Publisher's Synopsis
A collection of four classic Russian films from the 1960s and '70s. 'Viy' (1967) is an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's horror story about a young theology student, Khoma Brutus (Leonid Kuravlyov), who performs a scripture reading over the body of a young woman who has died. Forced to spend three nights alone with the body, Brutus is forced to use his faith to defend himself after it is revealed that the young woman is really an emissary of the Devil, who tries to tempt Brutus with strange visions of a frightening twilight world. 'Treasure Island' (1971) is a retelling of the classic adventure tale by Robert Louis Stevenson. Aare Laanemets stars as Jim, the dashing young daydreamer who chances upon an old sea chart showing the location of a cache of lost treasure buried on an island by the notorious Captain Flint. Jim and his cohorts venture on a dangerous sea bound journey to find these ill-gotten gains - but are in for a shock as it transpires that amongst the crew are Long John Silver (Boris Andreyev) and other former members of Flint's gang. In 'Jack Frost' (1964), Nastenka (Natalya Sedykh) is treated like a slave by her evil stepmother, who sends her out into the forest to freeze to death. Before he can find Nastenka, her lover Ivan (Eduard Izotov) is turned into a bear by an evil warlock. Their only hope is the good wizard, Jack Frost (Aleksandr Khvylya), who lives deep in the wintry forest and might just be able to help them. Adapted from the classic Arabian legend, 'Aladdin's Lamp' (1966) tells the story of Aladdin, who must use his magic lamp to save himself after falling in love with a beautiful princess, when the punishment for looking upon her is death. At the same time, an evil wizard has learned of Aladdin's powers, and seeks the lamp for himself.
