Editorial Review

At last, the complete version of Andrei Tarkovski's 1966 masterpieceabout the great 15th century Russian icon painter (a film suppressed by the Soviet Union and unseen until 1971) is available. It's a complex and demandingnarrative about the responsibility of the artist to participate in history rather than documenting it from a safe distance. A landmark in Russian cinema, Read more

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Reviews (78)

Holy.
Like the review I just read, Tarkovskies' ANDRE RUBLEV is the movie that I keep coming back to over the years. It is my favorite film and has been until something as special comes along.
The Long Journey of an Artist
Andrei Rublyov (1969) by Andrei Tarkovsky is my number 1 (shares with Tarkovsky's Zerkalo) film of all time. It is a pinnacle of film-making for me - one of few most visually beautiful films as well as one of the deepest films ever. The beauty of every frame is exquisite - I have to pause film very often just to admire it.There are only couple of more films that have touched me as profoundly as Andrei Rublyov did. I am always surprised to hear that it is very slow film - for Tarkovsky, it is very well paced, and I am never tired of its 3+ hours running time.
Acts of Faith
In its take-no-prisoners approach to filmmaking, Andrei Rublev reminds me of Francis Ford Coppola's self-indulgent masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.Tarkovsky's film is a biography of a fifteenth century monk renowned for his painted religious icons.Rublev was Russia's equivalent of Michelangelo, and some of the works attributed to him display a formidable beauty which is all the more remarkable because they were created during a rude and violent time.
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Russian    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

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Reviews (6)

What can I say?
I'd tell you to go out and rent it now, but most of you won't, if you bother to look at my review anyway. :-) And there are some that won't like it much. But I liked it a lot. It's very sad-- in the "there are 8 of us and we're all under 19" scene, where Ivan throws the knife, and imagines/feels traces of what happened in that room, remembers what happened to him, and just acts like a kid freaked out-- I didn't know if I should cry or what, it was very weird and sad. This film is very accessible, ultimately, and though there are confusing parts (hints of Tarkovsky's future path?), I think I "got" what mattered.... I highly recommend this film, and "Andrei Rublev"--- they reminded me of each other, actually, not just Irma Rausch, the actress with roles in both of them, and the kid that played Ivan (strange to think that he was 12 before my mom was born), but also the bell that Ivan lifts and rings, and the famous one in "Andrei Rublev." So, though Tarkovsky afficionados may say "Ivan's Childhood" is not as good as later Tarkovsky films, it's well worth seeing. It's also shorter than "Solaris" and "Andrei Rublev," almost relaxing.

