Andrei Rublev (1966)

Andrei Rublev (1966)
Andrey Rublyov (original title)
165 min

Country: Soviet Union
Language: Russian | Italian | Tatar


Director: Andrey Tarkovskiy
Writers: Andrey Tarkovskiy, Andrey Konchalovskiy
Stars: Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov and Nikolay Grinko


Andrei Rublev (Russian: Андрей Рублёв, Andrey Rublyov), also known as The Passion According to Andrei, is a 1966 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky from a screenplay written by Andrei Konchalovsky and Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, the great 15th century Russian icon painter. The film features Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Sergeyev, Nikolai Burlyayev and Tarkovsky's wife Irma Raush. Savva Yamshchikov, a famous Russian restorer and art historian, was a scientific consultant of the film.
Andrei Rublev is set against the background of 15th century Russia. Although the film is only loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, it seeks to depict a realistic portrait of medieval Russia. Tarkovsky sought to create a film that shows the artist as "a world-historic figure" and "Christianity as an axiom of Russia’s historical identity"during a turbulent period of Russian history that ultimately resulted in the Tsardom of Russia. The film is about the essence of art and the importance of faith and shows an artist who tries to find the appropriate response to the tragedies of his time. The film is also about artistic freedom and the possibility and necessity of making art for, and in the face of, a repressive authority and its hypocrisy, technology and empiricism, by which knowledge is acquired on one's own without reliance on authority, and the role of the individual, community, and government in the making of both spiritual and epic art.
Because of the film's religious themes and political ambiguity, it was not released domestically in the officially atheist and authoritarian Soviet Union for years after it was completed except for a single screening in Moscow. A version of the film was shown at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI prize. In 1971, a censored version of the film was released in the Soviet Union. The film was further cut for commercial reasons upon its U.S. release in 1973. As a result, several versions of the film exist.(Wikipedia Page)

"Stuns with the sort of unexpected poetic explosions we've come to expect from Tarkovsky"-Jonathan Rosenbaum

Awards:
Andrei Rublev won several awards. In 1969 the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Due to pressure by Soviet officials the film could only be shown out of competition, and was thus not eligible for the Palme d'Or or the Grand Prix. Nevertheless it won the prize of the international film critics, FIPRESCI. In 1971 Andrei Rublev won the Critics Award of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, and in 1973 the Jussi Award for best foreign film.

Ratings: 94% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read: Sensesofcinema.com

WATCH MOVIE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PAhbcy8mP4&feature=fvst