Andrei's paternal grandfather Aleksandr Karlovich Tarkovsky (in Polish:Aleksander Karol Tarkowski) was aPolish nobleman who worked as a bank clerk. His wife Maria Danilovna Rachkovskaya was aRomanian language teacher who arrived fromIași.[9] Andrei's maternal grandmother Vera Nikolayevna Vishnyakova (née Dubasova) belonged to an old Dubasov family ofRussian nobility that traces its history back to the 17th century; among her relatives was AdmiralFyodor Dubasov, a fact she had to conceal during the Soviet days. She was married to Ivan Ivanovich Vishnyakov, a native of theKaluga Governorate who studied law at theMoscow State University and served as a judge inKozelsk.[10][11]
According to the family legend, Tarkovsky's ancestors on his father's side were princes from theShamkhalate of Tarki, Dagestan, although his sister,Marina Tarkovskaya, who conducted detailed research on their genealogy, called it "a myth, even a prank of sorts," stressing that no document confirms this narrative.[9]
Tarkovsky spent his childhood inYuryevets.[12] His father left the family in 1937, subsequently volunteering for the army in 1941. He returned home in 1943, having been awarded theOrder of the Red Star after being shot in one of his legs (which he would eventually need to have amputated due to gangrene).[13] Tarkovsky stayed with his mother, moving with her and his sister Marina to Moscow, where she worked as a proofreader at a printing press.
In 1939, Tarkovsky enrolled at the Moscow School No. 554. During the war, the three evacuated to Yuryevets, living with his maternal grandmother. In 1943, the family returned to Moscow. Tarkovsky continued his studies at his old school, where the poetAndrei Voznesensky was one of his classmates. He studied piano at a music school and attended classes at an art school. The family lived on Shchipok Street in theZamoskvorechye District in Moscow. From November 1947 to spring 1948 he was in the hospital with tuberculosis. Many themes of his childhood—the evacuation, his mother and her two children, the withdrawn father, the time in the hospital—feature prominently in his filmMirror.
In his school years, Tarkovsky was a troublemaker and a poor student.[14][15] He still managed to graduate, and from 1951 to 1952 studiedArabic at the Oriental Institute in Moscow, a branch of theAcademy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. He did not finish his studies and dropped out to work as a prospector for the Academy of Science Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold. He participated in a year-long research expedition to the riverKureyka nearTurukhansk in theKrasnoyarsk Province. During this time in thetaiga, Tarkovsky decided to study film.
Upon returning from the research expedition in 1954, Tarkovsky applied at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and was admitted to the film-directing program. He was in the same class asIrma Raush (Irina) whom he married in April 1957.[16]
The earlyKhrushchev era offered good opportunities for young film directors. Before 1953, annual film production was low and most films were directed by veteran directors. After 1953, more films were produced, many of them by young directors. TheKhrushchev Thaw relaxed Soviet social restrictions a bit and permitted a limited influx of European and North American literature, films and music. This allowed Tarkovsky to see films of theItalian neorealists,French New Wave, and of directors such asKurosawa,Buñuel,Bergman,Bresson,Wajda (whose filmAshes and Diamonds influenced Tarkovsky) andMizoguchi.
Tarkovsky's teacher and mentor wasMikhail Romm, who taught many film students who would later become influential film directors. In 1956, Tarkovsky directed his first student short film,The Killers, from a short story ofErnest Hemingway. The longer television filmThere Will Be No Leave Today followed in 1959. Both films were a collaboration between the VGIK students. ClassmateAleksandr Gordon, who married Tarkovsky's sister, in particular directed, wrote, edited, and acted in the two films with Tarkovsky.
During his third year at the VGIK, Tarkovsky metAndrei Konchalovsky. They found much in common as they liked the same film directors and shared ideas on cinema and films. In 1959, they wrote the scriptAntarctica – Distant Country, which was later published in theMoskovskij Komsomolets. Tarkovsky submitted the script toLenfilm, but it was rejected. They were more successful with the scriptThe Steamroller and the Violin, which they sold toMosfilm. This became Tarkovsky's graduation project, earning him his diploma in 1960 and winning First Prize at the New York Student Film Festival in 1961.
Tarkovsky's first feature film wasIvan's Childhood in 1962. He had inherited the film from director Eduard Abalov, who had to abort the project. The film earned Tarkovsky international acclaim and won theGolden Lion award at theVenice Film Festival in the year 1962. In the same year, on 30 September, his first son Arseny (called Senka in Tarkovsky's diaries) Tarkovsky was born.
In 1965, he directed the filmAndrei Rublev about the life ofAndrei Rublev, the fifteenth-century Russianicon painter.Andrei Rublev was not, except for a single screening in Moscow in 1966, immediately released after completion due to problems with Soviet authorities. Tarkovsky had to cut the film several times, resulting in several different versions of varying lengths. The film was widely released in the Soviet Union in a cut version in 1971. Nevertheless, the film had a budget of more than 1 million rubles – a significant sum for that period.[17] A version of the film was presented at theCannes Film Festival in 1969 and won theFIPRESCI prize.
He divorced his wife, Irina, in June 1970. In the same year, he marriedLarisa Kizilova (née Egorkina), who had been a production assistant for the filmAndrei Rublev (they had been living together since 1965). Their son, Andrei Andreyevich Tarkovsky, (nicknamed Andriosha, meaning "little Andre" or "Andre Junior") was born in the same year on 7 August.[18]
From 1973 to 1974, he shot the filmMirror, a highly autobiographical and unconventionally structured film drawing on his childhood and incorporating some of his father's poems. In this film Tarkovsky portrayed the plight of childhood affected by war. Tarkovsky had worked on the screenplay for this film since 1967, under the consecutive titlesConfession,White day andA white, white day. From the beginning the film was not well received by Soviet authorities due to its content and its perceived elitist nature. Soviet authorities placed the film in the "third category", a severely limited distribution, and only allowed it to be shown in third-class cinemas and workers' clubs. Few prints were made and the film-makers received no returns. Third category films also placed the film-makers in danger of being accused of wasting public funds, which could have serious effects on their future productivity.[19] These difficulties are presumed to have made Tarkovsky play with the idea of going abroad and producing a film outside the Soviet film industry.[20]
During 1975, Tarkovsky also worked on the screenplayHoffmanniana, about the German writer and poetE. T. A. Hoffmann. In December 1976, he directedHamlet, his only stage play, at theLenkom Theatre in Moscow. The main role was played byAnatoly Solonitsyn, who also acted in several of Tarkovsky's films. At the end of 1978, he also wrote the screenplaySardor together with the writer Aleksandr Misharin.
The last film Tarkovsky completed in the Soviet Union wasStalker, inspired by the novelRoadside Picnic by the brothersArkady and Boris Strugatsky. Tarkovsky had met the brothers first in 1971 and was in contact with them until his death in 1986. Initially he wanted to shoot a film based on their novelDead Mountaineer's Hotel and he developed a raw script. Influenced by a discussion with Arkady Strugatsky he changed his plan and began to work on the script based onRoadside Picnic. Work on this film began in 1976. The production was mired in troubles; improper development of the negatives had ruined all the exterior shots. Tarkovsky's relationship with cinematographerGeorgy Rerberg deteriorated to the point where he hiredAlexander Knyazhinsky as a new first cinematographer. Furthermore, Tarkovsky had a heart attack in April 1978, resulting in further delay. The film was completed in 1979 and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at theCannes Film Festival. In a question and answer session at theEdinburgh Filmhouse on 11 February 1981, Tarkovsky trenchantly rejected suggestions that the film was either impenetrably mysterious or a politicalallegory.[21]
During the summer of 1979, Tarkovsky traveled to Italy, where he shot the documentaryVoyage in Time together with his long-time friendTonino Guerra. Tarkovsky returned to Italy in 1980 for an extended trip, during which he and Guerra completed the script for the filmNostalghia. During this period, he took Polaroid photographs depicting his personal life.[22]
Tarkovsky returned to Italy in 1982 to start shootingNostalghia, butMosfilm then withdrew from the project, so he sought and received financial backing from the ItalianRAI. Tarkovsky completed the film in 1983, and it was presented at theCannes Film Festival where it won theFIPRESCI prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Tarkovsky also shared a special prize calledGrand Prix du cinéma de création withRobert Bresson. Soviet authorities lobbied to prevent the film from winning thePalme d'Or,[23] a fact that hardened Tarkovsky's resolve to never work in the Soviet Union again. After Cannes he went to London to stage and choreograph the operaBoris Godunov at theRoyal Opera House under the musical direction ofClaudio Abbado.
