Rating: 
Summary: One of the most beautiful of all films
Review: 'Andrei Rublev' is one of the most beautiful and disturbing meditations upon faith I have ever witnessed. As a film it is consistently astonishing - so many of the images are unforgettable, the musical score is fragile and haunting, and the overall conception so inspiring that, personally speaking, it restored my faith in the power of film. Along with Tarkovsky's other works, 'Rublev' is more akin to poetry than to simple narrative prose. Rather than approaching it as a regular film, I find it helpful to imagine that I'm about to enter an art gallery and view an exhibition by a master. It repays repeated viewings, and it is not a film to hurry you along with the urgencies of plot - Tarkvovsky, as he often states in his writings, is concerned with the nature and effect of time in the context of cinema - the pace then is contemplative. There are few if any commercial considerations motivating the making of this film, so unsurprisingly it inhabits a world entirely alien to that of mainstream Hollywood.
*
The opening scene reveals a Russian Icarus attempting to 'fly'. His faith must overcome not only his own fear, but the wrath of others who find his ambition threatening. He escapes and we inhabit his point of view, one approximating that of God perhaps, Tarkovsky depicting the landscape and its people as something suddenly abstract. The frighteningly primitive hot air balloon inevitably fails, and as it hisses in its final resting place it appears as something organic, like some grotesque human organ proving its mortality. The soundtrack throughtout this scene is particularly evocative.
*
After this the monk, Andrei Rublev, is introduced and a series of events demonstrates and tests his faith in himself, in God, and in other human beings. Images of the worst cruelty and barbarism are juxtaposed with ideas of transcendent beauty - at one point the whitened interior of a pavillion is inexplicably filled with softly floating feathers and down (this looks likes snow, but the commentary tells otherwise); at another, a peasant village is drawn as if from a painting by Bruegel; a pagan ritual has torch fires flashing through a nocturnal forest. From these backgrounds emerge sounds that seem almost supernatural - the lone female voice that comes intermittently, her song like the most delicate filament imaginable, being the one that stays with me most.
*
The final scene is truly climactic. A boy, who is alone in the world, apparently leans on knowledge passed on from his father in order to fashion a magnificent bell for his ruler - in so doing he is risking his life, for he will be killed if the bell is not resonant. The construction of this bell is enthralling, the firing of the metal and the pouring, spectacular. Ultimately it is revealed, however, that the boy has not placed his faith in his father, but in himself, in his art, and, it is implied, in God. Rublev comforts the child and this moment serves as an epiphany after which Rublev's faith in his own vocation is restored. The film erupts into colour at its close, as we are left with ravishing images of Orthodox iconography, Rublev's faith made incarnate.
*
If this film appeals, then it is easy to recommend Tarkovsky's other works, especially 'Nostalghia' and 'The Mirror'; Tarkovsky was also an admirer of the films of Carl Theodor Dreyer, and the latter's films are some of the very few that, for mine, equal Tarkovsky's achievement.
*
The Criterion DVD has excellent picture quality and sound - better than the prints I've seen in theatres. If you have a widescreen TV the format can be optimised by setting for 'zoom' and adjusting the vertical pitch of the image until the black bar on the top of the screen disappears - the subtitles will then be fully visible below the frame. (Actually, I'd suggest trying to view the film with the subtitles turned off - particularly on a third or fourth viewing - for me, the visuals become all the more overwhelming.)
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Erotic Potboiler!
Review: A film so great and so original as to inspire writers to impossible heights of language to describe its genius is also a film which requires its audience to learn a new filmic language in which to fully appreciate it.I prefer to watch this film alone, with no sound, letting the images and movements utterly absorb me, without any thinking or attempts to contextualize the work whatsoever, setting the disc on "auto-shuffle" to emphasize this point. Try it! Watching this film with another person, especially someone who has not seen it, can prove problematic, however. Explain to them that the next scene will be a sex scene (you will, in a very real sense, be right). Use the title of my review if you must. But share it all the same. Then watch it the way you like best again, for this film, like a great novel, merits and indeed insists upon multiple viewings--it is truly a universe unto itself.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece given due, regal trappings by Criterion
Review: A monumental work - the definitive film on the creative impulse and the consequential search for perfection (masterfully framed as the story of a 14th century monk). From its haunting, seemingly incongrous beginning (think of it as a "visual overture", synopsising the film's themes much like an opera's overture does for its musical motifs) to its devastating ending, Rublev is awe inspiring in its depth, scope, and artistry. A sometimes difficult film whose rewards go beyond today's most extravagant expectations out of film. Its imagery and final claim haunt me, informing my thoughts and responses.
Rating:
Summary: Faith and Fallibility...
