THE DEVIL'S BRIDE / VELNIO NUOTAKA (1974) - Blu-ray Release of Classic Soviet Musical Film

Product Description: Lithuanian director Arūnas Žebriūnas's cult 1974 rock opera is a mashup of TOMMY, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and THE WICKER MAN Imagine a wildly surreal early 1970s Lithuanian rock opera directed by Ken Russell circa TOMMY that is equal parts JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (wailing guitar-heavy ballads, religious theme), FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (rural village setting) and THE WICKER MAN / BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW (folklore / folk magic), and you have some idea of the elemental strangeness and beauty of director Arūnas Žebriūnas' THE DEVIL'S BRIDE. The film opens with one of our favorite musical sequences ever: a long-haired flower child God sits on his throne in the truly heavenly mountains, adored by angelic hosts. Suddenly the guitars kick in, the angels throw off their robes revealing orange Mod dresses and bowler hats, and the party descends into a choreographed pansexual orgy like nothing you've ever seen. An incredibly ambitious sung-through musical ala THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (where the entire story is performed in song without traditional dialogue), the story revolves around a devil named Pinčiukas (Gediminas Girdvainis) who is booted out of Heaven and drops into a frog pond owned by farmer Baltaragis (Vasilijus Simčičius). Quick as you can say "The Devil and Daniel Webster," Pinčiukas promises him the hand of his beautiful blonde love Marcelė (Vaiva Mainelytė) in exchange for their as-yet unborn daughter Jurga (also played by Mainelytė), and wicked complications ensue. The film is interlaced with Lithuanian folklore and surreal images: legions of female devils riding bareback on horses; a black carriage drawn by a team of devils disappearing into the waters of a lake; rituals of mistletoe roots and rowan berries and straw men. In a wild twist, the devil Pinčiukas winds up being one of the most sympathetic characters, doomed to live on earth while he longs to return to Heaven. A beloved cult hit in Lithuania and a major rediscovery for fans of film musicals, THE DEVIL'S BRIDE has been beautifully restored by the Lithuanian Film Centre for its first-ever U.S. release by Deaf Crocodile.

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Movie Details

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Subtitles

Special Features & Extras

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MOVIE DETAILS

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Director: Arunas Zebriunas

Starring: Vaiva Minelyte, Gediminas Girdvainis, Regimantas Adomaitis

Genre: Music, Musical

Runtime: 78 min

Rating: Not Rated

Language: Lithuanian, Russian

Studio: Deaf Crocodile Films

Home Video Release Date: September 16, 2025

AVAILABLE FORMATS (Amazon):

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Blu-ray

VIDEO

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Blu-ray

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Region: Region A/1

AUDIO

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Dubbed:

Blu-ray: None

Audio Formats:

Blu-ray: Dolby Digital 2.0

SUBTITLES

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Blu-ray: English

SPECIAL FEATURES & EXTRAS

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New video interview with Monika Edgar, director Ar?nas Žebri?nas’ daughter, about her father’s career and the making of THE DEVIL’S BRIDE
New video interview with Lithuanian film critic Ieva Šukyt? about the history of Lithuanian cinema and THE DEVIL’S BRIDE
New visual essay by Dr. Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill of Someone's Favorite Productions
1st ever U.S. Blu-ray release, newly restored by the Lithuanian Film Centre
Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion.