Andrei Tarkovsky

[Guest ruiagnelo]

the last three days i watched (again, as a tarkovsky movies always requires) three of his movies, Andrei Rublev, Solaris and Ivan's Childhood, which got me thinking he is definitely my favorite filmmaker ever, alongside with Stanley Kubrick. i guess their method of slowly and carefully crafting each sequence, each shot with meticulous detail really contributed to the triumph of their movies. i wish his body of work wasn't so short, but that's what made possible to get such brilliant movies.

 

somebody once said you could freeze a tarkovsky movie at any certain point and always get a work of art. i couldn't agree more.

 

[Guest futuregirlfriend]

AT's polaroids http://riowang.blogspot.com/2010/06/tarkovskys-polaroids.html

 

Anyone read his book "Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cimema"?

[triachus]

I love Tarkovsky. Never experienced movies quite like his.

 

 

Stalker may be my most favourite movie ever.

 

 

Too bad that movie literally killed him, though.

[Guest ruiagnelo]

AT's polaroids http://riowang.blogspot.com/2010/06/tarkovskys-polaroids.html

 

Anyone read his book "Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cimema"?

 

his polaroid shots are as wonderful as his film shots.

haven't read the book yet, but i will definitely get it. right now i am looking for the documentary about his trips through itally.

[Guest ruiagnelo]

I love Tarkovsky. Never experienced movies quite like his.

 

 

Stalker may be my most favourite movie ever.

 

 

Too bad that movie literally killed him, though.

 

some of the best movies go through really hard phases during production.

i wonder how the original footage would look like, because as far as i know the original stalker had to be destroyed and some say it was completely different from the version we know.

[Ego]

Anyone read his book "Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cimema"?

 

I did, I recommend. He looked at cinema with a unique artistic vision I haven't seen in any director. If you'd like to understand Tarkovsky's work even better, his words will surely help.

 

I had a hard time with the English translation though, but that may be because my English ain't all that. I should study Russian in another life. Still, here's a nice quote I've got noted down somewhere:

 

"Touched by a masterpiece, a person begins to hear in himself that same call of truth which prompted the artist to his creative act. When a link is established between the work and its beholder, the latter experiences a sublime, purging trauma. Within that aura which unites masterpieces and audience, the best sides of our souls are made known, and we long for them to be freed. In those moments we recognize and discover ourselves, the unfathomable depths of our own potential, and the furthest reaches of our emotions."

[awesomeperson]

I've tried to watch Solaris but it's too long, need to watch it eventually.

[Guest the anonymous forumite]

Solaris and the Mirror as far as I'm concerned.

[Guest Billov]

I've only watched Stalker... and while watching I couldn't look away from the screen, I must have had a confused face for most of it, but still it grasped my attention by the throat.

It was only till maybe 10 minutes after watching the movie that the significance of everything I'd just seen made its impact on me... I'm going to watch it again sometime, fo sho.

 

Which one of his films do you recommend I watch next? I've been meaning to see Solaris for a while now...

 

Now that you've reminded me, I planned on doing some painting studies based on stills from Stalker, just like you quoted... each frame is so painterly and profound.

[Guest Billov]

Also, whenever I think of the Black Dog, I think of the dog in Stalker... must be because of your old avatar

[triachus]

I love Tarkovsky. Never experienced movies quite like his.

 

 

Stalker may be my most favourite movie ever.

 

 

Too bad that movie literally killed him, though.

 

some of the best movies go through really hard phases during production.

i wonder how the original footage would look like, because as far as i know the original stalker had to be destroyed and some say it was completely different from the version we know.

 

The film of the original Stalker was all botched up, because of some miscommunication about chemicals in the development lab or something. You could still see stuff, but it was completely unusable and a year's work had to be redone. I remember seeing a screen or two of that version on some site. But that version was unfortunately lost in a fire, so I guess we never know how it looked like.

 

And what I mean with 'literally killed him' was not the stress that making the film gave him, but the location. Nearly everyone who worked on that film was dead 15-20 years later. That was because most of it was filmed near a chemical plant.