Review: Andrei Rublev is a unique and challenging masterpiece set in Medieval Russia, loosely based on the life of a real monk renowned for his Icon paintings. Starkly and beautifully photographed in black and white, its austere settings and classic compositions as well as its depiction of an earlier, simpler Christian faith struggling amid paganism, cruelty and barbarism in those brutish times, reminded me of and compared favorably to Bergman's similar explorations in The Virgin Spring and The Seventh Seal. Tarkovsky's film, however,is completely his own, presented in an elliptical and episodic structure, at times enigmatic, sometimes disjointed and loose, often poetic and fanciful. Opening with a sequence unconnected to the remainder of the story, unless as a metaphor, yet wonderfully strange and evocative, the film then follows the travels of some monk/artisans, eventually centering on the title character, Andrei Rublev, whose work is described by one of his envious companions as beautiful yet empty, missing something at its center. This notion of unfullfillment in faith and belief and art and the social construct will run throughout the film. The Christianity of these monk/artists is shown by turns as one of the few lights of charity and gentleness in a brutal and cruel age, and in the next instance as repressive and intolerant and narrow-minded, austere and indifferent to the natural life of humankind. The struggle for faith and meaning, and to what use one is to put not only their faith but their talent and artistry in a world of atrbitrary power & indifferent injustice, of pagan bliss and casual barbarity, are central themes in the film. In fact, faith and art are interchangeable in Tarkovsky's film, the struggle for meaning and purpose in art and how that fits in an, at times, monstrous world is the same as the struggle for meaning and purpose in religious faith, too often suppressed and overrun by the ambitions and passions of the secular world. That artistry and spirituality are at the mercy of the crassness and indifference of power is startling demonstrated with the blinding of the artisans. Tarkovsky doesn't shrink from the brutality of the era while showing us that ignorance and suppression have a long history in human history. Amazing that he created such a film in the Soviet Union of the 1960's. This is a film with bold and shocking scenes alongside poetic and sublime passages. One could write pages describing the imagery and composition of Tarkovsky's great vision. Suffice it to say that this long, yet entrancing film is rich with very different settings, scenes and ideas. It is world class cinema, well worth the time of those interested in something beyond simple entertainment. 5 Stars all the way.
Rating:
Summary: A Piece of Modern Art
Review: Andrei Rublev is not only one of the most difficult films to describe, it is also one of the most beautiful films ever made. It flows like a long Russian novel, with interworking subplots and interwoven themes. The rich fiction created by Konchalovsky and Tarkovsky, based on the late medieval Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, raises many important questions concerning life, the soul, and art. Above all, there is something elegantly and radiantly lyrical about the film, scene by scene. The film itself is divided into vignettes, or what I like to refer to as chapters, recounting different periods in Rublev's life; each one could be its own film, namely the last section about the bell and the young bellmaker. However, the most poetic scenes involve the Holy Fool, or Durochka, played by Tarkovsky's wife Irma Raush. Her character adds a touchingly humorous, yet tender aspect to the film; her relationship with Rublev is so sweet and almost childlike, it brings a true smile to your face. Throughout the film, Tarkovsky is able to catch the incredibly earth-shattering expressions on the character's faces, symbolzing oppression from war and Tatar raids, poverty and inequality. One simple look of an eye speaks a thousand words in this film. The vignette entitled The Jester displays some of the most wonderful examples of the human condition ever in film; the beating rain on the primitive hut combined with the tired, worn out, wretched faces of the peasants (including children, men, women, and elderly), is so realistic you can taste it. Tarkovsky is indeed a modern master, and Andrei Rublev is quite possibly his masterpiece. Tarkovsky's work ranks with so many of the great modern artists, not filmmakers, but painters and photographers: Cartier-Bresson, Freud, Picasso, Matisse, O'Keefe, Stieglitz, etc. Anchoress, a film obviously influenced by Andrei Rublev, particularly in cinematography, is recommended also for anyone who enjoys intellectually and visually impressive cinema.
Rating:
Summary: THE Russian epic with striking imagery (1966)
Review: Andrei Rublev is probably the greatest looking film of all time. It was shot on a Konvas (you can pick one up on Ebay for $1000) and film students will be stunned by what has been achieved in terms of cinematography with such an old and dated 35mm motion picture camera. It is inspirational in terms of film-making and this is the core reason why you should watch the film. If you are interested in Kino Art then Andrei Rublev can probably lay claim to the greatest art film ever made. If you are looking to experiment with Tarvoksky, then Andrei Rublev is not a bad place to start. Like most of Tarkovsky's films, Andrei Rublev is extremely artistic, conjectures much on the human condition, metaphysics and Russian life - that all seem to have some hidden meanings that contains the film's truth that Tarkovsky expounds on - namely the wickedness of men and the temptations that they face. It is also about triumph of the will and the nature of man. This is all done via the "narrative" and the look of the film. Tarkovsky mixes moments of dialogue about the metaphysical (a doctrine that would continue to be a theme in all of this other films giving a sense of what was to come - especially the intricateness of Stalker, Solaris), arrestingly simple and slow cinematography (his trademark water shots), complex action sequences (there are full scale battles like from a Kurosawa movie) and visionary set designs (15th century villages, towns and cities). This is Tarkovsky's biggest film ever (and quite possibly the biggest Russian film ever). The premise is complex. Andrei Rublev, a monk with the gift of painting, is invited to paint churches around the country and in Moscow. Between travelling from job to job he encounters - monks who have lost their faith, monks with too much faith in themselves, fools who are imprisoned for their beliefs, Wicca festivals (the pagan ceremonies of St. John's night), murder, torture (the Russian crucifixion), death, error, the sacking of towns by the Tartars (the sacking of Vladimir), vows of silence and of course the most striking final piece of the film - the making of the bell (the casting of the bell). Characters appear and disappear (a cinematic technique found in The Thin Red Line), but there is also a lot of hidden imagery (every time you watch it you find something new), in particular scenes of novice monks putting dirt on their cheeks which makes no sense at the time yet later on we seen Andrei put the same dirt as a stain on a church he has painted because of the bureaucratic blinding of artists (an extremely violent scene of which there are many. As a note: Andrei Rublev happens to be an extremely violent film and there are several disturbing scenes. Also a scene where a horse falls down a stairs was cut because of animal cruelty but this has been restored for the DVD). All of these scenes are done via several chapters that each tells a story in which Andrei Rublev is present either as the central character of focus, a participant or an observer. If you pay close attention to the chapters you will realize that the themes of each chapter are contained in all the chapters. Tarvoksky plays with the audience in so many ways that you can only hope to watch the film again and again until you make ALL of the connections. You will likely not see a more striking film for imagery. The ending is obviously what got Kubrick working on his trip scene in 2001. Tarkovsky returned a nod by filming Solaris. Andrei Rublev is shot in monochrome although the ending does a little Wizard of Oz for us. The story is divided between two discs. You have 86 minutes in the first disc and 99 in the second for a grand running time of 185 minutes. This DVD is PRICEY but this is Kino Art at its finest and worth every penny. The extras are many and there are some very important historical interviews about Tarkovsky. However I will say that DVD is totally unsuitable for Tarkovsky's films and possibly you will do better to watch a widescreen video or even better a 35mm print of the film in the cinema next time it comes to town. Even though the transfer is sublime for a 1966 picture (a Russian one at that) and there has been a lot of digital correction, the DVD produces artefacts on nearly all of Tarkovsky's films because of his complex imagery, but this is just quibbling and is not the fault of the DVD producers. Tarkovsky has simply exceeded the limits of what DVD mpeg compression can handle, even after this film is spanned over 2 discs... and that says a lot about the quality of this man's vision. Kino Art does not come much better than Andrei Rublev.
Rating:
Summary: A long film but a moving one
Review: Andrei Rublev was one of Russia's most famous icon painters from the middle ages. The director Takovski is a fairly static director so that the film is hardly a fast paced film yet it is strangely affecting. It gives a portrait of the horror of the medival world. A peasant who is a talented comic has his tongue but out because he will not become the jester of a nobleman. A land owner hires some craftsmen to build him a palace and then as they depart he has them blinded so that they cannot make anything as maginficent again. In this cruel world lives the monk Rublev. Towards the end of the film he suffers from disallusion which prevents him from working. However he sees a young boy who is the son of a bell maker. The boy is able to cast a bell for a cathedral and Rublev is inspired to paint. The film is in black and white but in the end it shows his creative work in vibrant colour and one can appreciate his genius. The film is a very long one and it is slow moving. However scene builds on scene and one leaves the cinema somehow impressed at one has seen. It is a film that sort of sneaks up on you. The acting is good, the black and white photography superb and the sets and style of the film are fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: The epic sense of the life
Review: Andrei Rubliov is the masterpiece of Andrei Tarkovsky. I 've watched very carefullly all his works, and Andrei contains the quintessential thought of this unique film maker.
What Tarkovsky made with this film may be one the most overwhelming and haunting achievemnts in all the story of the world cinema.
Rubliov is a icon painter who after an important fac, decides not continue in that office.
The powerful of the barbarian invassion into a church, where he acquires the human experience gets far away the world, he isolates and becomes in a wanderer.
The unforgettable images that appear before the viewer are of a trascendental poetic beauty never seen before and even now.
All the journey along the Russia of XVI century is a reflexive gaze of the human condition , the sense of the life and how dealing with it, the unsaid code of one must behavior humanly, even in inhuman conditions, facing the world, with his singleness, its little moments of joy, his infinite sadness and its miseries.
The opening sequence in which the fall is shown before us, is a original metaphor of how facing with the failure; and is depicted with such kind of beautiness that mesmerizes you. No other film n the story, with the exception of the ending of A man escapes from Robert Bresson reveals with so frehness and vitality the epic sense before the life.
When Rubliov knows this teenager, in the final chapter, and faces with him the huge challenge that implies to make the asgned mission, turns back çRubliov and it invites him to keep on going in his mission or the moira term greek, his place in the universe, his meaning in this brief stage in the world.
This superb masterpiece, has countless remarkable sequences, the dialogues are feed of a blissness and poetic raprure without a drop of effectism.
When the mission is completed, and everybody celebrates the fact our young hero remains alone and Rubliov will gather with him and will tell wisdom words that I must not tell.
This is the goal of the artist; he must go to the forrest and seek the mushrooms; the people will be just waiting from the safe place for him; and no matter how dangerous or hazardous be the journey; they only expect for your bag. They will consume these gifts; but the creator must seek them.
Tarkovsky was in the middle of the creative universe (remeber his father Arseni Tarkovsky was a poet)in 1966; the script has an inner mytical force ; and every bit of this film is sublime, perfect.
Tarkovsky showed what many film makers haven't been able to do; express with a camera such landscape of images, in all his whole meaning.
Andrei Rubliov will be always a landmark ; an eternal triumph ; a epic statement that will be with all of us till the end of our lives.
And even more.
Rating:
Summary: The epic sense of the life
Review: Andrei Rubliov is the masterpiece of Andrei Tarkovsky. I 've watched very carefullly all his works, and Andrei contains the quintessential thought of this unique film maker.
What Tarkovsky made with this film may be one the most overwhelming and haunting achievemnts in all the story of the world cinema.
Rubliov is a icon painter who after an important fac, decides not continue in that office.
The powerful of the barbarian invassion into a church, where he acquires the human experience gets far away the world, he isolates and becomes in a wanderer.
The unforgettable images that appear before the viewer are of a trascendental poetic beauty never seen before and even now.
All the journey along the Russia of XVI century is a reflexive gaze of the human condition , the sense of the life and how dealing with it, the unsaid code of one must behavior humanly, even in inhuman conditions, facing the world, with his singleness, its little moments of joy, his infinite sadness and its miseries.
The opening sequence in which the fall is shown before us, is a original metaphor of how facing with the failure; and is depicted with such kind of beautiness that mesmerizes you. No other film n the story, with the exception of the ending of A man escapes from Robert Bresson reveals with so frehness and vitality the epic sense before the life.
When Rubliov knows this teenager, in the final chapter, and faces with him the huge challenge that implies to make the asgned mission, turns back çRubliov and it invites him to keep on going in his mission or the moira term greek, his place in the universe, his meaning in this brief stage in the world.
This superb masterpiece, has countless remarkable sequences, the dialogues are feed of a blissness and poetic raprure without a drop of effectism.
When the mission is completed, and everybody celebrates the fact our young hero remains alone and Rubliov will gather with him and will tell wisdom words that I must not tell.
This is the goal of the artist; he must go to the forrest and seek the mushrooms; the people will be just waiting from the safe place for him; and no matter how dangerous or hazardous be the journey; they only expect for your bag. They will consume these gifts; but the creator must seek them.
Tarkovsky was in the middle of the creative universe (remeber his father Arseni Tarkovsky was a poet)in 1966; the script has an inner mytical force ; and every bit of this film is sublime, perfect.
Tarkovsky showed what many film makers haven't been able to do; express with a camera such landscape of images, in all his whole meaning.
Andrei Rubliov will be always a landmark ; an eternal triumph ; a epic statement that will be with all of us till the end of our lives.
And even more.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning epic from master Tarkovsky
Review: Andrei Tarkovsky is one of cinema's greatest directors, and this is his largest, most ambitious work. Released in 1966, it was banned by the Soviets. The film tells the story of Russia's greatest icon painter Andrei Rublev, through episodes of different periods in his life. The film is very experimental, and molds philosophy, religion, art, and politics together for over 3 hours. Needless to say, this film is not for everyone. While there are quite a few scenes of harrowing action, and battles, there are an equal amount of introspective scenes, that will bore the hell out of impatient viewers. The film demands multiple viewing, for maximum appreciation. A masterpiece, 5 stars.
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