Described as a heir to tarkovsky, spare, gloomy and contemplative, he often blurs lines between image and world. Russian ark is a beautifully filmed act of remembrance that defies the usual rules of filmmaking. In each room, he encounters various real and fictional people from. Instead alexander sokurov is a director who is concerned with the simple principal elements of cinema. Day mother and son sokurov the arts of slow cinema. Making of russian ark, with on camera personal views by members of the cast and crew of the major film. In the late 1990s aleksandr sokurov emerged as a director of exceptional talents, gaining international acclaim for mother and son 1997 and russian ark 2002, the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. In russia, sokurovs film was premiered in st petersburg in may 2003 as part of the festive celebrations of the citys 300th anniversary. One of most important contemporary filmmakers, sokurov worked extensively in television and later graduated from the prestigious film school, vgik, in 1979. It was a hugely interesting experiment, and fed in well later on with my engagement with slow art day. Francofonia, the great okay, greatest living russian auteur alexander sokurovs most recent film, is a study in fragile beauty and recurring. His most significant works include a feature film, russian ark 2002, filmed in. The movie opens with a firstperson statement, i open my eyes and i see nothing, followed by, i cant remember what happened to me. Other articles where aleksandr sokurov is discussed.
For further discussion, see motion picture, history of the. Petersburgs hermitage museum on the third take after months of rehearsals by director alexander sokurov, it is a keen celebration of russian history. One of most important contemporary filmmakers, sokurov. When we set off on this journey that was to become russian ark, more than four years ago, it sounded novel but straightforward. Writer boris khaimsky directed by aleksandr sokurov russian filmmaker alexander sokurov the sun broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the. His most significant works include a feature film, russian ark, filmed in a single unedited shot. His most significant works include a feature film, russian ark 2002, filmed in a single unedited shot, and faust 2011, which was honoured with the golden lion, the highest prize for the best film at the venice film festival. One of the most important directors in both russian and world cinema, alexander sokurov is considered by many to be the spiritual heir of the great andrei tarkovsky.
Sokurov who has enjoyed a long creative relationship with tarkovsky has discounted such comparisons, but certain similarities between their works remain indelible. Behind the scenes documentary on the filming of russian ark. Russian ark is a 2002 experimental historical drama film directed by alexander sokurov. Russian ark takes the helm as the new work of art for russian culture by linking its content with priceless works of art and three hundred years of history displayed in one take of seamless film. Russian master alexander sokurov has tapped into the very flow of history itself for the flabbergasting russian ark. Thanks to the miracles of digital video, sokurov and cinematographer tilman buttner uses a single, unbroken, 90minute shot to wind his way through the hermitage in st petersburgthe repository of russian art and the former. Russian cinema filmed in one shot 2002 in film the best film of the 2000s. In truth, however, sokurov has built an entire career for himself as one of the most vital and original filmmakers on the. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of russian ark. Download music, movies, games, software and much mo. Publication date 2002 topics rusia, historia, arte, pintura, arte, cultura, histroria. The camera doesnt merely take us on a guided tour of the art on the walls and in the corridors, but witnesses many visitors who came to. A narrator, who is unnamed, and unseen by the audience, and voiced by the director, wanders through the winter palace now the russian state hermitage museum in st. Analysis of the 2002 movie russian ark by alexander sokurov.
In a single, unbroken shot lasting over 90 minutes, the viewer is swept not just through the breadth of the physical space but through hundreds of years of russian history, slipping back and forth in time as the unseen narrator the camera serves as the roving point of view of. Its a 96minute film shot in one take and, almost as amazingly, it seems impossibly effortless. Firstly, it is a love letter to the winter palace now occupied by the russian state hermitage museum. Russian filmmaker alexander sokurov broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the hermitage in st. Russian ark script transcript from the screenplay andor. This website represents an attempt to gather and make available information on the creative work of an outstanding russian cinema director, whose name is associated with the search for a new language in cinema art. I admire it more than i actually enjoyed it, but man, that climax is a knockout. In this close analysis of aleksandr sokurovs 2002 film russkii kovcheg russian ark, tim harte explores the interplay between the medium of painting and. In one breath alexander sokurovs russian ark making of. Its the first featurelength narrative film shot in a single take on digital video, using a specially designed disc instead of tape. Russkiy kovcheg is a movie starring sergey dreyden, mariya kuznetsova, and leonid mozgovoy. The one piece everyone can perhaps name when the name sokurov comes up is the russian ark 2002, an entire film shot in one single longtake.
Russian ark is a 2002 historical drama film directed by alexander sokurov. The state hermitage museum, hermitage bridge studio, egoli tossell film ag production, ministry of culture of the russian federation, forafilm m, celluloid dreams. But alexander sokurovs russian ark has every right to the claim. Aleksandr sokurov celebrity profile check out the latest aleksandr sokurov photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Its the first featurelength narrative film shot in a single take. Alexander sokurov s spellbinding masterpiece russian ark is a multiaward winning film consisting of one unbroken camera shot that moves through st. Finally, the russian ark script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the aleksandr sokurov movie. His noticable trademark and style includes long, accurate shots of real painterly compositions, disorted field of view, zooms and use of wide. It makes you feel really really really sad, but in a good way. Aleksandr sokurov born june 14, 1951 is a russian director of avantgarde and independent films that have won him international acclaim. A 19th century french aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in russia, travels through the russian state hermitage museum and. One of the appeals of an entire film going for a single roving camera with no cuts is to see what kind of directorial panache it can pull off, and russian ark is one the most exquisite of all choreographed dances. Secondly, it is a technical exercise in so far as it is a film made up of one continuous 96 minute long take.
I am sick of editing, sokurov said, lets not be afraid of time. I know, i know, i still need to get the cast names in there and ill be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. Alexander sokurovs russian ark and theories of mimesis. He was born with a disability because of an anatomic defect of his leg, in 1951 in podorvikha village in siberian russia. Alexander sokurov biography, movie highlights and photos.
In russian ark, an unnamed narrator wanders through the winter palace in saint petersburg, and implies that he died in some horrible accident and is a ghost drifting through the palace. It was filmed entirely in the winter palace of the russian state hermitage museum. Filmed entirely in onetake, russian ark is a fantastical and sweeping look at russian history aided with a sense of aching melancholy and lost memories, slowly floating away into the deadening atmosphere of crumbling civilization. Alexander sokurovs russian ark 2003 is more than simply a tour of the state hermitage museum of saint petersburg. Russian filmmaker alexander sokurov the sun broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the hermitage in st. A visually hypnotizing cinematic feat, russian ark is a spellbinding ode to st. Russian ark 2002 alexandr sokurov, aleksandr sokurov. The films of albert serra and alexander sokurov senses. Russian director alexander sokurov is perhaps best known to u. Alexander sokurovs spellbinding masterpiece russian ark is a multiaward winning film consisting of one unbroken camera shot that. With sergey dreyden, mariya kuznetsova, leonid mozgovoy, mikhail piotrovsky. Sergei dontsov, mariya kuznetsova, leonid mozgovoy, david giorgobiani en aleksandr chaban.
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