Significant Documentaries



One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
[Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch]


2000 - France / Director: Chris Marker
55 min / 1:1.33 – 16 mm

Screenshots
VHS available from First Run Icarus
Tempo di viaggio

1983 - Italy (RAI2/Sovinfilm) / Director: A. Tarkovsky and T. Guerra
63 min / 1:1.33 – 16 mm

Screenshots
Student Andrei Tarkovsky

2003 - Russia (VGIK) / Director: Galina Leontieva
29 min / 1:1.33 – xx mm

Screenshots
English subtitled. As found on the tape UNKNOWN TARKOVSKY (see Nostalghia.com, November 3, 2003 news brief).
Tarkovsky: A Journey to His Beginning

1996 - Japan (NHK) / Editor: Ms. Tomoko Baba
73 min / 1:1.33

Screenshots
See also companion book by Ms. Tomoko Baba.
Cinema Is A Mosaic Made Up Of Time
[Il cinema è un mosaico fatto di tempo]


1984 - Italy (CIAK) / Director: Donatella Baglivo
65 min / 1:1.33 – 16 mm

Screnshots: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Studio website: www.ciak2000.it
Andrey Tarkovsky in Nostalghia
[Andreij Tarkovskij in Nostalghia]


1984 - Italy (CIAK) / Director: Donatella Baglivo
90 min / 1:1.33 – 16 mm

Screenshots: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Studio website: www.ciak2000.it
Andrey Tarkovsky: A Poet in the Cinema
[Un Poeta nel Cinema: Andreij Tarkovskij]


1984 - Italy (CIAK) / Director: Donatella Baglivo
60 min / 1:1.33 – 16 mm

Screenshots: 1 | 2
Studio website: www.ciak2000.it
After Tarkovsky
[Posle Tarkovskogo]


2003 - Russia / Director: Peter Shepotinnik
59 min (color) / English subtitles

A lyrical video-essay made over the span of five years by TV jornalist and film critic Peter Shepotinnik. A number of people who knew Tarkovsky personally are interviewed, such as philosopher Vyacheslav Ivanov, Vadim Yusov, Oleg Yankovsky, Ignat Daniltsev, Anatole Dauman, Tonino Guerra, Mikhail Romadin, as well as Andrey Tarkovsky's relatives. Mr. Shepotinnik sent Nostalghia.com this English-language booklet [PDF], containing further information.
The Recall
[Vospominaniye]


1996 - Russia / Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Jr.
25 min / 1:1.33 – Beta

First showing on Russian TV December 1996 (the 10th anniversary of AT's death), and introduced to the viewing audience by Elem Klimov.
Screenshots: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Mosfilm — Mirror of an Empire
[Mosfilm, miroir d'un empire]




1999 — France (Imagie/TV10 Angers/Arkeion Films) / Directors: Laurence Bertoia, Bernard Louargant
53 min (color) / 1:1.33


Documentary about the rise and fall of Mosfilm. Sponsored by the CNC. English subtitled version taped off SBS (Australia). Includes comments by Naum Kleinman, Eisenstein, Koulechov, Vertov, Barnet, Tarkovski, Mikhailkov,...
Regi Andrej Tarkovskij
[The Genius, the Man, the Legend: Andrei Tarkovsky]


1988 - Sweden / Director: Michal Leszczylowski
101 min / 1:1.66 – 35 mm

Autograph from when I met Michal at Filmhuset 14. Aug 1997. - Trond
The Reflected Time
[Otrazhennoye Vremya]


1998 - Russia / Director: Eugene Borzov
97 min / 1:1.33 – VHS-C

Screenshot: 1
Prityazhenie pamyati
[Magnetism of Memory]


2006 - Russia / Director: Eugene Borzov
68 min / PAL DVD / Russian (No English subtitles)

Says the director: "Features interviews with organizers of Tarkovsky's visit to Ivanovo, with people who had a chance to see and hear him speaking about his Mirror on the stage in 1976. Unique pictures, unknown articles, autographs and documents, signed by the director during his stay in this city are widely used in the film. Those events evolve in the background of Tarkovsky's reflections on cinema, borrowed from his Diaries and Sculpting in Time. Shot in his native Zavrazhie, Yurievets, Ivanovo, and also in Italy and France."

