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Cult Review
Archivist John
Senior Editor
If you are looking for something warm and fuzzy to watch on a Sunday afternoon, stay far away from Ledyanoy dom. This movie is cold. I don't just mean the temperature on screen, though you can practically feel the frostbite coming off the film strip. 🧊
It is worth watching today if you have an interest in how movies used to look before everything became polished and fake. It’s perfect for people who like historical dramas that don't sugarcoat how awful the 'good old days' actually were. If you hate slow pacing or stories where nobody is really a 'good guy,' you will probably find this one pretty frustrating.
The first thing that hit me was the Empress Anna. M. Shumakher plays her with this sort of heavy, bored cruelty that is actually kind of scary. She doesn't scream or throw fits. She just looks at people like they are bugs she might step on if she gets bored enough.
The whole plot centers around her whim to build this Ice House. It’s a real thing that happened in history, which makes the movie feel even more heavy. They force these two jesters to get married and then lock them in a house made of ice blocks. It is messed up.
The way they filmed the ice is actually incredible for 1928. The blocks have this translucent, ghostly glow to them. It doesn't look like a set; it looks like a tomb. There is one shot where the light hits the walls and you can see the texture of the frozen water. It’s beautiful but in a way that makes your teeth ache.
I noticed the costumes are incredibly thick and heavy. Everyone looks like they are struggling just to move under the weight of all that fur and velvet. It adds to the feeling that the Russian court was this suffocating, trap-like place. Even the Empress looks weighed down by her own crown.
There is a guy in the cast, Andrey Fayt, who has one of those faces made for silent cinema. He doesn't have to do much, just stand there, and you get the vibe that something bad is about to happen. He pops up in a lot of these old Soviet films, and he’s always a highlight for me.
The movie reminds me a little bit of the atmosphere in Ramshackle House. There is that same sense of a building being a character itself. But here, the building is actively trying to kill the people inside it.
One scene that stuck with me was the procession to the ice house. It’s supposed to be a celebration, but everyone looks miserable. The jesters are dressed up in these ridiculous outfits, and the contrast between their silly clothes and their terrified faces is hard to watch. It’s one of those moments where the movie stops being a 'historical epic' and just feels like a horror film.
The editing is a bit jumpy in places, which I guess is expected for a film this old. Some of the transitions feel like the editor just gave up and cut to the next day. It doesn't really matter though, because the imagery is so strong. You don't need a smooth transition when you're looking at a giant palace made of frozen river water.
I found myself wondering how the actors didn't get sick. There is a lot of real snow and real wind. You can see the breath of the actors in almost every scene. It’s not like modern movies where they add a little digital mist. This is the real deal.
The intertitles—the text cards—are pretty blunt. They don't use a lot of flowery language. They just tell you what’s happening. 'The Empress is bored.' 'The ice is thick.' It fits the cold mood of the whole thing. It’s not trying to be poetic; it’s just showing you a nightmare.
There is a secondary plot about some court intrigue with Volynsky, played by Pyotr Baksheyev. Honestly, I tuned out a bit during those parts. The politics are fine, I guess, but they aren't nearly as interesting as the central cruelty of the ice wedding. Whenever the movie leaves the palace to talk about taxes or whatever, I just wanted to go back to the ice.
It’s much darker than something like The Spiders - Episode 2: The Diamond Ship. That one feels like an adventure. This feels like a funeral march. Even the music, if you watch a version with a score, usually leans into those low, rumbling tones.
I did catch one mistake—or maybe it was just a weird choice. In one of the court scenes, a guy in the background is wearing a wig that is definitely crooked. Like, really crooked. Once you see it, it’s hard to look at anything else in that shot. It’s a nice reminder that even big historical epics were made by people who were probably just tired and cold.
The ending isn't exactly a 'happily ever after' situation. It leaves you feeling a bit empty. But that is clearly the point. Viktor Shklovskiy, who helped write this, wasn't interested in making people feel good. He wanted to show the machinery of power.
Is it a masterpiece? Maybe not. It drags in the middle, and some of the supporting characters are just... there. They don't do much. But as a piece of visual storytelling, it’s hard to forget. Those shots of the ice palace at night stay with you. 🌙
If you liked Nachtgestalten, you might appreciate the grittiness here. It’s got that same 'life is tough and then you freeze' energy. Just make sure you have a blanket nearby while you watch it. You’re gonna need it.
Overall, Ledyanoy dom is a strange relic. It’s a movie about a prank that went way too far, filmed in a way that makes it look like a dream. Or a fever dream. A very, very cold fever dream.
IMDb —
1924
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