
Aleksandr Rou
Directing
Biography
Aleksandr Rou is widely remembered as the “Soviet Walt Disney,” a filmmaker whose fairy-tale movies became cultural touchstones across the Eastern Bloc. Specializing in magical adventures drawn from Russian folklore, Rou crafted films filled with enchanted forests, witches and heroes. His imaginative style, blending folkloric tradition with cinematic spectacle, made him one of the most successful directors in Soviet popular cinema. Beloved by children and adults alike, his works defined the genre of Soviet fairy-tale film and were celebrated throughout the USSR and beyond. Even decades later, Rou’s films remain classics, often rewatched and cherished for their unique mix of fantasy, humor, and cultural heritage.
Known For

Larisa Ogudalova, unlike her sisters, refuses to obey her mother's wish that she marry a wealthy old man in order to collect a dowry
Without Dowry

A fairy tale about a conceited young man and a young woman with a tyrannical step-mother, who must overcome magical trials in order to be together.
Father Frost

Lyuba, a daughter of King of Chess is kidnapped by playing Cards... Young Vanya and his best friend - Puss in the boots - are trying to rescue Lyuba.
New Adventures of Puss in Boots

Alice-type Soviet girl, named Olya meets her counterpart Yalo, while looking into the mirror. Yalo is an absolute antipode to Olya, for example where Olya is precise and neat, Yalo is absent-minded, careless, etc. The explicit plot relates to Olya learning to see herself differently, but this occurs through an experience in the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors which serves as a mechanism for commenting on the ability of a society to manufacture a false reality. Based on a story with the same name by Vitali Gubarev.
Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors

A beautiful maiden, Marya Morevna, gives her prospective husband, the mighty warrior Nikita Kozhemyaka, three riddles to solve before she'll marry him. Before he can tell her the answers, the Russian land is invaded by the armies of Kashchei the Immortal, in whose footsteps death and destruction follow. Marya is abducted by Kashchei, and Nikita finds his home in ashes. Nikita meets a kindly wizard who gives him a cap of darkness. With it, the hero will find a way to save his bride and rout Kashchei.
Kashchey the Immortal

No description available.
Our Cinema

A modern take on an old folk tale. The musical retains the characters and motifs of the well-known tale by Alexander Rowe, but adds new plot collisions and characters.
Father Frost

Russian folk tale about a father whose three sons go out to finds themselves brides. Two of the boys come home with perfectly normal girls, but the youngest brother, Ivanushka, brings home a frog from the marshes. His father finds this most curious, but what he does not know was that the frog was actually a beautiful girl named Vasilisa who was cursed by a magical serpent whom she refused to marry. Now Ivanushka must overcome tremendous obstacles to restore Vasilisa to her true form and free her from the serpent's spell.
Vassilisa the Beautiful

Surreal Soviet fantasy movie about a man whose love is kidnapped by the Tsar and he must save her with the help of a humpbacked horse.
The Humpbacked Horse

The story that happened on the farm near Dikanka on the night before Christmas, when the village blacksmith Vakula, having saddled the Devil, brought to his beloved Oksana, the daughter of a rich Cossack Chub, queen's "сherevichki"(the little women shoes) from the capital — St. Petersburg.
Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka

The inveterate fisherman Karp Trofimovich has his birthday during competition of fishermen so his nephew clings a huge pike to the uncle's hook .
Precious Gift

One day, King Yeremei decides to go on a long hike in order to consider all his areas and compile their register. A well appears on his way home, but as soon as the sovereign bent over him, he was seized by the underwater king Chudo-Yudo and demanded an unusual ransom for his release — that which is in the state of Yeremei, but which he does not know about. The tsar is forced to agree to these conditions, because he thinks that each blade of grass was taken into account in the inventory — he still does not suspect that in his absence the Queen gave birth to him an heir.
Barbara the Fair with the Silken Hair

An old soldier helps a young boy find his mother, who's been kidnapped to the magical underwater kingdom in a remote Russian lake.
Maria, the Wonderful Weaver

The son of an obstinate mayor cannot get his father's consent to wed the beautiful Hanna. He receives unexpected assistance from evil, mysterious forces – Satan, witches, and rusalki – who work together to bring the couple happiness, bringing mayhem and celebration.
May Night, or the Drowned Maiden

This fairy tale film is dedicated to the memory of the great film director Aleksandr Rou, the founder of the genre. Once upon a time there lived a brave and kind hero named Finist the Bright Falcon. He was famous for his strength, courage and a heart of gold. But one day the Russian land was attacked by an evil enemy, Kartaus, who turned our hero into a forest monster. This spell was cast on a condition that Finist might become a man again, should a beautiful girl, Alyonushka, fall in love with him while he was a beast.
Finest, the Brave Falcon

Fairytale about heroic Vasya and beautiful Alenushka.
Through Fire, Water and... Brass Pipes

A long time ago a splendid deer with golden antlers lived in the woods, always protecting the poor and weak and disdaining evil. In a little village nearby the woods widow Yevdokya lived with her twin daughters Mashenka and Dashenka, her son and her old father. One day the girls observe robbers hunting the deer. Shortly after they are lured into the woods by forest spirits. Infuriated about their presence, witch Baba Yaga turns them into fawns. Meanwhile, Yevdokya searches for her daughters. For protecting the deer of robbers she gets a magical ring to protect her from danger. The deer advises her to set off to the red sun or the clear moon. But both cannot reach the magic woods with their light. Finally, the boy accompanied by his cat goes in search for sisters and mother.
Golden Horns

Adapted from four different Russian folk-tales, this early Soviet fantasy film tells the story of Emelya the Fool, who, fishing one day, catches a talking pike who pleads for his life and in return grants Emelya wishes for a life spared.
Wish Upon a Pike

A group of children gets into a dangerous adventure while trying to help the adults to supply water for the village. At any rate, they are courageous and won't give up.
The Secret of the Mountain Lake

Two young boys strive to save the life of an officer trapped by the White Russians. Their efforts are both comic and dramatic