The famous Soviet director, who presented the country with the best adaptations of Russian folklore, folk tales in literary editing, Alexander Rowe, tried to convey to the audience not only the content, but also the “good fellows good lesson”, spirituality of the tale, moral traditions and the spirit of his native country.
One of the most successful
His works are imbued with enthusiasm, optimism, poetry, humor and mischief, an indispensable element of any film adaptation is the abundance of banging music. There are a lot of unusual characters in Rowe's films, whose roles are sometimes played by the same actors. “Frost” is one of the most successful and beloved by the creator of movie tales. The picture brought the director of the Grand Prix of the Venice International Film Festival and the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
How many viewers - so many opinions
Two years after the release of the tape was presented to the American audience. US viewers did not appreciate the movie story, most likely due to the difference in mentality and cultural traditions. Most Americans who saw the picture unanimously made Rowe's masterpiece a list of the worst films of all time. It was not given to them to understand all the beauty and poetry of the film - this is the explanation of the actors involved in the project who tolerated criticism of the overseas audience. "Frost" still found one ardent supporter in the United States, it turned out to be Steven Spielberg. The reference director called the film Rowe the forerunner of many Dream Factory movie masterpieces.
But in the Czech Republic, the picture gained a cult status, for the Czechs this work of Row was a mandatory and traditional winter hit for several decades. Everyone, old and young, knew who Morozko was. Actors and roles have gained international recognition and fame. Actress Inna Churikova, who performed the role of Marfushi, at the insistence of the public of the country, was awarded an honorary award - the Masaryk silver medal.
Female lead
The fairy tale "Frost", whose actors were selected by A. Rowe himself, became a star film for all the leading performers. The director not only independently recruited an acting team, but also in the process of casting, and after filming did not spare either experienced masters of the stage or inexperienced debutants.
The happiest ticket of all the debutants went to Natalya Sedykh, who played the role of the main character - Nastya. At that time, while the production assistants were looking for a young girl with a little doll face and a clean, naive look, the director spotted the future host on TV in the figure skating broadcast. Despite the fact that many famous and experienced actresses were tried on the role, Rowe preferred Sedykh.
A young inexperienced girl sincerely fell in love with her partner actor Eduard Izotov, the performer of the role of Ivan. The whole crew was imbued with understanding for the situation: both the attendants and the actors. “Frost” did not become the cradle of a strong mutual feeling. Izotov by that time was a professional artist and older than Natalia for as much as 15 years.
Yaga with experience and Marfushenka
“Frost” is a film whose actors all fell under the spell of the performer of the role of Baba Yaga Georgy Millar. The evil old woman was excellent at the actor, evolving from fairy tale to fairy tale. But he had a problem, he drank alcohol almost daily. Rowe was terribly angry at him because of this, but could not do anything with his favorite. Once Miller literally saved the picture from death. He was the only one in the room where the footage was lying, at the moment when there was a breakthrough in the pipe. The actor immediately rushed into the icy water and took out the film.
Two actresses claimed the role of Marfushenka-darling, or rather, one full-fledged - experienced by prima Prima Tamara Nosova and the second - student Inna Churikova, for whom filming in the movie was to be her debut. The unbalanced Churikova, without a shadow of doubt, complied with all the requirements of the discerning director - she climbed without hesitation into a dirty pond teeming with leeches, gnawing nuts without sparing her teeth, so Rowe chose her. Many of the participants in the filming process did not understand the choice of director, especially the more experienced actors.
“Frost”: life after the premiere
The premiere of the tape was deafeningly successful. Across all blue screens, the fairy tale "Frost" marched triumphantly. The actors in the morning woke up famous. But despite a successful start, an acting career did not work out for either Sedykh or Izotov.
Due to the vicissitudes of fate, Izotov was arrested and sent to prison for three years with confiscation of property. In Soviet times, it was not customary to discuss such sensitive issues, and the viewer did not know that the hero of their favorite tales suffered six strokes and died in a clinic for the mentally ill.
Natalya Sedykh voluntarily decided to leave the cinema and fully devote herself to ballet. After her ballet career ended, the actress-ballerina tried to return to the cinema, but all her roles turned out to be passing, did not bring the actress any former glory or praise from critics.