Customer Reviews

Collected Screenplays (Faber and Faber Screenplays)

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In "Sculpting in Time" Tarkovsky says: "The literary element in a film is *smelted*; it ceases to be literature once the film has been made." Reading his screenplays, one has the sense of looking at a blueprint or a musical score. The two strongest elements of Tarkovsky's artistry--the extraordinary visuals, and the highly original conception of time--are necessarily missing.

So what is the value of this collection? For one thing, it includes the scripts of several unrealized projects, which allow you to imagine what these films might have looked like, or just to regret that they were never made. Similarly, you'll also find ideas and scenes that didn't make it into the finished films, or were altered from their original conception. The book also, in an indirect way, points out the relentlessly visual and indiosyncratic nature of AT's work. For example, reading the script of "Stalker", perhaps AT's most mesmerizing film, I thought that it could easily have been made into an episode of "Twilight Zone" by a lesser director. In other words, the plot is not the point; what makes the film a masterpiece lies beyond words and storylines. I suppose the same could be said for any great director, but with Tarkovsky I feel this even more strongly. Finally, the book also includes a fair amount of analysis and commentary. One serious omission: "Andrei Rublev" is not included, due to its length.

For these reasons, I recommend this book not to Tarkovsky neophytes, but to those who already know his films. The genius is up there on the screen; this book contains the sketches, jottings and blueprints that helped to put it there.

Unanimously hailed by the intellectual crowd as the greatest poet of modern cinema Tarkovsky's Collected Screenplays provides a blueprint into the mind of this genius. The density of his films typically filled with a cannon of symbolism and metaphors are revealed to us in a new light through his screenplays by lucid and coherent writing providing yet a distinctly new approach in understanding and appreciating his deeply felt themes on life. Without the element of time so inherent in film, the ability to rest on a thought or a remark by this incredible film-maker is what makes reading this book such a pleasure. In addition to this book I would recommend Sculpting in Time.

Just saw The Stalker last night. Possibly the best movie I've seen in my life. Tarkovsky is a master of magic/symbolism/the human condition. No wonder he was Bergman's favourite. I really look forward to reading this book.