1962 ‘Человек-амфибия’ Directed by Gennadi Kazansky, Vladimir Chebotaryov
People living at a seashore town are frightened by reports of an unknown creature called "the sea devil". Nobody knows what it is, but it's really the son of doctor Salvator. The doctor performed surgery on his son and now young Ichtiander can live under water. This gives him certain advantages, but also creates a lot of problems.
Der Amphibienmensch, The Amphibian Man, O Homem Anfíbio, Чoвекът-амфибия, Amfibiomies, Meren paholainen, A kétéltű ember, Diabeł morski, Οι Ωκεανοί Είναι Δικοί μου, Ο Αμφίβιος Άνθρωπος, Людина-амфібія, Chelovek-Amfibiya, Човекът- амфибия, Člověk obojživelník, El Hombre Anfibio, L'Homme Amphibie, ადამიანი ამფიბია, 앰피비안 맨, Diabeł Morski, Homem Anfíbio, Amfibik Adam, 两栖人
Russian Federation16+
Germany
Finland
France
Argentina
USA
Germany
Argentina
Finland
France
Germany
Russian Federation
USA
Some MUSIC to accompany your sea shanty....
Swims like a crocodile
Has no need for an air hose, he breathes the water, itself.
Ri-dic-ulous disguise
a fish-boy from the Ukraine, who's pretty nice on the eyes.
But he feels so alone, he's Amphibian Man
His father told him to stay out of sight.
Was a boy now he's grown, into Amphibian Man
And he's looking for girls to excite.
She hooked his fish eyes
When she was swimming with sharks and couldn't protect herself
I-magine her surprise
A human disco ball with fins swooped in to save her life
So full of hormones, poor Amphibian Man
He's just looking for love, it's his right.
He's just lookin' to bone, horny…
"This must be love at first sight!"
"Is there any other kind of love?"
Women Film Editors #91: Lyudmila Obrazumova
Prep for revisiting The Shape of Water, obviously!
As relatively lighthearted Soviet fare goes, Amphibian Man isn't quite on the level of Jolly Fellows or Beware of the Car, but I'll say this about Vladimir Chebotaryov and Gennadiy Kazanskiy's sci-fi/fantasy-romance-adventure: it's extremely entertaining, bouncing along with Lyudmila Obrazumova's zippy editing and almost feeling like a musical without literally being one, thanks to the combination of colorful design and occasional emphasis on song and dance. What more do you need to know? Ladies go wild for an enigmatic fish, no matter the time or place.
Also, I honestly could not get…
Soviet-era creature feature from the tail end of Krushchev's tenure as leader of the country's ruling party. Made in part by Goskino, it is effectively a product of the state, but less transparently a propaganda piece and more accessible to a general audience than some other more cultrually-specific films, being the USSR's stab at the kind of B movies the US were putting out in the 50s. That's not to say it's completely free of anti-capitalist agitprop - Doktor Salvator's dream of an underwater utopia, a clean state to wipe away the decadence and venality of the past, is framed as a good thing and he himself, a visionary. In the equivalent atomic-era sci-fi from the States, he would probably…
1st Vladimir Chebotaryov, 1st Gennadi Kazansky
The Soviet Union’s answer to Creature from the Black Lagoon. Even if sometimes the underwater sequences look like they’re filmed in a tiny tank and the plot feels a bit pedestrian by the end, the directors more than make up for it with the gorgeous cinematography and music. Rich in aquatic colours (the greenest greens, the most limpid blues), Ichthyander stands out as a vision of a sparkly silver swimming costume, his eyes a slightly too intense shade of blue eyes whenever the camera focuses on his face for a closeup. Indeed, everyone here feels slightly unreal in their beauty, even the villainous pirates. Sublime music, too, a mixture of instruments and voices to…
This is an immensely winning blend of love story, science fiction and philosophical parable.
Unlike traditional science fiction movies of the time, The Amphibian Man focuses much more on the concept of love won and lost.
It’s full of mythical mood, a great scientific fantasy mixed with true portrayal of human emotions. The fantastic elements of the story are well-integrated into the period setting, coupled with exquisite colour and a haunting music score by Andrei Petrov.
The film also had strong critical account on commercial greed and exploitation of natural resources.
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This was a lot of fun, Soviet Aquaman is the superhero movie we deserve.
I love old Pulp heroes. Doc Savage, Zorro, Flash Gordon.
If The Sea Devil was on the Defenders of the Earth no one would bat an eye.
What we have here is pretty much a pulp hero movie. A low powered hero (Can breathe in water, and his time in the ocean has increased his strength and agility). An EVIL rich guy who has a woman whom he plans on marrying. He hero and woman fall in love with each other, but the evil rich guy (A pearl salesman) is gonna marry the…
Slight yet very wholesome Soviet fairy tale romance that really should be considered the original version of The Shape of Water (2017), indeed that film takes place in 1962, the year of this film's release. The titular amphibian man was a boy who at one time had to be saved by this doctor/scientist who lives in a mad undersea lair who gave him gils, which we never see, and now he can swim like a fish. He can also walk around and breathe while on land, but there's no point quibbling over the plausibility of this scenario because the film simply isn't interested. So you have this vague science fiction outline. but the plot is a classic love story, whereby…
