
Tarkovsky Films Free Online (2010) - nsns
http://www.openculture.com/2010/07/tarkovksy.html
======
Jd
Tarkovsky is my favorite 20th century film director bar none. Here's are some
reasons why and why you might also be interested in his films:

(1) He described his art as poetry applied to cinema or "sculpting in time," a
fundamentally different conceptual idea of the cinematic art that he went to a
great length to clarify (in a book of the same name, highly recommended).

(2) His use of color is incredible. Some films, especially stalker, are near
black and white with incredibly vibrant and poignant uses of green. This is a
bit like Bergman at his best, but even better.

(3) He was deeply religious in a "mystical" sense, with a lot of respect for
past traditions, but not in a dogmatic sense and with appreciation for both
Christian and pagan elements (see Andrei Rublev for both aspects)

(4) He knew other European traditions extremely well. Ivan's childhood is a
meditation on the war with Germany, including shots of Duehrer's prints.
Nostalgia involves his time in Italy traditions including Madonna cults and
important artwork. Sacrifice has Shakespearean references, Rembrandt, Japanese
samurai, and magical traditions. In general, his films are full of long shots
of important pieces of Renaissance art with profound meaning.

(5) He spent a lot of time thinking about the integration of technology and
the rest of life. Solaris is the futuristic spaceship version of this. Stalker
is the apocalyptic version of this.

I think in a century Tarkovsky will rightly be credited as inventing a whole
new type of cinema, his way of approaching it was fundamentally in tune with a
"mystical" sense and integrated with other forms of visual art (i.e. the long
gaze you have at a painting), and the punctuated, rhythmic reading of poetry.

~~~
wooptoo
> (2) His use of color is incredible. Some films, especially stalker, are near
> black and white with incredibly vibrant and poignant uses of green.

Actually the first part of Stalker was (re)shot in black and white because
they damaged some part of the original film reel. After about 40 minutes or so
into the movie it switches to color.

The tint you're talking about is a technique created by Tarkovsky which alters
the film temperature:
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079944/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079944/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2)

~~~
yevy
While the official story is that the film stock was accidentally damaged
during development, it is also known that Tarkovsky was unhappy with how those
scenes were originally filmed. He wanted to reshoot them, but the budget
committee turned down his request. Shortly afterwards the film was
mysteriously ruined. The committee had no choice but to let Tarkovsky film the
scenes again. Since they could not afford to buy more color film stock, the
reshoot was done in black and white.

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melancholy
Apropos of nothing in particular, but just because I love this Akira Kurosawa
anecdote --

"Tarkovsky was sitting in the corner of the screening room watching the film
with me, but he got up as soon as the film was over, and looked at me with a
shy smile. I said to him, ‘It’s very good. It’s a frightening movie.’ He
seemed embarrassed, but smiled happily. Then the two of us went to a film
union restaurant and toasted with Vodka.

Tarkovsky, who does not usually drink, got completely drunk and cut off the
speakers at the restaurant, then began singing the theme of Seven Samurai at
the top of his lungs. I joined in, eager to keep up.

At that moment, I was very happy to be on Earth.”

That's wonderful. Stalker changed my life, it's a wonderful film. Do watch it.

------
Jun8
Watching _Stalker_ may forever alter your taste in cinematography, it's so
beautiful. _Solaris_ is also good (watching it back to back with the Clooney
remake is an interesting experience); Lem pretty much hated all three
adaptations
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_\(novel\))),
an adaptation that reflects the alienness that he wanted to underline would be
an interesting movie. You might want to think about what repressed
personification would confront you if you had traveled to Solaris.

~~~
x0054
Both Tarkovsky and Soderbergh have almost completely missed the point of
Solaris, the book. The book is about communication, or failure to do so. It's
a great book to read, highly recommend.

~~~
pavelrub
Tarkovsky made films about what he cared about and what interested him. His
Solaris wasn't really meant to be about Lem's book, just as his Stalker isn't
about Roadside Picnic. Those books simply offer a setting where he could
explore his own ideas.

~~~
sanoli
I don't know, this might be the actual reason... or it's just that he couldn't
really put the book into film. It's _very_ difficult to do so, some may say
it's just impossible since the mediums are so different. But your answer has
been used before by people defending this or that director, and sometimes it
just seems like a cop out, "Oh, he didn't really care about the book".

P.S. Sorry if I sound a bit harsh. Not my intention.

