A sad tale about how it is hard to be a snake A young soldier Jean walked from the next war and wandered into a dense forest, here in a small hut he met a good girl Jeanette, whom the serviceman immediately liked, Jeanette warned him: Don't go into the woods, it's dangerous! But Jean disobeyed and went. In the woods in a dark castle, he found the enchanted Princess-Snake she begged to split her, promised that she would become his wife, and he Jean - king. But as soon as Jean, not without difficulty, split her beauty and the trail froze.
For some reason, the editorial board for children and young people of Central Television almost did not produce fabulous TV shows, preferring all sorts of interactive shows (like Merry Starts, Well, Girls!, etc.), and it is a pity, "Soldier and Snake" shows that the potential was, and funding is richer than on the poor Leningrad TV, the main generator of TV stories in the USSR.
The play based on the script by Tamara Gabbe is based on the fairy tale of the French writer Charles Dewlin. The timing of the TV show is like the film 1 hour 20 minutes, which is somewhat hanging viscous rhythm for the child is difficult to sit. The overall level of production is quite high: realistic scenery and costumes, in the design a constant reference to the old masters (the images are built into paintings by Bruegel, Uccello and other artists), cute sad music with songs, there are special effects (giant spiders, a princess emerging from the flames, etc.), and sword fights. Good actors were selected, although Peter Fedorov is a simpleton Jean, did not make a special impression, the star of the fairy tale certainly Elena Prudnikov in the role of the insidious Princess Ludovina. Fragile fair-skinned brunette Prudnikova looks great as a princess. The actress played very nicely, such her heroine is changeable, a little on the verge of a nervous breakdown, then quiet, then how she will scream, how she will laugh, how she will raise her hands - Uh! She was very gothic black dresses and a little cap. Although her heroine was “bad”, but pity her at the end of the fairy tale; sitting humiliated pours combustible tears, we always bent with teachings, ugly somehow turned out, the princess still. The virtuous Jeanette was played by Olga Sirina and also looked good, such a cute, lush-breasted blonde with an innocent face (and what else was needed by this villager Jean!), but also her heroine the whole performance in tears. In general, with the autumn mood, sadness and sadness, they overdo it, and there are also sad songs performed by Oleg Vavilov, who appears here and there in the form of a silent narrator, somehow his character remained not quite clear. In the small roles of the parents of the Princess Queen and the King, you can see Vera Vasiliev and Nikolai Volkov Jr., played well. How organic actors look in costumes under the 17th century, especially remembered the unusual headdress of the Queen.
Ironically, in the same 1982 and according to the same fairy tale, Charles Deulin was filmed a television play "Vojacek a draci princezna" on Czechoslovak television. And if Muscovites in minor, but Czechs in full major. The Czech version is full of piquant humor, movement, courage, well, Libushe Shafrankova (the legendary Cinderella from “Three Nuts for Cinderella”) just lights up in a double role – an insidious, seductive Princess and a kind girl helping a soldier. And how elegantly the Czechs beat the intrigue with horns, this must be seen! In a word, all fans of the fairy-tale genre I recommend both TV performances, two more different versions of the same story can not be found.