Who's in a Bunker?
Tarkovsky was fresh out of film school when he made this, and bursting with beautiful footage to use.From this he sculpts Ivan's dream world, which contains all he is living and fighting for, and the nightmare of war without. Ivan's File
Here is what Tarkovsky said about the picture: I attempted to analyze the condition of a person who is being affected by war. When personality is disintegrating then we have the collapse of the logical development, especially when we are dealing with the personality of a child. I alsways conceptualized Ivan as a destroyed personality pushed by the war from the normal axis of development. A lot, more than a lot, everyhting that was appropriate to Ivan's age was gone from his life, and in its place he was bestowed with evil endowments of the destruction that concentrated within him and seized him.The film was based on a striking short story titled "Ivan" by an obscure Russian author named Bogomolov, who himself probably was in SMERSH, a Red Army field recon and counter- intelligence during the war as much dreaded as Stalin's NKVD. Tyhe way the way the story waas written, it was probably inspired by true life experiences. Ivan himself could have been invented, or it might have been based on a real life incident, as there were a number of adolescents and pre-adolescents executed by the Nazis and martyred by the communists after the war. The story provides a lot of details into the running of military intelligence agents, the trench warfare and the role of secret police in totalitarian police in teh Red Army during the war. The story takes place in the trenches and gives good detail of the machismo of the Red Army reconnaissance scouts. The story gives a good description of life in a politicized army in a totalitarian country familiar to most older Russians, but not in such detail. None of that background made it on celluloid. The book reads like a personal tragedy for the kid involved, a feeling lost when the story was transferred on film, which was more symbolic. Here is what makes sense in the book, but is not made significant in the film: The two corpses hanging in the no man's land where the two scouts who were supposed to meet ivan at the Dead Tree who were killed in the ambush, mutilated, and hanged by the germans as a warning. The girl who flirts with the recon lieutenant is from a different story by Bogomolov, where an infantry lieutenant survives a frontal attack on the enemy trenches only to find out that his new fiancee was killed in the rear during the action. The Dead Tree to which Ivan runs in his final dream sequence is the extraction point which he didn't make the last time because of the german patrols. Ivan's surname in the movie in Bondarev, probably play on Bond. Were Bond films out in 1962? In the written story Ivan is a lot more human and is corrupted by the affiliation with elite soldiers and better food rations of an intelligence unit he is with. In the book the kid actually talks down on the exhausted infantry lieutenant who initially detains him. In the book are scenes of his adult friends corrupting him with nice clothes and other trinkets, which never made it into the screenplay, nor were there the scene of his handlers coaxing Ivan to go again behind the German lines when he gets scared. In the story, the narrator is the lowly lieutenant guy who tries the rescue the kid, and then learns of his final fate. In the story, incidentally, the kid is turned in to gestapo by a greedy peasant for a few bucks. All in all, the story is realistic and smacks of human tragedy, while the movie is a lot more symbolic.The film gets 5 stars though, because the film is one of the best representations of the mark that the War left on the collective Psyche of the people who lived in the Soviet Russia at the time. 1941 was the first year when the ration stamps were repealed and that spring was the first time in the decade perhaps that the people were looking for a summer of relative peace and prosperity, and then the war happened, interrupting graduations and honeymoons, starting another five years of major hardship.See if V. Bogomolov was translated into English. If he is not available on Amazon, try the Russian store, Four Continents in Washington, DC ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign Film - Russian    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

This is another haunting film by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky--hisfirst made outside of the Soviet Union. Like all of his films, Read more

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Reviews (33)

One of the most beautiful films ever committed to celluloid...
This is Tarkovsky's most underrated film.It is also his most beautiful, with some of the greatest cinemtography ever committed to celluloid (Giuesppe Lanci was the cinematographer).The film concerns itself with a Russian coming to Italy to research on a Russian composer who died there.As others have pointed out, the word "Nostalghia" is the Italian pronuciation, and the film is about nostalghia for one's homeland, specifically Russian nostlaghia.Tarkovsky has said that Russians, more than other nationalities, miss their homeland more than others, and have a hard time assimiliating in other lands.This film gives you one amazing shot after another.Some of the shots are truly amazing.The most famous shot here in where Andrei carries a candle across the pool, believing that if he makes it without the candle going out, he will save mankind.They rehearsed this shot for 3 days, and on the 4th day they shot it.Tarkovsky told Oleg Jankovsky (the lead actor) "one action can be experienced as if it is your whole life", then told him "we've only got one take".They completed in one take, after which the crew burst out into appaulse.This film is a deeply spirtual film, like all Tarkovsky, and it's one of his most meditative films.A must see for anyone who takes cinema seriously....

Transcendental image-wizardry from the other side of the pool
A quite, withdrawn man lights a candle and walks with it through a old, abandoned, disintegrated swimmingpool. With his other hand he protects the flame from the wind.
1 + 1 = 1
As the camera slowly pans across the interior of a once great Italian stucture, we hear the rain as it seeps through the roof adding to the puddles below. We also notice a sign of sorts on the wall with "1 + 1 = 1" carefully written.It's one of those "What's this all about?" moments of the film, whichcommonly occur throughout much of Nostalghia.What Tarkovsky is doing is what he does best: muddling accepted reality for something greater and more spiritual.
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Italian    2. Foreign Film - Russian    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. Movie   

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Reviews (128)