 

 

Many people involved in the film production had untimely deaths, attributing this to the long and arduous shooting schedule of the film as well as toxins present at the shooting locations. Vladimir Sharun recalls:[3]

 

We were shooting near Tallinn in the area around the small river Pirita with a half-functioning hydroelectric station. Up the river was a chemical plant and it poured out poisonous liquids downstream. There is even this shot in Stalker: snow falling in the summer and white foam floating down the river. In fact it was some horrible poison. Many women in our crew got allergic reactions on their faces. Tarkovsky died from cancer of the right bronchial tube. And Tolya Solonitsyn too. That it was all connected to the location shooting for Stalker became clear to me when Larisa Tarkovskaya died from the same illness in Paris.

[Guest ruiagnelo]

I've only watched Stalker... and while watching I couldn't look away from the screen, I must have had a confused face for most of it, but still it grasped my attention by the throat.

It was only till maybe 10 minutes after watching the movie that the significance of everything I'd just seen made its impact on me... I'm going to watch it again sometime, fo sho.

 

Which one of his films do you recommend I watch next? I've been meaning to see Solaris for a while now...

 

Now that you've reminded me, I planned on doing some painting studies based on stills from Stalker, just like you quoted... each frame is so painterly and profound.

 

i would say Solaris, if you have the opportunity. and then these three, in no specific order, Zerkalo (Mirror), Nostalgia and Offret (The Sacrifice).

 

i always get confused when watching his movies, because there is this inner conflict inside me, where one part wants to understand the narrative and the other wants to simply enjoy every bit of visual beauty and sound in it. the last one always ends up winning. which makes me always get back to them and try to get new details that had gone past in previous visualizations.

i guess tarkovsky did used to provide the tools so that people could build their own interpretation.

i like subjective movies because i am so attracted to image that i constantly end up getting wrong and opposite views, while watching one where the information is kind of in-your-face. with a tarkovsky film, it's all a question of being focused on the details, sequence compositions and let it all flow through your senses.

 

i also think of The Black Dog when i see it on the film. my old avatar kind of had a double meaning, related to The Black Dog and Stalker.

[Guest ruiagnelo]

I love Tarkovsky. Never experienced movies quite like his.

 

 

Stalker may be my most favourite movie ever.

 

 

Too bad that movie literally killed him, though.

 

some of the best movies go through really hard phases during production.

i wonder how the original footage would look like, because as far as i know the original stalker had to be destroyed and some say it was completely different from the version we know.

 

The film of the original Stalker was all botched up, because of some miscommunication about chemicals in the development lab or something. You could still see stuff, but it was completely unusable and a year's work had to be redone. I remember seeing a screen or two of that version on some site. But that version was unfortunately lost in a fire, so I guess we never know how it looked like.

 

And what I mean with 'literally killed him' was not the stress that making the film gave him, but the location. Nearly everyone who worked on that film was dead 15-20 years later. That was because most of it was filmed near a chemical plant.

 

 

Many people involved in the film production had untimely deaths, attributing this to the long and arduous shooting schedule of the film as well as toxins present at the shooting locations. Vladimir Sharun recalls:[3]

 

We were shooting near Tallinn in the area around the small river Pirita with a half-functioning hydroelectric station. Up the river was a chemical plant and it poured out poisonous liquids downstream. There is even this shot in Stalker: snow falling in the summer and white foam floating down the river. In fact it was some horrible poison. Many women in our crew got allergic reactions on their faces. Tarkovsky died from cancer of the right bronchial tube. And Tolya Solonitsyn too. That it was all connected to the location shooting for Stalker became clear to me when Larisa Tarkovskaya died from the same illness in Paris.

 

i wasn't aware that his cancer had been caused by such contact, while filmimg.

i recall that scene with the foam floating and i understand now why it seems so palpable and real.

 

where is that quoted from? any kind of making of report? i would love to read a little more :)

[triachus]

where is that quoted from? any kind of making of report? i would love to read a little more :)

 

I took it from the Wikipedia article, wich took text from here

 

That Nostalghia site seems pretty damn interesting... will browse+read it later.

 

I haven't seen this "Rerberg and Tarkovsky: The Reverse Side of "Stalker" documentary yet. But on this DVD version there's an extra short, where they interviewed the Stalker cameraman on his hospital bed saying something like: "There are only 6 of us left". This was shot somewhere mid-90's and he died shortly after. But it's not very long tho. I tried looking it up on youtube but found nothing.

[gaarg]

Tarkovsky is also my favorite film maker and Stalker my favorite movie.

