one of my absolute favorites!

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Crappy film

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

a film like a Rubick cube . because it gives so many faces than remains more than a good adaptation of a novel but a sort of trip in the sensibility of a time. first because it could be a fairy tale. or a politic manifesto. or a lovely love story, remembering the Russian folklore. than, because, after decades, it remains fresh. for the special effects and story and acting. for the cultural references. and, in same measure, for its naive poetry. the clash of two worlds. and the fight for truth and justice. a noble cause. a beautiful girl. and the under water universe. it is enough for a form of magic who remains seductive after more than a half of century.

This was quite an enjoyable film overall, and has a fairly unusual tone due to the collision of several different genre-associated elements. The concept, taken from a novel that I have not had the chance to read, is straight science fiction. It's a nice one, and it is pleasant to see and follow the implications of the prototypical scary sea-monster turning out to be not only a slightly-modified human but also the male love interest. I was a little puzzled by the logical the science fiction, though; Ichthyander has been kept under the sea because, unlike most humans, he has fish gills as well as lungs. But he must remain out of the water to exercise his lungs or they will atrophy, and he's been kept away from human society... because it will create a great underwater society sometime in the future?So we have a futuristic-looking home setting for our old scientist (who is nonetheless dressed in a high collar and frock coat that looks like it could have come from the 1860s). Then we have the main setting, which is an undefined Spanish-speaking country by the sea, which mostly looks like it could have been the same a hundred years previously as well, with the exception of the automobiles and the motorboats next to the pirate-style boats of the pearl-hunters. Slightly puzzling as it may be, though, the setting look gorgeous and is a joy to watch. I read in another comment here that the film was actually shot in Azerbaijan, which makes the creation of the rich and beautiful setting all the more impressive. The numerous underwater scenes are impressive as well, though I kept wondering why the human Amphibian Man kept putting on his scaly fish-costume to go into the water. Though despite the exotic setting and the scientific trappings, it is really a tragic romantic melodrama, and an adventure film. Fortunately, it does these pretty well, and the drama of the romance between the woman trapped in the wrong marriage and her Amphibian lover (whose unfamiliarity with shore life is nicely displayed in the stroke of a couple scenes) ends up being nicely effective. It might not always make sense, but Amphibian Man is a pleasant escapist film that deserves no ill will.

A a former Soviet Citizen, I will take my responsibility seriously and will start commenting on as many stories behind the wonderful heritage of Soviet cinema as possible.This film is based on the novel written by a great Russian sci-fi writer Alexander Belyaev. It was a record-breaking film when it came out in the cinema houses all over the USSR in the early 60's. Even though the beautiful star of the Soviet film era, young Anastasia Vertinskaya (Gutierrez), was known to the audiences from her previous works, theater actor Vladimir Korenev ( handsome Ixtiander) "woke-up famous" and instantly became a desire of almost every woman in the country. The title song about a SEA DEVIL was on everybody's lips ever since.In order to closest resemble the scenery of a beautiful Latin country, the movie was shot in sunny Baku, Azerbajan.The idea of a sea-devil lurking in the waters near the shores and scaring people sets up the mood of the movie. However, the devil turns out to be a handsome young man with an inhuman trait- he is an amphibian. A romantic story starts to unfold when he falls in love with a gorgeous girl. Matters become complicated as the girl is about to get married to somebody else...It is a beautiful movie which is a pleasure to watch even today. If some parts of the film seem poor compared to today's film-making standards, they are easily forgiven due to the beauty of the scenery, interesting plot, striking-looking actors and their sincere acting approach to their characters. If you appreciate good international cinema and want to familiarize yourself with Soviet pop culture and the work of one of the world's best sci-fi writers, I highly recommend this film. It is full of mythical mood, great scientific fantasy mixed with true portrayal of human emotions.I recommend this film to every romantic at heart!

What a wonderful movie! Great music by Russian composer Andrei Petrov (some electronic instruments) and an adorable good looking (and acting) Vladimir Korenev. Ordinary people think that he's a kind of frightening creature, but in fact he is the son of a professor living after a live-saving operation under the sea. It follows a love story, some action and NO HAPPY END. This makes a differnce to some similar American productions! It's worth to view the film (even in Russian version, because of the excellent camera work and beautiful actors).