See also our Sunday, October 22, 2006 news update.
Lighting
[Sätta Ljus]


1988 - Sweden (SFI) / Director: Kerstin Eriksdotter
46 min / 1:1.33 – video sources

Following Sven Nykvist on the set of The Sacrifice.
Featuring outtakes from the movie.
Cover scan of original Swedish edition
Screenshots
Building Images
[Bygga bilder]


1985 - Sweden (SFI) / Director: Kerstin Eriksdotter
46 min / 1:1.33 – video sources

Anna Asp on the scenography of The Sacrifice.
Featuring outtakes from the movie.
Road to Bresson
[De Weg naar Bresson]


1984 - Netherlands / Director: Leo De Boer and Jurrien Rood
54 min / 1:1.33 – ?? mm

Featuring Robert Bresson, Dominique Sanda, Paul Schrader, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Orson Welles.
Graphics: leaflet pg. 2 | leaflet pg. 3 | leaflet pg. 4
Distribution: www.filmmuseum.nl. This title can be purchased for EURO 59,00 (dvd) or EURO 47,00 (VHS) from www.beeldengeluid.nl. This can be done by sending an email requesting the title (Bandnummer TD12383), to klantenservice[at]beeldengeluid.nl (Note: No subtitles. Spoken languages: Dutch, French, English & Russian.)
Exile And Death Of Andrei Tarkovsky
[Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit. Andrej Tarkowskijs Exil und Tod]


1989 - Germany / Director: Ebbo Demant
131 min / 1:1.xx – xx mm

First page of script shown here.
Stalker's Dreams
[Sny Stalkera]


1998 - Russia / Director: Evgenii Tsymbal
53 min / 1:1.xx – xx mm

Dedicated to Alexander Kaidanovsky - actor, script writer, producer, friend and co-author to Andrei Tarkovsky. Narrated by Iurii Beliaev. Interviews with Nina Ruslanova, Boris Galkin, Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Kachan, Krzysztof Zanussi, Otar Ioseliani, Ildiko Enyedi, Joel Choprone.
Light Keeps Me Company
[Ljuset Håller Mig Sällskap]


2000 - Sweden / Director: Carl-Gustav Nykvist
84 min / 1:1.xx – xx mm

First Run Features DVD (NTSC)
Moscow Elegy
[Moskovskaya elegiya]




1986-1988 – USSR / Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
88 min (b/w) / 1:1.33 – xx mm


Sokurov's tribute to his colleague and mentor, Andrei Tarkovksy.
See this review by andreitarkovski.org's Gonzalo Blasco.

[ No Graphic ]
Andrei Rublov: How it Came into Being

2000 - Russia / Director: ?
xx min / 1:1.33 – TV

Guests: Nikolai Burliaev, Yuri Nazarov, Margarita Terekhova, Vassily Livanov (who originally proposed the idea for the film, and was to play Roublov), and Tamara Ogorodnikova — the production manager of Rublov.

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On the Set of Andrei Rublov (Student short)

1967 - USSR / Director: Gleb Panfilov
15 min / 1:1.xx – xx mm

Student short at Higher Courses for Directors and Scriptwriters

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On the Set of Stalker

circa 1978 - USSR / Director: ??
xx min / 1:1.33 – xx mm

This documentary was shot by a Russian team on the set of Stalker. It was to be funded by Goskino, partially by the Italian distributor Agostini, and by Gaumont (France). For some unknown reason, Goskino suddenly didn't want to fund it (the postproduction, presumably) despite Gaumont's and Agostini's promise to buy the documentary. From Andrei's Diary, the Polish Ed.: "16/17 April, [1980], Wednesday: [...] Perhaps he [the Italian distributor of Stalker] would buy the footage shot on the set of Stalker — We'll see." And on 1 September 1980: "Yermash (I've seen him twice) does not want to give any money for preparing the short about the making of Stalker although Agostini and Gaumont want to buy it. My God!" The editor of the Diary adds a footnote: "Several hours of documentary material shot by Larissa Tarkovskaya and Alosha Naidonov."
Tarkovsky's Cinema

1987 - England (BBC)
54 min / 1:1.33

Broadcast on BBC2 Arena, 13 March 1987. Contains interview footage with Tarkovsky as he discusses each of his seven major films. He also talks about his world-view and his philosophy of filmmaking. The film also includes footage of a Tarkovsky lecture to young film students in which he expresses his thoughts on modern cinema. Tarkovsky's widow Larissa is also interviewed. Contains no original Tarkovsky footage/interviews.