Mug shot of Andrei Tarkovsky at the Latina Refugee Camp ofLatina (Italy) in 1985
At a press conference inMilan on 10 July 1984, he announced that he would never return to the Soviet Union and would remain in Western Europe. He stated, "I am not a Soviet dissident, I have no conflict with the Soviet Government," but if he returned home, he added, "I would be unemployed."[24] At that time, his son Andriosha was still in the Soviet Union and not allowed to leave the country. On 28 August 1985, Tarkovsky was processed as a Soviet Defector at a refugee camp inLatina, Italy, registered with the serial number 13225/379, and officially welcomed to the West.[25][26]
Tarkovsky spent most of 1984 preparing the filmThe Sacrifice. It was finally shot in 1985 in Sweden, with many of the crew being alumni fromIngmar Bergman's films, including cinematographerSven Nykvist. Tarkovsky's vision of his film was greatly influenced by Bergman's style.
WhileThe Sacrifice is about an apocalypse and impending death, faith, and possible redemption, in the making-of documentaryDirected by Andrei Tarkovsky, in a particularly poignant scene, writer/directorMichal Leszczylowski follows Tarkovsky on a walk as he expresses his sentiments on death—he claims himself to be immortal and has no fear of dying. Ironically, at the end of the year Tarkovsky was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. In January 1986, he began treatment in Paris and was joined there by his son, Andre Jr, who was finally allowed to leave the Soviet Union. What would be Tarkovsky's final film was dedicated to him.
The Sacrifice was presented at theCannes Film Festival and received theGrand Prix Spécial du Jury, theFIPRESCI prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. As Tarkovsky was unable to attend due to his illness, the prizes were collected by his son.
In Tarkovsky's lastdiary entry (15 December 1986), he wrote: "But now I have no strength left—that is the problem". The diaries are sometimes also known asMartyrology and were published posthumously in 1989 and in English in 1991.
Tarkovsky died in Paris on 29 December 1986. His funeral ceremony was held at theAlexander Nevsky Cathedral. He was buried on 3 January 1987 in theRussian Cemetery inSainte-Geneviève-des-Bois in France. The inscription on his gravestone, which was erected in 1994, was conceived by Tarkovsky's wife, Larisa, reads:To the man who saw the Angel. Larisa died in 1998 and is buried beside her husband.[27]
Tarkovsky, his wife Larisa, and actorAnatoly Solonitsyn all died from the same type ofcancer. Vladimir Sharun, a sound designer forStalker, was convinced that all three died due to exposure to chemicals released from a chemical plant upstream from where the film was shot.[6][unreliable source?]
Tarkovsky became a film director during the mid and late 1950s, a period referred to as theKhrushchev Thaw, during which Soviet society opened to foreign films, literature and music, among other things. This allowed Tarkovsky to see films of European, American and Japanese directors, an experience that influenced his own film making. His teacher and mentor at the film school,Mikhail Romm, allowed his students considerable freedom and emphasized the independence of the film director.
Tarkovsky was, according to fellow student Shavkat Abdusalmov, fascinated by Japanese films. He was amazed by how every character on the screen is exceptional and how everyday events such as a Samurai cutting bread with his sword are elevated to something special and put into the limelight.[28] Tarkovsky has also expressed interest in the art ofHaiku and its ability to create "images in such a way that they mean nothing beyond themselves".[29]
With the exception ofCity Lights, the list does not contain any films of the early silent era. The reason is that Tarkovsky saw film as an art as only a relatively recent phenomenon, with the early film-making forming only a prelude. The list has also no films or directors from Tarkovsky's native Soviet Union, although he rated Soviet directors such asBoris Barnet,Sergei Parajanov, andAlexander Dovzhenko highly. He said of Dovzhenko'sEarth: "I have lived a lot among very simple farmers and met extraordinary people. They spread calmness, had such tact, they conveyed a feeling of dignity and displayed wisdom that I have seldom come across on such a scale. Dovzhenko had obviously understood wherein the sense of life resides. [...] This trespassing of the border between nature and mankind is an ideal place for the existence of man. Dovzhenko understood this."[33] Tarkovsky consideredEarth to be his cinematic "university" and would watch the film whenever beginning a new work.[8]
He was also not a fan of blockbusters or science fiction, largely dismissing the latter for its "comic book" trappings and vulgar commercialism. According to his son, Andrei A. Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky enjoyedGeorge Lucas'sStar Wars.[34][35]
In his work, Tarkovsky explored philosophical and religious themes, such as the meaning and experience of faith, inner freedom, the soul's relation to the divine or non-material realm, and the act of artistic creation.[36][37] These themes found direct expression in his unique cinematic formal style and subject matter.