~~~
Jehar
Can I attempt to clarify the perceived intention of Tarkovsky with his novel
adaptation? I wouldn't frame the films as evidence that he didn't care about
the source material or what it attempted to say. Rather, it seems to me that
these films are his _responses_ to the novels, or at least meditations on what
the novels said to Tarkovsky.

Another factor is that film and literature are very different languages, and
aiming for a 1:1 translation can often result in a work that is missing pieces
that were only communicable in the original. If we acknowledge that any given
novel will have aspects of it that are un-filmable (interior monologue,
relative time dilation, for simple examples), then it is the job of the
director to re-create the spirit of those aspects while making them work for
his media. As a result, the director cannot help but inject his own views and
thoughts into the work. Nobody embodies this more strongly to me than
Tarkovsky, with Kubrick as a close second. In fact, King's own attempt
(shudder) at filming The Shining may prove this point all by itself; it's
apparent that King doesn't understand the medium he was attempting to use.

------
update
Excerpt [1] Tarkovsky's "Nostalgia"[2]:

‘What are you reading?’ Gorchakov asks, unexpectedly.

‘Tarkovsky ... Poems by Arseny Tarkovsky.’ Eugenia looks a little taken aback,
as though caught red-handed.

‘In Russian?’

‘No, it’s a translation ... A pretty good one ...’

‘Chuck them out.’

‘What for? ... Actually, the person who translated them, he’s an amazing poet,
in his own right ...’ she says, as though trying to justify herself.

‘Poetry can’t be translated ... Art in general is untranslatable ...’

[1] [http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DLCL/cgi-
bin/web/files/skakov_t...](http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DLCL/cgi-
bin/web/files/skakov_the_im-possible_translation_of_nostalgia.pdf)

[2]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086022/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086022/)

------
avodonosov
Bad translation. Some phrases in subtitles have opposite meaning; or another
character starts speaking, but subtitles join his words to the sentence said
by the previous speaker.

E.g. stalker says "идите" (go away), translation says "come with me"

~~~
10098
The funny thing is "идите" can mean both "go away" and "come with me"
depending on the context and intonation. They should've simply translated it
as "go!".

~~~
avodonosov
Without context it is just "go", and that would be an appropriate translation
too. He meant "go (away)" and by no means "come with me".

------
eswat
I recommend reading Roadside Picnic[1] if you’ve watched Stalker (movie is
based on the book).

There is also the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game series[2] that’s loosely-based on
both. Also recommended if you’re into post-apoc and want a different
perspective on it than western video games.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic)

[2]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R._(series)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R._\(series\))

~~~
mratzloff
_Roadside Picnic_ is one of my favorites. I've been wanting to watch the
Tartovsky film ( _Stalker_ ) but had been waiting for a Blu-ray version. This
works, too!

(Never touched the game, but the reviews look good. Unfortunately I'm terrible
at FPS games, so I doubt I'll ever play this.)

~~~
ijk
There are a couple of articles you might find interesting, that build on some
of the links between the film, the book, and the games:

[http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/may/01/zone-
cherno...](http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/may/01/zone-chernobyl-
tarkovsky-video-game/)

[http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/ghosts-of-future-
borrow...](http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/ghosts-of-future-borrowing-
architecture.html)

------
Cyph0n
I have only watched "Solyaris", but I believe I can say that Tarkovsky is one
of the greatest directors who ever lived. I read the novel after watching the
film, and while the film missed a few of the core themes of Lem's masterful
piece of sci-fi, it still was able to capture the essence of the planetary
being that is Solaris.

Stalker has been on my watch-list for quite some time now, but I haven't got
around to watching it. Maybe tonight?