[ screenshot | screenshot ]

[ No Graphic ]
Behind the Scenes on The Sacrifice

1987 - England (BBC) / Director: Jeremy Isaacs
xx min / 1:1.33 – xx mm

Broadcast on BBC Channel 4, early 1987

[ No Graphic ]
Responsibility of the Artist

1978 - Finland (MTV) / Director: Risto Mäenpää
27 min / 1:1.33 – xx mm

Risto Mäenpää has a degree from VGIK. Written by Velipekka Makkonen. Produced by MTV3 Channel, MTV Oy, Finland. Produced in cooperation with Soviet TV Gosteleradio. A double portrait on Tarkovsky and Vassily Shukshin. Meeting with Tarkovsky, his wife, and writer Arkady Strugatsky in Tallinn, Estonia, in summer 1977, during the first shooting of Stalker, and again in March 1978 when he was rewriting Stalker for the reshooting, interviewed at his Mosfilm Studios office.

[ No Graphic ]
Tarkovsky: A Journey to His Beginning

1996 - Japan (NHK) / Director: Ms Tomoko Baba (Ed.)
45 min / 1:1.33 – TV

Broadcast on NHK TV, Japan, 11 May, 1996.
Focusing on The Killers. See also companion book.

[ No Graphic ]
Remembering Andrei Tarkovsky

1987 - Moscow (CSDF) / Camera: Ilya Frez
b/w, sound, 2 reels, 244 m

Moscow, Central House of Cineastes. Remembering Andrei Tarkovsky. Speakers: Elem Klimov, Janna Bolotova and others. The house where Andrei Tarkovsky and his family lived.

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At the shooting of the film Andrei Rublov

1965 - USSR / Camera: M. Prudnikov
color, silent, 1 reel, 159 m, unedited

Sights of Vladimir. Director A. A. Tarkovsky at the shooting site talking to the actors, giving instructions. A. Tarkovsky and actor A. Solonitsyn, who plays the part of Andrey Rublev, discuss the current episode of film. V. Yusov, a cameraman, shooting one of the episodes of the film.

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Footage of the documentary Time of Creation

1962 - USSR / Director: CSDF (Central studio of documentary films)
color, sync + silent, 12 reels, 1434.5 m

Cameramen behind this feature: E. Akooratov, Ilya Guttman, E. Legat, I. Gorchilin, P. Petrov, I. Mikheev, P. Opryshko, V. Kiselev, A. Krichevsky, B. Makaseev.

The reels show film directors Yuli Karasik, Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrei Konchalovsky with awards from 1962 Venice Film Festival. Sync. interviews.

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Soviet Film No. 2 (newsreel)

1965 - USSR (CSDF) / Director: L. Danilov
sync, color, 1 reel, 284 m

Cameramen: K. Riashentsev,, H. Koroyev, K. Yakhzanov, O. Lebedev, A. Golubchikov, M. Prudnikov, S. Kiselyov.

Among other footage: Suzdal, Shooting of Andrei Rublov. Director Andrei Tarkovsky, Director of photography Vadim Yusov, actor Anatoly Solonitsyn on the set. Selected scenes from the picture.

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The Three Andreis (aka. The 3 Andreis)

1966 - USSR (CSDF) / Director: Dina Musatova
anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), b/w, sound, 2 reels, 513.1 m

Student short.
Actor Anatoly Solonitsyn on location shooting of Andrei Rublov. Excerpts from films Andrei Rublov and Ivan's Childhood. Andrei Tarkovsky (and Liudmila Feiginova) editing the film. Andrei Tarkovsky walks on the streets of Moscow. Director Andrei Konchalovsky shooting Asya's Happiness. Excerpts from the film First Teacher.

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Alissa Freindlikh

1979 - USSR / Director: ??
anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 20 min, b/w, sound, 2 reels, 513.1 m

Produced by Leningrad Studio of Documentary Films. The film includes footage from the shooting of Alissa Freindlikh's scenes in Stalker, and Tarkovsky working with her.