Although he considered himself to be a religious person, he refused to be narrowly defined by any one label and had little regard for the institutional church.[38]: 237 [b] Speaking aboutThe Sacrifice, in his last interview he stated: "I don't think it's really important whether I adhere to any particular conviction or faith—heathen, Catholic, Protestant or Christian in general. What matters is the film."[37]: 10
Tarkovsky was vehemently critical of what he perceived to be the overly rationalistic, egoistic, decadent, and materialistic outlook ofWestern culture, which in his view was concerned more with monetary profit and individual self-expression than with artistic ideals like beauty, truth, and selflessness.[38]: 231–241 Thiscritique of late modernity is embedded in his films.[41] As his diaries indicate, these perceptions were heightened during his period of exile in the West.[40]
Against this state of societal decline and spiritual impoverishment, Tarkovsky expounded an ethics of art based on a "poetic" understanding of the passions and complexities of life, one in which freedom and authentic action are possible.[42] The artist, for Tarkovsky, has a quasi-religious, ascetic duty to disavow the self in service of a higher spiritual purpose, a process mirrored by characters in films such asAndrei Rublev,Stalker, andThe Sacrifice. Tarkovsky saw fragments of this artistic ideal in some Western art (notablyJ.S. Bach), inEastern Orthodox Christianiconography, and, increasingly, in East Asian spiritual traditions likeTaoism andZen Buddhism—elements of which also recur in the films.[41][43] Many of his films can be viewed as expressing the dualistic conflict between these opposing worldviews of West and East.[44]
In interviews and writings, Tarkovsky frequently commented that art itself was the epitome of a religious sensibility which actively surrendered to something greater than the self:
The one thing that mankind has ever created in a spirit of self-surrender is the artistic image. Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create is evidence that we ourselves were created in the image and likeness of God?
In a 1962 interview, Tarkovsky argued: "All art, of course, is intellectual, but for me, all the arts, and cinema even more so, must above all be emotional and act upon the heart."[45] His films are characterized bymetaphysical themes, extremelylong takes, and images often considered by critics to be of exceptional beauty. Recurring motifs are dreams, memory, childhood, running water accompanied by fire, rain indoors, reflections, levitation, and characters re-appearing in the foreground of long panning movements of the camera. He once said: "Juxtaposing a person with an environment that is boundless, collating him with a countless number of people passing by close to him and far away, relating a person to the whole world, that is the meaning of cinema."
Tarkovsky incorporated levitation scenes into several of his films, most notablySolaris. To him these scenes possess great power and are used for their photogenic value and magical inexplicability.[46] Water, clouds, and reflections were used by him for their surreal beauty and photogenic value, as well as their symbolism, such as waves or the forms of brooks or running water.[47] Bells and candles are also frequent symbols. These are symbols of film, sight and sound, and Tarkovsky's film frequently has themes of self-reflection.[48]
Tarkovsky developed a theory of cinema that he called "sculpting in time". By this he meant that the unique characteristic of cinema as a medium was to take our experience of time and alter it. Unedited movie footage transcribes time inreal time. By using long takes and few cuts in his films, he aimed to give the viewers a sense of time passing, time lost, and the relationship of one moment in time to another.
Up to, and including, his filmMirror, Tarkovsky focused his cinematic works on exploring this theory. AfterMirror, he announced that he would focus his work on exploring thedramatic unities proposed byAristotle: a concentrated action, happening in one place, within the span of a single day.
