The Battle of Kerzhenets is a 1971 Soviet animated film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Yuriy Norshteyn. The film is set to music by Rimsky-Korsakov and uses Russian frescoes and paintings from the 14th-16th centuries (which are animated using 2-dimensional stop motion animation).
The story is based on the legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (made into a 4-act opera by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1907), which disappears under the waters of a lake to escape an attack by the Mongols (Russia was under the Mongol-Tartar yoke for a period of three centuries in the Middle Ages). The film itself follows the legend only loosely, however, and its highpoint is a battle between the Russian soldiers and the Mongol hordes, symbolizing a clash of cultures (the Virgin Mary appears early in the film, in effect watching over the Russian side of the battle).
Awards
* 1971—Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Prize for Best Animated Film
* 1972—Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films: Grand Prize
* 1972—Tbilissi: Prize for Best Animated Film
* 1972—Bombay Film Festival: "Diplom"