moral lessons very clear for little viewers. Keeping that in mind, parents and other adults can enjoy its gorgeous settings (snow, troikas, little heathen villages, Sacred Birches), its traditional folk costumes, charming pagan story, and magical characters like mushroom sorcerer and troll bandits. Too bad the dubbed English translation is so poor! Of course the "hunchbacked fairy" is actually the witch Baba Yaga, whose cat-familiar carries out her deranged commands, and whose enchanted hut stalks about on its huge chicken-legs. "Jack" Frost is actually Grandfather Frost, in pagan times the rather fearsome Slavic god of winter, and more recently a kindly "Father Christmas". Yes, this film does tell "quite a lot about Russians" -- as you watch, recall that this colorful, whimsical, little romp delighted families during "humorless" Soviet times in the so-called "Evil Empire"... I am certain the MST3K version of this film is absolutely hilarious! But to tell the truth, "Morozko" spoofs itself and is funny enough on its own -- even without the running commentary of Crowww and comrades.

Beautiful, enchanting, precious, and fun
A wonderful movie for both adults and children. Laughs and maybe some tears. Some tech details left off Amazon's page: languages: Russian, also dubbed English and French; subtitles: Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian, and Japanese. Remixed to Dolby 5.1 (variable quality, sometimes electronically reprossed for stereo, some mono); full screen; 84 minutes; among the extras: an interview with the grown-up lead actress (what a change!). There are two versions: one with the title MOPO3KO on the cover playable in all regions (my copy), and this one. The first you can find in Russian stores. If you're learning Russian, this is probably beyond second year, but you can follow the subtitles. Very good picture quality. Totally enjoyable. Now one of my all-time favorites. Buy it!

beautiful film
I'm really pleased that this is on DVD and that so many other reviewers share my feelings about this film. First of all, this is a fine movie for children to watch, unlike the garbage released today. But for older viewers this movie is all the more amazing. To put it lightly, this is a tripped out tour de force of talking mushrooms, huts on fowls legs, man-bear transformations, and a man with a very bad haircut. The most amazing thing about this film is that something completely bizzare happens in every scene. Example: when the hero finds his future wife(sorry I'm not even going to bother trying to transcribe the names) she is watering a dead tree stump, "so that it will sprout flowers." Later when he is turned into a bear(!) the flowers grow and reassure her that he is alright. I wish I could write stuff like this. The special effects are horrible, but would you want it any other way? I would recommend this film to any parent who wants an imaginative and clean film for their child, and those who enjoy classic/obscure/budget cinema.