Several of Tarkovsky's films have color or black-and-white sequences. This first occurs in the otherwise monochromeAndrei Rublev, which features a color epilogue ofRublev's authentic religious icon paintings. All of his films afterwards contain monochrome, and inStalker's casesepia sequences, while otherwise being in color. In 1966, in an interview conducted shortly after finishingAndrei Rublev, Tarkovsky dismissed color film as a "commercial gimmick" and cast doubt on the idea that contemporary films meaningfully use color. He claimed that in everyday life one does not consciously notice colors most of the time, and that color should therefore be used in film mainly to emphasize certain moments, but not all the time, as this distracts the viewer. To him, films in color were like moving paintings or photographs, which are too beautiful to be a realistic depiction of life.[49]
My discovery of Tarkovsky's first film was like a miracle. Suddenly, I found myself standing at the door of a room the keys of which had until then, never been given to me. It was a room I had always wanted to enter and where he was moving freely and fully at ease. I felt encountered and stimulated: someone was expressing what I had always wanted to say without knowing how. Tarkovsky is for me the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.
Contrarily, however, Bergman conceded the truth in the claim made by a critic who wrote that "withAutumn Sonata Bergman does Bergman", adding: "Tarkovsky began to make Tarkovsky films, and thatFellini began to make Fellini films [...]Buñuel nearly always made Buñuel films." Thispastiche of one's own work has been derogatorily termed as "self-karaoke".[51]
Tarkovsky worked in close collaboration with cinematographerVadim Yusov from 1958 to 1972, and much of the visual style of Tarkovsky's films can be attributed to this collaboration.[52] Tarkovsky would spend two days preparing for Yusov to film a single long take, and due to the preparation, usually only a single take was needed.[53]
In his last film,The Sacrifice, Tarkovsky worked with cinematographerSven Nykvist, who had worked on many films with directorIngmar Bergman. (Nykvist was not alone: several people involved in the production had previously collaborated with Bergman, notably lead actorErland Josephson, who had also acted for Tarkovsky inNostalghia.) Nykvist complained that Tarkovsky would frequently look through the camera and even direct actors through it, but ultimately stated that choosing to work with Tarkovsky was one of the best choices he had ever made.[53]
Tarkovsky is mainly known as a film director. During his career he directed seven feature films, as well as three shorts from his time at VGIK. His features are:
He also wrote several screenplays. Furthermore, he directed the playHamlet for the stage in Moscow, directed the operaBoris Godunov in London, and he directed a radio production of the short storyTurnabout byWilliam Faulkner. He also wroteSculpting in Time, a book on film theory.
Tarkovsky's first feature film wasIvan's Childhood in 1962. He then directedAndrei Rublev in 1966,Solaris in 1972,Mirror in 1975 andStalker in 1979. The documentaryVoyage in Time was produced in Italy in 1982, as wasNostalghia in 1983. His last filmThe Sacrifice was produced in Sweden in 1986. Tarkovsky was personally involved in writing the screenplays for all his films, sometimes with a cowriter. Tarkovsky once said that a director who realizes somebody else's screenplay without being involved in it becomes a mere illustrator, resulting in dead and monotonous films.[54][55]
Instant Light, Tarkovsky Polaroids. London: Thames and Hudson, 2006.ISBN9780500286142. A book of 60 photographs taken by Tarkovsky in Russia and Italy between 1979 and 1984. Edited by Italian photographerGiovanni Chiaramonte and Tarkovsky's son Andrey A. Tarkovsky.
Bright, bright day. Tarkovsky Foundation and White Space Gallery, 2008. A book of Polaroids edited byStephen Gill.ISBN978-0955739415. Edition of 3000 copies.
Concentrate (Концентрат,Kontsentrat) is a never-filmed 1958 screenplay by Tarkovsky. The screenplay is based on Tarkovsky's year in thetaiga as a member of a research expedition, prior to his enrollment in film school.[56] It's about the leader of a geological expedition, who waits for the boat that brings back theconcentrates collected by the expedition. The expedition is surrounded by mystery, and its purpose is a state secret.