Visionary work of art

Tarkovsky's best (along with Solaris)...
This film is as amazing as you have heard.It's arguably Tarkovsky's best film (and the last one he made completely under the auspices of the USSR), and a film that gets inside your head and your soul.The plot is rather simple.An alien force lands on Earth, and then leaves.The area where they landed is a vast wasteland where the laws of physics are suspended.It's been dubbed the zone (or 3OHA in Russian).A stalker (not the current definition), a writer, and a professor venture into the zone, where there is a room that will grant you your most inner wishes.Now, it's not what you ask for, it's what you really desire.The room reads into your soul.This is a very slow, cerebral movie (it wouldn't be a Tarkovsky movie otherwise), but it has to be seen many times to fully comprehend it.I love Stalker's "dream" sequence, which has one of the most amazing shots I've ever seen in cinema.The ending is really exceptional as well.I have seen Stalker at least 10 times, and I can see 10 more.It was a difficult shoot (Tarkovsky had to stop shooting because there was a defect in the film stock he was using.He had to reshoot from scratch, essentially), yet, it is Tarkovsky's greatest film along with Solaris and Andrei Rublev.When you watch it, make sure that you choose the original mono soundtrack.The DVD company, RUSCICO, remixed the soundtrack to 5.1 dolby, but they ADDED sound to the original film, including music during the ride to the zone (which originally only had dialogue and the sound of the trolley car).It was awful.They ended up reissuing the disc with both tracks after the outcry by Tarkovsky admirers.

A journey into the human soul.
This film is not a film, it is more a long and deep journey into the landscape of the human soul.Certain moments are absolutely unbelievable and mindblowing.Do not expect any kind of plot or surprising ending; this is a different kind of filmmaking.It is more of an experiment of thought rather than an trying to tell a story.A must watch for anyone interested in spirituality. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign    2. Foreign Film - Russian    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. Movie   

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Reviews (37)

Slow, majestic, painterly, deeply haunting and moving, like all of Tarkovsky's work...
This was my first Tarkovsky film.When I rented it, I really didn't know too much about him.I remember getting a Tarkovsky question wrong on my final exam for a cinema class (to my eternal shame).This was the first film of Tarkovsky's to get any real attention in the US, mainly because he died shortly after completing it.Seeing it now, it is still a great film, even though it is not my favorite (Solaris and Stalker are tied for that honour).But it is still centuries better than most rubbish spewing out from the cineplex these days.The film is a deeply haunting, ethereal, dreamlike film from arguably the greatest Russian filmmaker.This DVD also contains a documentary made during the shooting of The Sacrifice by the film's editor.It is also wonderful, and absolutely fascinating to watch (especially for Tarkovskyites).It is also very realistic, as opposed to many "behind the scenes" docs which are very poorly done, and just concentrate on the sensationalistic aspects of the film business.The only problem that I have is with the DVD itself.The transfer of The Sacrifice is way too bright.Scenes that are supposed to take place in near darkness are so over-corrected that they have become incredibly grainy and it distorts Tarkovsky's original intent.The subtitles are burned into the disc, but that isn't necessarily a problem.Altering the colors and light of a Tarkovsky film in inexcusable.Kino, who has a mixed record on transfers, will probably not correct this anytime soon, unfortunately.The documentary transfer is fine, however.

AN AUTHENTIC WORK OF ART
In decades of movie going and collecting, there are only a few films that keep coming to mind at unexpected moments.For me, this is what great art does; that is, it becomes a part of one's experience and not just a momentary diversion.
The Demiurge Spake
To all of those captious parties whistling in the dark: damnant quod non intellegunt ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign    2. Foreign Film - Other    3. Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy    4. International    5. Movie   

Editorial Review

At last, the complete version of Andrei Tarkovski's 1966 masterpieceabout the great 15th century Russian icon painter (a film suppressed by the Soviet Union and unseen until 1971) is available. It's a complex and demandingnarrative about the responsibility of the artist to participate in history rather than documenting it from a safe distance. A landmark in Russian cinema, Read more

