Amphibian Man (film)
Encyclopedia
Amphibian Man is a 1962 Soviet
science fiction
romance film
starring Vladimir Korenev and Directed by Vladimir Chebotaryov
and Gennadi Kazansky.
It is an almost fable-like story based upon the eponymous novel
by Alexander Beliaev
. It focuses on a boy named Ichtyandr who was surgically altered to survive under the sea. Unlike traditional science fiction movies of the time the film focuses much more on the concept of love won and lost. It was given the name of Tarzan
des Mers before the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs
took exception.
The film was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1962 (65.5 million viewers). It is little-known in the West, but has become a cult classic.
The protagonist is the son of a doctor/scientist who was sometime in the past forced to save his son's life by implanting him with gills. Thus he is able to live under water, but must keep his secret from the world.
The conflict arises from his falling in love with a pearl-fisher's beautiful daughter. His secret is discovered and the girl's stern father attempts to exploit Ichtyandr for his ability.
Due to being kept caged under water, he loses the ability to live in the open air, and must now permanently live in the sea. Although set free, the lovers are permanently parted from each other.
Although ostensibly a lost-love-tragedy like Romeo and Juliet
, the film has a significant focus on greed and commercial exploitation (of the pearl-greedy fishermen), possibly under the influence of Socialist Realism
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
starring Vladimir Korenev and Directed by Vladimir Chebotaryov
Vladimir Chebotaryov
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Chebotaryov is a Soviet film and television actor and a People's Artist of the USSR , an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Filmography :* Amphibian Man...
and Gennadi Kazansky.
It is an almost fable-like story based upon the eponymous novel
Amphibian Man
Amphibian Man is perhaps the best-known novel by Alexander Beliaev, a Soviet Russian science fiction writer. It was published in 1928.The book tells a story of a young man named Ichtiandr who as a child received a life-saving transplant - a set of shark gills...
by Alexander Beliaev
Alexander Beliaev
Alexander Romanovich Belyayev was a Russian and Soviet author of science fiction. His body of work from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Soviet science fiction...
. It focuses on a boy named Ichtyandr who was surgically altered to survive under the sea. Unlike traditional science fiction movies of the time the film focuses much more on the concept of love won and lost. It was given the name of Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
des Mers before the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
took exception.
The film was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1962 (65.5 million viewers). It is little-known in the West, but has become a cult classic.
Plot
The story is set in a seaside port, largely among a community of pearl fishers.The protagonist is the son of a doctor/scientist who was sometime in the past forced to save his son's life by implanting him with gills. Thus he is able to live under water, but must keep his secret from the world.
The conflict arises from his falling in love with a pearl-fisher's beautiful daughter. His secret is discovered and the girl's stern father attempts to exploit Ichtyandr for his ability.
Due to being kept caged under water, he loses the ability to live in the open air, and must now permanently live in the sea. Although set free, the lovers are permanently parted from each other.
Although ostensibly a lost-love-tragedy like Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, the film has a significant focus on greed and commercial exploitation (of the pearl-greedy fishermen), possibly under the influence of Socialist Realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Vladimir Korenev | Ichtyandr Salvator |
| Anastasiya Vertinskaya Anastasiya Vertinskaya Anastasiya Alexandrovna Vertinskaya , a Soviet and Russian actress whose mass popularity and high critical acclaim made her one of the most distinguished figures in the history of the 20th century Soviet cinema... |
Gutiere Baltazar |
| Mikhail Kozakov Mikhail Kozakov Mikhail Mikhailovich Kozakov was a Russian-Israeli film and theatre director and actor.- References :... |
Pedro Zurita |
| Anatoli Smiranin | Old Baltazar |
| Nikolai Simonov Nikolai Simonov Nikolai Simonov was a Soviet film and stage actor.-Early life and education:Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russia. From 1917–1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919–1923 he studied art at the Imperial Academy of Arts... |
Prof. Salvator |
| Vladlen Davydov | Olsen, the reporter |
| A. Antonyan | |
| Anatoli Ivanov | |
| Valeri Kudryashov | |
| Nikolai Kuzmin Nikolai Kuzmin Nikolai Nikolayevich Kuzmin was a Soviet political and military leader. He was the political Commisar of the Baltic Fleet during the time of the Russian Civil War.... |
|
| Mikhail Medvedev | |
| Yuri Medvedev | |
| A. Nikritina | |
| A. Orlik | |
| A. Shaginyan | |
| Georgi Tusuzov | |
| Aleksandr Zakharov |