Ilya Muromets

Anyone who remembers East German classic The Singing, Ringing Tree will revel in this glorious folktale from Mosfilm. It chronicles the deeds of farmer's son Boris Andreyev, who is miraculously delivered from lifelong paralysis to help the Prince of Kiev repel the Tartar hordes. Director Aleksandr Ptushko had a gift for capturing the young imagination, but he was also a master of spectacle, whose genius for devising enchanting effects is readily evident in this first Russian widescreen venture. His use of stop-motion animation is also inspired, as are his monsters - the wind demon, Nightingale the Robber, and the fire-breathing, three-headed dragon.