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Cinema Talks

1969 - USSR (CSDF) / Director: Boris Rachkov
sound, b/w, 8 reels, 2236 m

Documentary containing excerpts from numerous soviet classic and contemporary feature films. Features directors Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrei Konchalovsky, Mikhail Kalatozov, Alexander Zguridi, and Sergei Bondarchuk shooting. WWII cameramen, Roman Carmen Interview. Exams in VGIK, students in VGIK. 6th Moscow International Film Festival.

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Reflections on Hero in Cinema

1974 - USSR (Centrnauchfilm) / Director: A. Butimsky
sound, b/w, 7 reels, 1828 m

Short. Cameraman: I. Alexandrov. Interviews with directors Marlen Khutsiev, Andrei Tarkovsky, Alexei Batalov, Mikhail Ulianov, Stanislav Rostotsky and actors Viacheslav Tikhonov, Alla Demidova, Ludmila Chursina. Shooting of Mirror and other films.

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Footage: Awards of RSFSR

1980 - USSR (CDSF) / Director:
no audio, b/w, 2 reels, 184 meters

Part 1. Awards to film directors L. Derbyshova and Andrei Tarkovsky, actors Clara Rumianov, Irina Kupchenko and Natalya Arinbasarova (53 m).

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Footage: Conference of Cinematography Workers

1980 - USSR / Cameraman: L. Maximov
no audio, b/w, 1 reel, 184 m

Speakers: Chairman of Goskino Filip Yermash, writer A. Ivanov, Chairman of Latvia's Goskino Oleg Rudnev, other cinema officials, directors Victor Tregubovich, Alexander Medvedkin, Andrei Tarkovsky, Fedor Khitruk, Sergei Gerasimov, and others.

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Group of Friends

1988 - USSR (CSDF) / Director: M. Lakhovetsky
audio, color, 3 reels, 823.4 m

Short. Cameraman: M. Minkin. Andrei Tarkovsky and Margarita Terekhova. Tarkovsky shooting Stalker. Playwright Evgeny Gabrilovich talks about Tarkovsky.

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Andrei Tarkovsky's Taiga Summer
[Tajnoe Leto Andreya Tarkovskogo]


1994 - Russia / Director: ??
xx min (color) / 1:1.33 – xx mm

No details.

[ No Graphic ]
A documentary in the Series: Russia, Power and Cinema

1999 - Russia / Director: Belkacem Bazi and William Aldridge
56 min / 1:1.xx – xx mm

"From Thaw to Perestroika, the faltering steps of destalinisation and the questioning of the relations between creation and power. Immediately on Stalin's death (1953) filmmakers become enthusiastic about Kroutchev's speech at the XXth Congress and believe that freedom to create is back again. It's the beginning of the destalinisation: expression of human feelings is shown on the screen again, for the great delight of the Soviet people. But carefreeness time won't last: Brejnev comes to power in 1962 and prohibits any representation of reality. Soviet cinema gets stuck. Nevertheless it will give rise to a dissenting movement whose figurehead is Tarkovski (Andrei Roublev). All those films will remain banned for decades. It's only in 1986, as Gorbatchev announces its restructuring policy, that the Russian cinema will recover its freedom. Since then, it's been trying to find itself."

[ No Graphic ]
Arseny Tarkovsky: Eternal Presence


2004 - Russia / Director: Viatcheslav Amirkhanian
114 min / 1:1.?? – xx mm

Poetic documentary about the prominent Russian poet Arseny Tarkovsky (1907/1989), father of director Andrei Tarkovsky. Arseny Tarkovsky translated countless poems from Georgian, Arabic, Armenian, Kyrghyz, Polish etc., but many of his own poems were also translated into other languages. The maker of the documentary, Viatcheslav Amirchanian, cared for Arseny Tarkovsky in the last years of the poet's life, shot many hours of film in that period, took countless photographs and, years later, he combined this with other material to form this documentary. Tarkovsky Sr, who was admired by colleagues such as Joseph Brodsky, Anna Achmatova and Marina Cvetaeva, was never published during the Stalin era, even though he had lost a leg as a soldier at the front. His first book (Before the Snow) only appeared in 1962 during the thaw under Khrushchev. For Amirkhanian, this film is about how to be yourself: as far as he is concerned, the life of Arseny Tarkovsky is a lesson in loyalty and determination. At the same time, through the protagonist, the film provides a picture of the 20th century in Russia that ended, as we know, in 1990, a year after the poet's death.

NOTE: Details on ten other movies towards which Tarkovsky contributed directly are located here.
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