Sampo: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Finland/Soviet Union, 1959
Director: Aleksandr Ptushko
Writers: Viktor Vitkovich, Grigori Yagdfeld, Väinö Kaukonen
Cast: Urho Somersalmi, Anna Orochko, Ivan Voronov, Andris Osins, Ada Voytsik, Eve Kivi, Georgiy Millyar, Mikhail Troyanovskiy

Release Date: September 16th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 16 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Finnish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Based on the Finnish national epic “Kalevala,” Ptushko’s ravishing, mystical fantasy tells the story of a sinister witch, Louhi (Anna Orochko) who covets the Sampo, a magical, rainbow-colored mill that can produce endless salt, grain, and gold. When the hero Lemminkäinen (Andris Oshin) attempts to stop her, Louhi literally steals the sun, plunging the world into eternal darkness." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Sampo has been beautifully restored in 4K by KAVI—the Finnish National Audiovisual Institute—for its first-ever release in its original Finnish-language version by Deaf Crocodile."

Sampo comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.3 GB

Feature: 24.7 GB

The source is in excellent shape; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 5/5 

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Finnish with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 32 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Finnish with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax, hosted by comic book artist Bob Fingerman, and Deaf Crocodile’s Dennis Bartok (71 minutes 39 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with film historian Steve Bissette, and a 32-page booklet with a text piece titled Remembering Film Scholar Alan Upchurch written by Dennis Bartok, a reprint of Alan Upchurch’s article titled Russian Fantastika Part Two that originally appeared in Video Watchdog, archival images, cast & crew information, a synopsis and production notes, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Sampo was directed by Aleksandr Ptushko, who's been referred to as the Soviet Ray Harryhausen because of his work in special effects, notably stop-motion animation. Notable films he directed are Ilya Muromets, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, and Ruslan and Ludmila. Sampo is one of three films he directed that received U.S. release, albeit in truncated and dubbed-into-English versions that greatly altered them. Sampo was released in the U.S. under the title The Day the Earth Froze; this version removes around 24 minutes and has alternate opening credits with English-language titles.

Sampo is based on Kalevala, an epic collection of poetry published in the 19th century. The protagonists and antagonists in Kalevala battle over a wealth-making machine called a Sampo. A key inspiration of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion is Kalevala. Sampo was a Soviet/Finnish co-production in which each scene was shot four times using multiple cameras, since it was produced for Russian and Finnish audiences and dubbed into each language.

An evil witch forces a blacksmith to make her a Sampo, a magical device that creates an abundance of salt, grain, and gold, by kidnapping his sister.

Sampo’s meticulously constructed narrative does a superb job drawing you in and holding your attention. It is a film overflowing with imagination, wondrous sights, and mythical creatures. The narrative is filled with surprises and effectively builds toward an epic finale where good confronts evil.

Sampo’s production design creates a stark difference between moments that are based in reality and fantasy. Most of the film takes place in the case of the latter, artificial landscapes that heighten the mood. That said, the production design is exemplary; its attention to detail is amazing.

Sampo’s most endurable asset is its Ray Harryhausen-like special effects, which bring things alive, creating an utterly tangible world. Sampo is beautifully photographed, filled with exquisite landscapes, which take full advantage of the 2.35:1 scope frame. That said, watching Sampo in Finnish instead of English is an eye-opener, especially clear when it comes to the performances. Ultimately, Sampo is one of the high-water marks of Soviet fantasy cinema.

Sampo gets an excellent release from Deaf Crocodile that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer