andrey tarkosvky

[juan namnun]

you ve mention your admiration for the work of the great Russian filmmaker and have listed almost all of his movies as some of the best films ever,
two absences only; and one of then puzzles me. did you saw and have you like: "the sacrifice"? have you been able to see tarkosvky s films on 35mm?
and did you prefer his b&w work over his "color" films? have you seen more movies shot by vadim yusov?
could you tell if (and ever) have you discussed some of his scenes with the coens brothers or maybe with sam mendes?
as you said his one of the true master of cinema.sometimes it maybe useful to visit his work for inspiration(as both kurosawa and bergman confess on their autobiographies used to do)

[Benjamin]

I would also appreciate hearing Roger's thoughts on this.

[juan namnun]

well benjamin, mr Deakins had spoke a lot about the matter on severel posts in the past.
i was just trying if we could get a coherent answer in one place (im planning to write a book on Tarkosvky)
but mr Deakins is also a very occupied man(lucky for us the people that love movies)so he may not have time to answer on full, then again this forum is marvelous.

[Benjamin]

That is completely understandable if he cannot find the time; I liked some of the questions you posed though, as I hadn't seen Roger answer them elsewhere.

May I ask about your book on Tarkovsky? What do you plan to write about?

[juan namnun]

i would certainly love to hear mr Deakins answers to my question on just one place,(and the few he hadn't answer yet)
thanks for asking!
as of now in just writing reviews of Tarkosvky s movies( i ve only written screenplays before)
but the plan its to write about poetic cinema( so there s have to be chapters on: terry malick, bergman, bunuel,kurosawa,kubrick, and jose luis guerin)
its start after rereading ingmar bergman "magic lantern" and his thoughts of Tarkoskvy as the greatest:

When film is not a document, it is dream. That is why Tarkovsky is the greatest of them all. He moves with such naturalness in the room of dreams. He doesn't explain. What should he explain anyhow? He is a spectator, capable of staging his visions in the most unwieldy but, in a way, the most willing of media. All my life I have hammered on the doors of the rooms in which he moves so naturally. Only a few times have I managed to creep inside. Most of my conscious efforts have ended in embarrassing failure - THE SERPENT'S EGG, THE TOUCH, FACE TO FACE and so on.

Fellini, Kurosawa and Bunuel move in the same fields as Tarkovsky. Antonioni was on his way, but expired, suffocated by his own tediousness. Melies was always there without having to think about it. He was a magician by profession.

Film as dream, film as music. (Laterna Magica, page 73) [/b]

[Roger]

I can't ever remember discussing Andre Tarkovsky with Joel or Ethan. I have seen some of Vadim Yuzov's work, other than 'Rubelov' and 'Solaris', on 'Boris Gudonov'. Interesting that Georgi Rerberg, who shot 'Mirror' didn't do so much more, that was released in the west at least.
For me 'Sacrifice' is the least interesting of Tarkovsky's work and 'Ivan's Childhood' the most interesting. That to me is the nearest you could get to the perfect film.

[juan namnun]

thank you very much for your answer!
maybe (after winning the oscar and a well deserved raise) you could ask the coens brothers to sit on a nice cinema and watch one of the copies of "solaris" than some of your friends should have;that way we may after all be seeing the b&w sci fi comedy masterpiece that was hinted on "a serious man".
on a more serious note georgi rerberg also work on "the stalker"(presumably most of his work was lost on a lab accident!) so his career will be forever associated with Tarkosvky( not such a bad fate posterity wise)
"ivan s childhood"is very near a perfect movie when you have to ask for one.

[juan namnun]

giuseppe lanci the Italian cinematographer of "nosthalgia" still have a good career on modern Italian cinema working on "johnny stecchino" with benigni
and on "the son s room" oscar winner for best film not on the English language. one of the few.he said that he learned to see the world differently after working with Tarkosvky.
did you like "nosthalgia" mr Deakins?

[Roger]

That's not a film I can remember much about. I will have to search it out again.

[octopoli]

Nostalgia was shot in Italy. It's pretty interesting. I some some obscure tarkovsky pictures in the film museum in turin that were amazing.

[juan namnun]

i guess some of those photos make it to the
"tarkosvky Polaroids" book that one could find on amazon. i guess tarkosvky s love for light should extended to that medium.

[juan namnun]

just seen:"the sacrifice"(kino international 2003 dvd edition) i can see the lack of some of the strength that Tarkosvky collaboration with Vadim Yuzov and others had in the past(on his book "sculpting in time" he told wisely about the nature and importance of his collaborators ) but on"the sacrifice" you could find some of the best shots i ve seen: the earth covered with it faithful companion the green grass, the wind, the fire, and above all water, as a life giving miracle.
a feast not just for the eyes but also for the mind!

[MPerson]

Just for info. Artificial Eye released the THE ANDREI TARKOVSKY COLLECTION here in the UK in June.

http://www.artificial-eye.com/film.php?dvd=ART508DVD

[Benjamin]

Thanks for that.
Could we have Roger's opinion of the Soderbergh version of 'Solaris'...? (or anyone else's for that matter)

[Roger]

My opinion of the remake of 'Solaris' is not printable!