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• NTSC

Reviews (78)

Holy.
Like the review I just read, Tarkovskies' ANDRE RUBLEV is the movie that I keep coming back to over the years. It is my favorite film and has been until something as special comes along.
The Long Journey of an Artist
Andrei Rublyov (1969) by Andrei Tarkovsky is my number 1 (shares with Tarkovsky's Zerkalo) film of all time. It is a pinnacle of film-making for me - one of few most visually beautiful films as well as one of the deepest films ever. The beauty of every frame is exquisite - I have to pause film very often just to admire it.There are only couple of more films that have touched me as profoundly as Andrei Rublyov did. I am always surprised to hear that it is very slow film - for Tarkovsky, it is very well paced, and I am never tired of its 3+ hours running time.
Acts of Faith
In its take-no-prisoners approach to filmmaking, Andrei Rublev reminds me of Francis Ford Coppola's self-indulgent masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.Tarkovsky's film is a biography of a fifteenth century monk renowned for his painted religious icons.Rublev was Russia's equivalent of Michelangelo, and some of the works attributed to him display a formidable beauty which is all the more remarkable because they were created during a rude and violent time.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Russian   

Editorial Review

The Russian answer to Read more

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Reviews (131)

We Need A Mirror.
Solaris is the critically acclaimed Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 adaptation of, Polish author, Stanislaw Lem's novel of the same name. While Tarkovsky's films are relatively eminent in contemporary Russia and other former USSR countries, Solaris is possibly the director's most recognizable work to Western audiences. Originally, many found the movie to be far to long, but in recent years the picture has grown into something of a cult classic for being a "head trip". Conversely, in an autobiographical documentary, Voyage in Time, Tarkovsky has acknowledged Solaris as his least favorite film from his own repertoire because it is "unsuccessful in being without genre". In recent years, 2002, a new version of Solaris was produced in America starring George Clooney. It has been described as a re-imagining of Tarkovsky's version.
very slow, very long and not worth 36 bucks
in the late 1960's head trips were in and this movie is a head trip. maybe that explains its great reputation. it can't be the movie itself which is incredibly slow, highly overrated and not all that much better than the mediocre steven soderbergh remake (though it's certainly much longer and more confusing). it's not entirely the lem novel either. it's a combination of the novel and the director's vision of making peace with your past (or something of the sort). anyway, the movie's not worth 36 dollars. i can't imagine watching it again anytime soon. if you're interested in solaris, do yourself a favor and buy the lem novel instead. it's a little dry but it's better andcheaper than this.

My favorite Tarkovsky film, and one of my top ten films...
The first time I saw this film, I remember the text of the program reading "Russia's answer to 2001".I was intrigued by it, so I ventured into the cinema, not knowing what really to expect.The film had a 167 minute running time, which didn't hurt (I love epic cinema).I loved this film from beginning to end.From the opening credits (set to one of the most haunting pieces of music I've ever heard, Bach's F Minor Choral Prelude), to its enigmatic ending, I was completely mesmerized.The film stuck with me for days.It was strange, hallucinatory, mysterious, and moving.I became (and still are) an avid admirer of Tarkovsky, and I always will be.The film has received the tagline "Russia's answer to 2001".That isn't really true.Tarkovsky had started pre-production on this film before he saw 2001, but he did see it shortly before shooting commenced, and he disliked the film intensely, calling it cold and soulless.I would disagree with him on 2001, but I adore this film.The performances are stunning, and Tarkovsky's mise en scene is outstanding.He only shot 2 films (Andrei Rublev and this one) in scope (2.35:1).Reportedly, he didn't really care for the widescreen, and shot his remaining film full frame or 1.66:1.It is a deeply spiritual film, and it's almost a religious experience for me.I have not seen the remake, and I don't intend to.I found it sacreligious to remake this, as it is one of the greatest films ever.A must see.The deleted scenes on disc two are quite interesting in themselves (especially the extended "mirror room" scene, which I wished Andrei had left in the film).A masterpiece...
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Russian    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

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Reviews (32)

Good, but can't touch Tarkovsky's best
'The Mirror' is yet another slow-moving and dreamlike film from one of the great filmmakers of the 20th century, Andrei Tarkovsky.It is hypnotizing to watch, but it doesn't match up with Tarkovsky's other mindblowing works.These include 'The Sacrifice', 'Stalker', and 'Solaris'.Still, film buffs should watch it because there are scenes of unforgettable mysticism.

