Bea Swanson
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Clarissa Mora
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Jenna Walter
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
asimov13647
My only exposure to Sampo (aka The Day the Earth Froze) comes by way of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I have an extensive collection of MST3K movies (almost 200) and of those the Russo-Finnish movies (Sampo, The Sword and Dragon, Jack Frost, et al) are among my favorites. They lend themselves to Mystification but are entertaining and, (dare I say it?) absorbing in and of themselves. They contain a quaint charm and stark moral values and despite their quirkiness, are entertaining. In a day and age in which we find serial killer 'good guys' and ambiguous moral lessons the old Russo-Finnish fairy tales are the preferred entertainment for this century's jaded child. This review is not about The Day the Earth Froze SPECIFICALLY but is merely a comment on the simple moral tales of the good-old-days. R.I.P.
bill-1056
To answer the previous reviewer, as far as I know this film is not "officially" available on DVD, though you can get it from a source or two I know; the catch is its not going to the plain film. This and two other films by Aleksandr Ptushko have been goofed on by the MST3K team (Ep. 422 for The Day the Earth Froze, the other two I'm not sure) headed by Joel Hodgeson and the other original cast members. To each his own, but even as a fantastic epic its, well, I don't think this film did very well in its American release. This film is much better as a gag piece for the MST3K team. Eve Kivi (Vallatud Kurvid), the actress who played Annikki, was a beautiful woman at the time this film was produced, I happened upon this site searching her name on the net to see what became of her. A Sampo, btw, is a Finnish version of our Horn of Plenty myth, except it also supplies gold, not just food.
Raymond Tucker
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!"
Apearlo
Beautifully photographed Russo-Finnish goofiness about a witch who freezes the Earth after townsfolk steal her beloved Sampo. The question on most viewers' minds is, what the hell is Sampo? Oh, well. Make sure you see the MSTied version for the full goofy effect.
