Sometimes stodgy, sometimes impressive, Aleksandr Ptushko’s opulent 1952 fantasy film is about an adventurer in mediæval Russia who sets out from the mercantile port of Novgorod in search of happiness, which he thinks may be found in some distant land. His quest takes him to Scandinavia, India, Egypt, and finally an undersea kingdom before he gives up and returns to where he started, bearing the reassuring message that happiness is at home.

Since Sadko is personally tiresome, addicted to making broad arm gestures and yelling at crowds, and since his quest is clearly ill-conceived, the interest of the film lies in its visual splendor and its fantastic elements. The most engaging character is a phoenix whom Sadko acquires in a palace in India. A woman in blue perched on a branch, the phoenix has a habit of talking her listeners to sleep while surveying them with the petulant severity of a conceited teacher. (Ptushko’s special effects in these scenes involve wavering back projections and psychedelic arcs of color.) Another highlight is the comic sequence in the undersea kingdom, whose throne room features such hangers-on as a goofy fish puppet and a winking octopus on wires. In Russian with English subtitles. (89 minutes).