------
Cbasedlifeform
Nostalghia is one of my favourite films ever. The scene with the shadow of the
rain on the villa walls… poetry in motion.

~~~
rdtsc
Give The Mirror a try. It is highly autobiographical so it is probably not his
most well known or well liked film but its cinematic techniques are some of
the best. Poetry in motion is how I can best describe it as well.

------
xefer
I can recommend the book: "Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a
Room"

[http://amazon.com/o/asin/0307390314](http://amazon.com/o/asin/0307390314)

which is a short, personal appreciation-cum-memoir of Tarkovsky's "Stalker"

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udev
Watching a Tarkovsky movie is a very interesting experience. People that never
did are in for a treat. All you need are good subtitles.

One might say that a movie is a movie, a sequence of images, and it can't be
that much different.

Yet, there is that feeling, that unmistakable sensory discovery that you make,
when watching a movie like Stalker, or Mirror. You will find yourself in an
unusual, novel, state of mind, and will witness your thoughts wandering on new
territory.

I have, as many others here, difficulty putting these things into words. But
that is for the better, as you should see for yourself.

------
dharma1
still waiting for a high quality HD transfer of Stalker...

~~~
wahnfrieden
You'll have more luck keeping an eye out for 35mm screenings near you. I saw
it on 35mm a few weeks ago, the picture and color was stunning. Much better
than any bluray release would be :) I wonder why there's no bluray, it might
be caught up in some licensing hell. There's not even a good US domestic DVD.

~~~
wahnfrieden
More concretely, if you live in/near NYC, follow
[http://screenslate.com](http://screenslate.com) \- we get a wealth of
repertory film screenings all the time. I've managed to see Andrei Rublev, The
Mirror, Nostalgia (twice!), and Stalker all in 35mm over the past couple
years.

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pipy
There are some good Russian movies that are somewhat unknown to the Western
public. For example, I wonder if any of you have seen these:

Georgiy Daneliya. "Kin-dza-dza!" (1986) [1]

Larisa Shepitko. "The Ascent" (1977) [2]

Leonid Maryagin. "Public enemy - Bukharin" (1990) [3]

Aleksey German. "Twenty Days Without War" (1977) [4]

Aleksey German. "Khrustalyov, My Car!" (1998) [5]

Stanislav Rostotskiy. "A zori zdes tikhie" (1972) [6]

Mikhail Kalatozov. "True Friends" (1954) [7]

Mikhail Kozakov. "Pokrov Gates" (1982) [8]

Georgiy Daneliya. "Osenniy marafon" (1979) [9]

Elem Klimov. "Come and See" (1985) [10]

Victor Ginzburg. "Generation П" (2011) [11]

Sergei Gerasimov. "The Journalist" (1967) [12]

(this one is Polish) Juliusz Machulski. "Sexmission" (1984) [13]

(also Polish) Krzysztof Kieslowski. "The Decalogue" (1989) [14]

[1]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091341/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091341/)

[2]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075404/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075404/)

[3]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100891/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100891/)

[4]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074447/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074447/)

[5]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156701/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156701/)

[6]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068161/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068161/)

[7]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047650/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047650/)

[8]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083465/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083465/)

[9]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079679/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079679/)

[10]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/)

[11]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459748/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459748/)

[12]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062524/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062524/)

[13]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/)

[14]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092337/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092337/)

~~~
rdtsc
Good list. Yeah, I really like Shepitko's "The Ascent".

Kalatozov is really good. The Cranes Are Flying (Russian: Летят журавли) has
really beautiful cinematography.

Also
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Cuba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Cuba)
is outstanding for cinematography. You will probably not enjoy its propaganda
message, and Cubans didn't like, but cinematography wise it is a beautiful
film.

~~~
pipy
Thanks for suggesting to watch "I Am Cuba", I definitely will.

"The Cranes Are Flying" is an amazing movie, I totally agree. I think it is a
great illustration of an idea that morally-strong and courageous people are
the first ones to die in hard times.

If you like "The Ascent", I wonder if you'd also be fond of her other movies,
first of all, "Ty i ya" (1971) [1] (The film has it's fair share of problems
but I find the main idea behind it really powerful). I'd also recommend you to
watch movies made by her husband, Elem Klimov, at least, "Come and See" [2]
and "Rasputin" [3].

As about "Come and See", for me it has a somewhat personal theme: when Nazis
were exterminating the people of his village near Ula, the grandfather of my
ex has survived only by chance. His mother, while holding him, has jumped into
the ravine before the bullets hit them.

[1]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067894/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067894/)

[2]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/)

[3]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081991/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081991/)

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DanBC
"This video is only available on WiFi" \- wtf YouTube?