Although some authors claim that the screenplay was filmed, according to Marina Tarkovskaya, Tarkovsky's sister (and wife of Aleksandr Gordon, a fellow student of Tarkovsky during his film school years) the screenplay was never filmed. Tarkovsky wrote the screenplay during his entrance examination at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in a single sitting. He earned the highest possible grade, "excellent" (отлично) for this work. In 1994, fragments ofConcentrate were filmed and used in the documentaryAndrei Tarkovsky's Taiga Summer by Marina Tarkovskaya and Aleksandr Gordon.[57]
Hoffmanniana (Гофманиана) is a never-filmed 1974 screenplay by Tarkovsky. The screenplay is based on the life and work of German authorE. T. A. Hoffmann. In 1974, an acquaintance fromTallinnfilm approached Tarkovsky to write a screenplay on a German theme. Tarkovsky consideredThomas Mann and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and also thought aboutIbsen'sPeer Gynt. In the end Tarkovsky signed a contract for a script based on the life and work of Hoffmann. He planned to write the script during the summer of 1974 at hisdacha. Writing was not without difficulty, less than a month before the deadline he had not written a single page. He finally finished the project in late 1974 and submitted the final script to Tallinnfilm in October.[58]
Although the script was well received by the officials at Tallinnfilm, it was the consensus that no one but Tarkovsky would be able to direct it. The script was sent toGoskino in February 1976, and although approval was granted for proceeding with making the film, the screenplay was never realized. In 1984, during the time of his exile in the West, Tarkovsky revisited the screenplay and made a few changes. He also considered to finally direct a film based on the screenplay but ultimately dropped this idea.[58]
Voyage in Time (1983): documents the travels in Italy of Andrei Tarkovsky in preparation for the making of his filmNostalghia, co-directed withTonino Guerra.
Tarkovsky: A Poet in the Cinema (1984): directed by Donatella Baglivo.
Under the influence ofGlasnost andPerestroika, Tarkovsky was finally recognized in the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1986, shortly before his death, by a retrospective of his films in Moscow. After his death, an entire issue of the film magazineIskusstvo Kino was devoted to Tarkovsky. In their obituaries, the film committee of theCouncil of Ministers of the Soviet Union and the Union of Soviet Film Makers expressed their sorrow that Tarkovsky had to spend the last years of his life in exile.[63]
Posthumously, he was awarded theLenin Prize in 1990, one of the highest state honors in the Soviet Union. In 1989, theAndrei Tarkovsky Memorial Prize was established, with its first recipient being the Russian animatorYuri Norstein. In three consecutive events, theMoscow International Film Festival awarded theAndrei Tarkovsky Award in 1993, 1995, and 1997.[64][65][66]
Tarkovsky has been the subject of several documentaries. Most notable is the 1988 documentaryMoscow Elegy, by Russian film directorAlexander Sokurov. Sokurov's own work has been heavily influenced by Tarkovsky. The film consists mostly of narration over stock footage from Tarkovsky's films.Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is a 1988 documentary film byMichal Leszczylowski, an editor of the filmThe Sacrifice. Film directorChris Marker produced the television documentaryOne Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich as an homage to Andrei Tarkovsky in 2000.[69]
Andrei Tarkovsky and his works have received praise from many filmmakers, critics and thinkers.
The Swedish filmmakerIngmar Bergman was quoted as saying: "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [of us all], the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream".[71]
The Japanese filmmakerAkira Kurosawa remarked on Tarkovsky's films as saying: "His unusual sensitivity is both overwhelming and astounding. It almost reaches a pathological intensity. Probably there is no equal among film directors alive now." Kurosawa also commented: "I love all of Tarkovsky's films. I love his personality and all his works. Every cut from his films is a marvelous image in itself. But the finished image is nothing more than the imperfect accomplishment of his idea. His ideas are only realized in part. And he had to make do with it."[72]
The Iranian filmmakerAbbas Kiarostami remarked that: "Tarkovsky's works separate me completely from physical life, and are the most spiritual films I have seen".[72]
The Polish filmmakerKrzysztof Kieślowski commented that: "Andrei Tarkovsky was one of the greatest directors of recent years,"[72] and regarded Tarkovsky's filmIvan's Childhood as an influence on his own work.[73]
The Turkish filmmakerNuri Bilge Ceylan said that when he first discovered the films of Andrei Tarkovsky as a college student, unsure of what he wanted to do with his life, he was utterly baffled by the lauded Soviet master. He walked out of a screening ofSolaris at the halfway point, and stopped a VHS tape ofMirror at a similar juncture. Today, he considers the latter to be the greatest film ever made. "I've seen it maybe 20 times," he says.[74]
