I stumbled upon this movie thanks to Mystery Science Theater and I can safely say I could never sit through this movie without the MST3K guys riffing on it left and right. Other reviewers have mentioned the American version (what??) is worse than the Finnish-Russian version. What's the difference? It's the same movie! Even if the dubbing was bad, having better dubbing would not make the movie better. I couldn't even tell what the plot was. This movie was about as confusing as another Russian toilet creation called Jack Frost, which I also stumbled upon thanks to Mystery Science Theater. If some people call this a classic, I'd love to know what they consider a bad movie.

Evil witch Louhi (wizened old crone Anna Orochko) kidnaps sweet fair maiden Annikki (lovely blonde Eva Kivi) from her peaceful village in order to get her rugged blacksmith and magician brother Ilmarinen (solid Ivan Voronov) to build her a magical device known as a sampo. After honest, decent woodmans Lemminkainen (likable Andris Oshin) and Ilmarinen rescue Annikki from Louhi's vile clutches, the wicked old hag retaliates by stealing the sun and putting the village in a permanent state of dark bitter cold. Director Aleksandr Ptushko relates the compelling and imaginative story at a steady pace and does a sound job of maintaining a pleasant, charming tone throughout. Moreover, there's a cool sense of quirky creativity evident in the narrative: Among the funky oddball touches are a field of deadly snakes that Lemminkainen has to plow, a killer flying cloak, a whiny talking tree and talking road, and the villagers making magic harps to combat the witch with. Best of all, the simple and straightforward plot about good versus evil proves to be quite engaging thanks to its refreshing lack of pretense. Igor Morozov's sweeping, dramatic score, Marvin Miller's melodious narration, the nifty special effects, and the crisp cinematography by Gennadi Tsekavy and Viktor Yakushev all further enhance the considerable appeal of this nice little movie.

This is going to start to sound confusing because I feel exactly the same about The Day the Earth Froze as I do the other two movies I've seen directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. My comments for The Magic Voyage of Sinbad and The Sword and the Dragon are applicable here (and this is where it gets confusing) – "'The Sword and the Dragon seemed to be filled with such broad overacting that it became absurd. I realize that the movie was made over 50 years ago in the Soviet Union. I understand that the movie is filled with messages and other pro-worker propaganda. And I appreciate the importance of the film as a relic of the communist system. But none of that means I have to actually like the movie.' If you change the title of the movie, this quote accurately reflects my feelings on The Magic Voyage of Sinbad." – This time, substitute The Day the Earth Froze and you've got a quote that accurately reflects my feelings on the movie. Also, I'll add that, if anything, The Day the Earth Froze is actually duller than the other two movies. Even with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 commentary, I had to wake myself at lest two times before I made it through.In the end, while these movies may appeal to some people, they're not my cup of tea. Just being honest here.

This is one weird mama jama of a movie. It's based on some Russo-Finnish tale and involves some blonde hero, a damsel, an old crone witch and other people. Although strange, it has a very fantasy-like effect and was done back in 1959. Most films today try this and fail horribly (computer enhanced special EFX do not make a movie). My favorite part is when the witch chants SAMPO! SAMPO! SAMPO! Joel and the rest at Best Brains must've had the strangest looks on their faces when they covered this one.