It is all in the mirror
I just finished watching it. It's been several years since I saw it last time. I worried that I may not like it as much as I used to... A mirror that reflects memories, poems and dreams
"Mirror" is one of those movies which offers facts, poetry, reminiscences and dreams without making the audience clear what it is their are looking at. There is no use of black and white when a memory creeps in, there's no dreamlike music that sets in when a sc?ne is occurring in the mind of a sleeping protagonist. Remember Alain Resnais' "Last year at Marienbad" in which present and past are mixed together and dissolve in each other without technical warnings for the audience. Resnais, by the way, did the same in his landmark debut "Hiroshima mon Amour" and would make a carreer out of movies in which chronological way of story telling is thrown out of the window very early on.
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Subjects:  1. Foreign    2. Foreign Film - Russian    3. Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy    4. International    5. Movie   

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Reviews (32)

Good, but can't touch Tarkovsky's best
'The Mirror' is yet another slow-moving and dreamlike film from one of the great filmmakers of the 20th century, Andrei Tarkovsky.It is hypnotizing to watch, but it doesn't match up with Tarkovsky's other mindblowing works.These include 'The Sacrifice', 'Stalker', and 'Solaris'.Still, film buffs should watch it because there are scenes of unforgettable mysticism.

It is all in the mirror
I just finished watching it. It's been several years since I saw it last time. I worried that I may not like it as much as I used to... A mirror that reflects memories, poems and dreams
"Mirror" is one of those movies which offers facts, poetry, reminiscences and dreams without making the audience clear what it is their are looking at. There is no use of black and white when a memory creeps in, there's no dreamlike music that sets in when a sc?ne is occurring in the mind of a sleeping protagonist. Remember Alain Resnais' "Last year at Marienbad" in which present and past are mixed together and dissolve in each other without technical warnings for the audience. Resnais, by the way, did the same in his landmark debut "Hiroshima mon Amour" and would make a carreer out of movies in which chronological way of story telling is thrown out of the window very early on.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Russian    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

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Reviews (10)

Sasha's childhood

The Steamroller and the Violin
I realize that some of you refuse to watch a movie with subtitles, and that includes people who read my books without moving thei lips. Never mind. Andrei Tarkovksy made this back when he was 28 years old, long before he became world famous for Andrei Rublev, Solaris, The Mirror, and other films I haven't seen. (I have Solaris and will watch it soon.) His visual sense is positively stunning, to the extent that even I noticed it. It's a deceptively simple tale, about a young violinist befriending a macho (to quote the cover) steamroller driver. Not mushy or anything, though. Just very real. I'm impressed.

Amazing, considering it's a student film....
Many great filmmakers rarely show their student work (if they have any).Even the great Kubrick, whose first film Fear and Desire is impossible to find, refused to have his first film shown widely (he called it a failed student exercise).But here is Andrei Tarkovsky's "diploma" film (as they called it in the USSR).It is wonderful.It's not Solaris, Rublev, or Stalker, but it's still worth watching over and over again.Tarkovsky was already showing his great individuality with this film.Usually student diploma films were 25 minutes and in black and white.Tarkovsky's film is 50 minutes and is in colour.The relationship between the child and the construction worker is very well done and believable, without any trace of sentimentality that always occurs in films with children (especially in American ones).When watching this, you could tell how talented Tarkovsky was.He's the rare filmmaker that never made a bad film. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Drama    3. Foreign Film - Russian    4. International    5. Movie