The Armenian filmmakerSergei Parajanov remarked that watching Tarkovsky's film,Ivan's Childhood was his main inspiration to become a filmmaker by saying: "I did not know how to do anything and I would not have done anything if there had not beenIvan's Childhood".[73]
The Austrian filmmakerMichael Haneke voted forMirror on his top 10 films in the 2002Sight & Sound directors' poll[75][76] and later said that he has seen the picture at least 25 times.[77][78]
The American filmmakerStan Brakhage said that: "I personally think that the three greatest tasks for film in the 20th century are (1) To make the epic, that is to tell the tales of the tribes of the world. (2) To keep it personal, because only in the eccentricities of our personal lives do we have any chances at the truth. (3) To do the dream work, that is, to illuminate the borders of the unconscious. The only filmmaker I know that does all these three things equally in every film he makes is Andrei Tarkovsky, and that's why I think he's the greatest living narrative filmmaker."[79][80]
The Greek filmmakerTheo Angelopoulos regarded Tarkovsky's filmStalker as one of the films that influenced him.[83]
The Polish filmmakerAndrzej Żuławski remarked that: "If anybody influenced anybody, it's me being influenced by Tarkovsky, not the reverse", and called Tarkovsky's filmAndrei Rublev a "masterpiece".[84]
The Greek-Australian filmmakerAlex Proyas was "extremely influenced" by Tarkovsky's work and citedStalker as one of his favorite films.[85]
The French philosopherJean-Paul Sartre highly praised Tarkovsky's filmIvan's Childhood, saying that it was one of the most beautiful films he had ever seen.[86]
The Indian-born British American novelistSalman Rushdie praised Tarkovsky and his workSolaris by calling it "a sci-fi masterpiece".[88]
Film historianSteven Dillon says that much of subsequent film was deeply influenced by the films of Tarkovsky.[89]
Mexican filmmakerAlejandro González Iñarritu is a huge fan of Tarkovsky. He once said in an interview: "Andrei Rublev is maybe my favorite film ever", and in another interview, he added: "I remember, the first time I saw a Tarkovsky film, I was shocked by it. I did not know what to do. I was shocked by it. I was fascinated, because suddenly I realized that film could have so many more layers to it than what I had imagined before". There are many direct references and hidden tributes to Tarkovsky's movies in Iñarritu's 2015 Oscar-winning dramaThe Revenant.[90]
Danish film directorLars von Trier is a fervent admirer of Tarkovsky. He dedicated his 2009 filmAntichrist to him, and, while discussing it with critic David Jenkins, asked: "Have you seenMirror? I was hypnotised! I've seen it 20 times. It's the closest thing I've got to a religion – to me he is a god".[91]
The Japanese composerRyuichi Sakamoto was an admirer of Tarkovsky's work, describing his penultimate solo album,async as "a soundtrack for an imaginary Tarkovsky film."[92] On Tarkovsky's overall influence on his own work, Sakamoto stated, "As I've been making music and trying to go deeper and deeper, I was finally able to understand what the Tarkovsky movies are about — how symphonic they are — it's almost music. Not just the sounds — it's a symphony of moving images and sounds. They are more complex than music."[93]
International Film Festival "Zerkalo" named after Andrei Tarkovsky (meaning "mirror"), "for fans of intellectual cinema";[94] also known as Tarkovsky Film festival – Zerkalo,[95] Zerkalo International Film Festival,[96] Andrei Tarkovsky Zerkalo International Film Festival,[97]Tarkovskyfest [ru] or simply Zerkalo,[98] The festival is organized by a committee headed byMikhail Men, governor ofIvanovo Oblast. Sister of Andrei Tarkovsky, Marina Tarkovsky was one of the co-founders and organizers. From 2010 the festival was directed byPavel Lungin.[98] In 2020, the president of the festival was Russian directorSergei Bodrov. Owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Russia, the 14th edition was held online in 2020, and appears to be the last one held, as of 2022[update].[99] The festival awards a number of prizes, including the Special Award for Contribution to Andrei Tarkovsky's Cinema.[98][100] Held inIvanovo since 2007,[101] the festival is held in July each year, with the 16th edition scheduled for 22–27 July, to be held in various cities in the Ivanovo region, with special screenings in Moscow. Films from France, India, Greece, Serbia, Colombia, Kazakhstan and other countries were entered into the competition, and a gala night was dedicated to Tarkovsky's 90th birthday, on the main square of his hometown ofYuryevets on 22 July.[102]
^"Filming Eternity". Archived fromthe original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved17 January 2017. interview with Tarkovsky's sister Marina Tarkovskaya,Itogy [ru] journal, 2 April 2012 (in Russian).
