The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue [Paperback]

Vida T. Johnson (Author), Graham Petrie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0253208874 | ISBN-13: 978-0253208873

"Johnson and Petrie have produced an admirable book. Anyone who wants to make sense of Tarkovsky's films—a very difficult task in any case—must read it." —The Russian Review

"This book is a model of contextual and textual analysis.... the Tarkovsky myth is stripped of many of its shibboleths and the thematic structure and coherence of his work is revealed in a fresh and stimulating manner." —Europe-Asia Studies

"[This book,] with its wealth of new research and critical insight, has set the standard and should certainly inspire other writers to keep on trying to collectively explore the possible meanings of Tarkovsky's film world." —Canadian Journal of Film Studies

"For Tarkovsky lovers as well as haters, this is an essential book. It might make even the haters reconsider." —Cineaste

This definitive study, set in the context of Russian cultural history, throws new light on one of the greatest—and most misunderstood—filmmakers of the past three decades. The text is enhanced by more than 60 frame enlargements from the films.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Johnson and Petrie have produced an admirable book. Anyone who wants to make sense of Tarkovsky's films -- a very difficult task in any case -- must read it." The Russian Review "This book is a model of contextual and textual analysis... the Tarkovsky myth is stripped of many of its shibboleths and the thematic structure and coherence of his work is revealed in a fresh and stimulating manner." Europe-Asia Studies "[This book,] with its wealth of new research and critical insight, has set the standard and should certainly inspire other writers to keep on trying to collectively explore the possible meanings of Tarkovsky's film world." Canadian Journal of Film Studies "For Tarkovsky lovers as well as haters, this is an essential book. It might make even the haters reconsider." Cineaste

About the Author

VIDA T. JOHNSON, Associate Professor and Director of the Russian program at Tufts University, has co-authored, with Graham Petrie, a chapter on Andrei Tarkovsky in Five Filmmakers (edited by Daniel Goulding). GRAHAM PETRIE, Professor of Drama at McMaster University, is the author of The Cinema of François Truffaut, History Must Answer to Man: The Contemporary Hungarian Cinema, and Hollywood Destinies: European Directors in America 1921–1931.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (December 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253208874
• ISBN-13: 978-0253208873
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,112,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Resource, July 30, 2001

By 

Michael Heumann (El Centro, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue (Paperback)

Johnson's and Petrie's work is an absolute essential resource for any student of film and any fan of Tarkovsky's wonderful work. When I bought the book, I was hoping that it would help me better understand the Russian context of Tarkovsky films and to help make some of the "murkier" parts of the films a little more lucid. The work does all this and more. This book offers a great deal of background on Tarkovsky's life, the Soviet film industry in which he worked, the people he worked with, and the cinematic style that made Tarkovsky's works so memorable. This is an absolute treasure of a book. Ignore those people who complain about the poor analysis of the films; they're wrong or stupid or both. The book's main focus is to help make Tarkovsky's work easier to understand and to provide background on Tarkovsky himself.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent Source of Background Info, but Flawed Critique, January 18, 2001

By 

Kit Baker (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue (Paperback)

I also think that this book is too full of academic theory and techniques, and this may be the reason it comes off as so cynical. It works best in providing factual background that would be difficult to find otherwise. But when the book shades into critique, the tone becomes dry and pre-occupied, if not positively dispiriting - particularly when the co-authors subject Tarkovsky to their brand of Freudian analysis. The result is a disjointed collection of facts and vexing speculations, which on balance does a disservice to the poetry of the films. I personally much prefer Maya Turovskaya's book, which doesn't have the encyclopedic range of facts one finds in "Fugue" (a friend of mine described "Fugue's" method as "trainspotting") but is a far more inspired and illuminating combination of intelligent insight and love of its subject.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for anyone interested in this master of film., October 15, 1999

By 

John Scott Tynes "Writer and videogame designer" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue (Paperback)

The authors do a marvelous job of telling the stories of each film project and then anaylizing the results. In particular, it is worth noting that all of the film images included are taken directly from the films themselves, rather than from publicity or on-set photographs, as is usually the case. While you may not agree with every point the authors make, it's interesting reading throughout for Tarkovsky admirers.