THE STONE FLOWER [KAMENNY TSVETOK] 1946, 83 min, 35 mm, color, restored in 1964

A long time ago in the Ural Mountains lived Danila, a masterful carver of gems. Everyone admired his art but the young master yet desired to achieve perfection in his work. Sensing a call from the Hostess of the Copper Mountain, the beautiful yet cold goddess of the underground riches of the Ural, Danila descends to her kingdom to craft a stone flower of unseen beauty. The Hostess of the Copper Mountain falls in love with Danila, and promises him all her riches should he remain in her domain forever. But Danila can’t forget Katya, his modest earthly bride. Faithful to her love, Katya finds her way into the underground kingdom. Shaken and awed by the power of their love, the Hostess of the Copper Mountain frees her prisoner out into the world of people.
Director Ptushko films his first of the colored Melyes-like faeries based on the literary folklore of the Ural Mountains. A fairytale plot becomes a reason to create unique special effects, which have entranced the imaginations of many generations of filmmakers — beginning with the jury of the First Cannes Film Festival in 1946, to Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

DIR: Alexander Ptushko
SCR: Pavel Bazhov, Ivan Keller
PROD: MOSFILM
DP: Fyodor Provorov
MUSIC: Lev Schwarz
CAST: Vladimir Druzhnikov, Tamara Makarova, Mikhail Troyanovsky, Ekaterina Derevschikova, Alexei Kelberer, Mikhail Yanshin