^Aleksandr Lipkov; Robert Bird (1 February 1967)."The Passion According to Andrei: An Unpublished Interview with Andrei Tarkovsky".nostalghia.com. Literaturnoe obozrenie 1988, University of Chicago. pp. 74–80. Retrieved22 March 2024.Interviewer: "What do you think about Pasolini's Gospel according to Matthew? That's also a kind of historical film." Tarkovsky: "Of course. I like the picture. I like it precisely because its director did not succumb to the temptation of interpreting the Bible. The Bible has been interpreted for two thousand years and no one can reach unanimous agreement. So Pasolini did not set himself this task, he just left the thing in the form in which it was born. Many feel that the image of a militant cruel Christ was made up by the author of the film. Not true! Read the Gospels and you will see that this was a cruel, cantankerous, irreconcilable man. Moreover with what genius was it written! On the one hand he's God and the Church has been relying on him for two thousand years, but he succumbs to doubt in the garden of Gethsemane. What could be simpler than to call for help from his father and avoid dying on the cross, but he doesn't do this. He is all back-to-front..."
^Lasica, Tom (March 1993)."Tarkovsky's Choice".Sight and Sound.3 (3). Archived fromthe original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved25 December 2007.
^abTarkovsky, Andrey (11 January 2002).Time Within Time: The Diaries, 1970–1986. Translated by Hunter-Blair, Kitty. London: Faber and Faber.ISBN9780571167173.
^John Gianvito (25 April 2024). "Introduction".Andrei Tarkovsky - Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. X.ISBN9781578062201.
^Maria Fadeeva (5 April 2012)."Andrei Tarkovsky: The filmmaker who saw an angel".Russia Beyond. Retrieved15 July 2021.Even Wim Wenders, the great creator of the road movie, dedicated his "Wings of Desire" to Tarkovsky and Ozu (along with France's François Truffaut), noting that these three film producers focused "on the enduring truth, which lasted from the first scene to the last."
^Catherine Lupton (2005).Chris Marker - Memories of the Future. Reaktion Books.ISBN9781861892232.
^Andrew Horton (29 September 2016). "3 - Angelopoulos, the Continuous Image and Cinema".The Films of Theo Angelopoulos - A Cinema of Contemplation. Princeton University Press. p. 73.ISBN9781400884421.We should realize, however, that Angelopoulos is an unusual paradox in the history of cinema: he is very clearly "Greek" as I have demonstrated, and yet he is an international filmmaker who has been influenced by filmmakers from around the globe. He has observed: "I draw techniques from everything I've seen....I continue to love...very much the films of Murnau, Mizoguchi, Antonioni. More recently: Tarkovsky's Stalker, Godard's Every Man for Himself and of course Ordet....
Jónsson, Gunnlaugur A.; Óttarsson, Thorkell Á. (2006).Through the Mirror: Reflections on the Films of Andrei Tarkovsky. Cambridge Scholars Press.ISBN978-1-904303-11-4.
Le Fanu, Mark (1987).The Cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky. British Film Institute.
Slevin, Tom (2010). "Existence, Ethics and Death in Andrei Tarkovsky's cinema: the cultural philosophy ofSolaris".Film International.8 (2):49–62.doi:10.1386/fiin.8.2.49.
^Tarkovsky was born in theRussian SFSR, with his mother being from theDubasov family [ru] ofRussian nobility, and with mixed Polish, Romanian and Russian ancestry on his paternal side; his nationality remained Soviet throughout his life, even during his last years in exile.
^The full quote fromSculpting in Time (p. 237) runs as follows: "Not even the Church can quench man's thirst for the Absolute, for unfortunately it only exists as a kind of appendage, copying or even caricaturing the social institutions by which our everyday life is organised. Certainly in today's world which leans so heavily towards the material and the technological, the Church so far shows no sign of being able to redress the balance with a call to a spiritual awakening."