 

He's so amazing it's not even funny for the rest of filmmaking people lol

[Guest ruiagnelo]

there is this link i found, where you can watch some of his movies:

 

http://www.openculture.com/2010/07/tarkovksy.html

 

but, i recommend to people that are interested in starting to watch tarkovsky films, that they consider this simply as samples. it's essential to watch the dvds, to get all the details and bonus interviews or minidocumentaries.

[Guest Billov]

Man.. thats some incredible shit, I skimmed through it, but I'd love to watch the documentary.

 

Six years after the completion of the film the fourth energy block in Chernobyl exploded and the 30-kilometre Zone became reality. Unfortunately this was not the only prophecy in Stalker that came true. As the film's art director Tarkovsky himself designed the complicated panoramas of the Zone's wasteland landscape. In one such shot we can see submerged in water a card torn from a calendar with the date 28 December. This day was the last day of Tarkovsky's life, he died on 29 December 1986.

 

Also, just thinking about it, there is such a strong parallel between Tarkovsky as a director, and the Stalker as a guide... each with their own specific rules that their flock have to trust and follow, no matter how abstruse or obscure...

 

I'll get my hands on Solaris soon as possible man :)

[goffer]

AT's polaroids http://riowang.blogspot.com/2010/06/tarkovskys-polaroids.html

 

Anyone read his book "Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cimema"?

 

his polaroid shots are as wonderful as his film shots.

haven't read the book yet, but i will definitely get it. right now i am looking for the documentary about his trips through itally.

Sculpting in Time is an excellent read/resource... it can get quite heavy at times but well worth a read.

[Guest Panthroid]

Curse you all! Reading this makes me want to rewatch all of those films!

 

Come to think of it, I've never even seen Rublev. Always felt intimidated by its length (although Stalker's nearly as long and that one never bored me a bit).

[Guest ruiagnelo]

i am reading a couple of experpts from his book sculpting in time and i am definitely getting it.

also, what a wonderful title for a book about tarkovsky.

[Guest ruiagnelo]

one more thing i think you guys would enjoy:

Idi i smotri (Come and See), a film by Elem Klimov - his only film, actually - about the horrors of nazi invasion and massive murder and destruction through the soviet villages they would pass by. it is very shocking and raw.

 

it amazes me how expressive eastern european people - at least russians and ukranians - are and how naturally they act. they seem to have some sort of natural ability to act, or maybe it's simply a question of genes and body characteristics.

this is not specifically related to this film, but just something i have thinking about for a while. you can observe this in every tarkovsky film or other soviet union/russian film or photography works.

[Polymershapes]

I love Tarkovsky, it's refreshing to see this thread... I've seen everything but Andrei Rublev and Ivan's Childhood, and his student work. I am saving them but I shouldn't, what if I die today?

 

Anyone who likes Tarkovsky would surely love the Bergman film Through a Glass Darkly. I believe it was shot where Sacrifice was.

[Guest ruiagnelo]

I love Tarkovsky, it's refreshing to see this thread... I've seen everything but Andrei Rublev and Ivan's Childhood, and his student work. I am saving them but I shouldn't, what if I die today?

 

Anyone who likes Tarkovsky would surely love the Bergman film Through a Glass Darkly. I believe it was shot where Sacrifice was.

 

Bergman is one of the directors i really want to explore in a near future.

 

But why are you saving Andrei Rublev, Ivan's Childhood and his student films?

i kind of used to do this in the past. having films unwatched for a long time, so that i could have that feeling of discovery once more. but i don't do that anymore. it's like you say,

 

what if i die today?

[baph]

Bergman and Tarkovsky cornered the market on perfectly shot films.

 

I tried to name a band I was in a while back Zerkalo, but everyone thought it was some Juggalo reference. :sadface is sad for humanity:

 

 

Edit: look at this perfectly shot sequence. Just look at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBZsj8FPSbo

[Guest ruiagnelo]

Bergman and Tarkovsky cornered the market on perfectly shot films.

 

I tried to name a band I was in a while back Zerkalo, but everyone thought it was some Juggalo reference. :sadface is sad for humanity:

 

 

Edit: look at this perfectly shot sequence. Just look at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBZsj8FPSbo

 

beautiful indeed.

this sequence makes me think of the last one of Offret. i haven't noticed, although i have seen it a couple of times, but that sequence lasts 10 minutes! not a usual length and probably the longest on any tarkovsky's films.