A Very Old Story
Старая, старая сказка
Synopsis
Based on the famous fairytale "The Tinderbox" by Hans Christian Andersen. The main character of the film is a puppeteer who lives in a poor and gray world. He composes a fairy tale in which he himself, in the guise of a brave soldier, finds a flint and is helped by a kind wizard. The soldier falls in love with a spoiled, capricious princess who, as befits a princess, poses riddles to her numerous suitors. Her father, the king, is eager to see the soldier as her husband, as he believes the soldier has a great deal of gold. In the fairy tale, everything ends well, but in real life, not so much. "But life is not a fairy tale," his beloved girl says to him as she bids him farewell.
Top Cast
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Oleg Dal
Soldier / Puppet master
Marina Neyolova
Princess / innkeeper's daughter
Vladimir Etush
King / Innkeeper
Georgiy Vitsin
good wizard
Vera Titova
witch / davil's grandmother
Viktor Perevalov
Prince-chimney sweep
Georgiy Shtil
Eastern Prince
Anatoly Korolkevich
doorman
Georgi Georgiu
"thick"
Lev Lemke
"thin"
Igor Dmitriev
Boris Lyoskin
Anatoli Abramov
contender for groom
Oleg Belov
Tatyana Gorlova
Kirill Gun
Vladimir Karpenko
Vladimir Kostin
Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Nadezhda Kosheverova
- Screenplay & Story
- Valeri Frid, Yuli Dunsky
- Original Score
- Andrey Petrov
- Original Title
- Старая, старая сказка
- Country of Origin
- Soviet Union
- Spoken Languages
- Russian
- Runtime
- 1h 30m
- Production Studios
- Lenfilm
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Nadezhda Kosheverova
Valeri Frid, Yuli Dunsky, Hans Christian Andersen, Aleksandr Galich, Aleksandr Bessmertniy
Andrey Petrov
Konstantin Ryzhov
Valentina Mironova
Semyon Goloshchyokin
Department Leadership Roster
Nadezhda Kosheverova
Director
Konstantin Ryzhov
Director of Photography
Marina Azizyan
Production Design
Igor Vuskovich
Production Design
Andrey Petrov
Original Music Composer
Valentina Mironova
Editor
Marina Azizyan
Costume Design
Valeri Frid
Screenplay
Yuli Dunsky
Screenplay
Production Stills & Gallery
Official cinematic photography and background stills for A Very Old Story.
Featured In Curated Collections
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Soviet Movies With English Subtitles
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Frequently Asked Questions About A Very Old Story
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is A Very Old Story about?
Based on the famous fairytale "The Tinderbox" by Hans Christian Andersen. The main character of the film is a puppeteer who lives in a poor and gray world. He composes a fairy tale in which he himself, in the guise of a brave soldier, finds a flint and is helped by a kind wizard. The soldier falls in love with a spoiled, capricious princess who, as befits a princess, poses riddles to her numerous suitors. Her father, the king, is eager to see the soldier as her husband, as he believes the soldier has a great deal of gold. In the fairy tale, everything ends well, but in real life, not so much. "But life is not a fairy tale," his beloved girl says to him as she bids him farewell.
Who directed A Very Old Story?
A Very Old Story was directed by Nadezhda Kosheverova.
Who stars in A Very Old Story?
The principal cast of A Very Old Story includes Oleg Dal, Marina Neyolova, Vladimir Etush, Georgiy Vitsin, Vera Titova.
When was A Very Old Story released and how long is it?
A Very Old Story was released in 1968 with a total runtime of 1h 30m.
Who composed the musical score for A Very Old Story?
The original motion picture soundtrack for A Very Old Story was composed by Andrey Petrov.
Is A Very Old Story based on a book or true story?
A Very Old Story is adapted from the following source material: Novel: "Hans Christian Andersen".