| |||||||||||||||||||||
From director J.J. Abrams comes the next installment in the Star Trek saga, Star Trek Into Darkness. See it at Cinemark theaters now and pre-order on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and the Exclusive Starfleet Phaser Gift Set. Shop Star Trek Into Darkness and more in the Star Trek Store. Learn more |
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Special Features
- In Russian with English subtitles
- Making-of
- Mon Paradis interviews
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Product Description
Customer Reviews
The State Hermitage is in actuality 6 buildings on the embankment of the River Neva. The most magnificent of the buildings is the Winter Palace, residence of Russian Tsars from 1754 to 1762. The Hermitage took 2 1/2 centuries to build and exemplifies pieces from the Stone Age to the 20th Century. There are over 3 million pieces of art on display from Da Vinci to Monet. Some of the most exciting times took place during the German Invasion in 1941. We are indeed fortunate that many hid the treasures within, and that the treasures were found after the war. The Hermitage is open to the public and you can find more information on their web page:
http://www.hermitage.ru/html_En/index.html
867 actors practiced for months to dance the mazurka in the ballroom, march to a military salute or watch a theatre performance. There was one take only and anything could go wrong at any time. There were years of development and preparation for the 4 hours of filming. Sokurov depended upon German HD specialists KOPP MEDIA to assist with the details of the script. How a camera would move, the distance of feet to be covered in the narrative, and the use of a steadicam. A hard disk recording system was developed that was portable and equipped with an ultra-stable battery. One shooting day with 4 hours of light was the magic number.
A Marquis, a limber European in dress black is the film's guide. He is invisible to most and he leads the narrator through each room and gallery. He interacts with guests but others do not see the "ghost". The Marquis takes us from the 17th century to the present. We meet Catherine the Great, Nicholas I, and there is no explanation of what is happening or what are their roles. We are left to our imagination and the beautiful rooms and halls and galleries that are The Hermitage. The last thirty minutes are dedicated to 3 orchestras and the ballrooms and the dancing and the exquisitely dressed people of the times. We are but trespassers in this venue, but we are left to wonder the marvels of The Hermitage, and the wonder of this film. prisrob
In an interview included in the `making of' documentary on the DVD, the director states `I'm sick of editing. I don't want to experiment with time. I want to screen real time - it should be as it is. One doesn't have to fear the flow of time.' So many filmmakers are so concerned that their audience's attention span is so short that they will become bored if things don't `move right along' - it lowers cinema to the `lowest common denominator', fails to challenge the audience, and, in the final analysis, insults the viewer's intelligence. There's no danger of that in any of Sokurov's work - the viewer's mind (and emotions) are given quite a workout, and, as with physical exercise, are stronger for it in the end.
Some critics - who perhaps have no patience for being required to think about what they're seeing - criticize Sokurov and other visionary directors (such as the great Andrei Tarkovsky) as being cold and emotionless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sokurov has stated in several forums that one of the goals of RUSSIAN ARK - and all of his work - is to evoke strong emotions in the viewer. The methods of his creation might be different from those we have come to expect from the major Hollywood studios - but they are very effective, and more thought provoking in the bargain.
In RUSSIAN ARK we experience Russia's treasured museum, the Hermitage, from the point of view of a `visitor' - we never see his face, only hear his voice and thoughts (by Sokurov himself) as he walks through the Winter Palace, viewing tableaux from 300 years of Russian history enacted before his eyes. He is accompanied for most of his journey by another character - unnamed in the film, but based on the Marquis de Custine, who published a travel book in 1839 entitled EMPIRE OF THE CZAR: A JOURNEY THROUGH ETERNAL RUSSIA - with whom he converses and debates the scenes they see before them. We witness Peter the Great berating one of his generals; a play written by the Tsarina is performed for her and selected guests; the appearance before the Tsar of a delegation from Persia, there to apologize for the murder of a Russian diplomat in their country; a grand ball featuring a full symphony orchestra and hundreds of dancers (perhaps the visual climax of the film); and in perhaps the film's most poignant moment, we witness Tsar Nicolas and his family dining together, blissfully unaware of their impending fate. Along the journey from room to room, from tableau to tableau, the viewer, along with the narrator and the Marquis, can gaze upon some of the most breathtaking art the world has ever produced. Even the building itself, with its incredible architecture and opulent outfittings, is a character in its own right - Sokurov's vision has brought the Hermitage to life in a way that draws the viewer right into every frame.
The director has succeeded marvelously in his effort to show the `living' aspects of history, of art. Museums have an undeserved reputation for being `dead' places - they couldn't be more alive. The dangers in abandoning or forgetting our past have been shown time and time again, in both social and political theatres. As the Marquis states at one point during the film, `Everyone can see the future - but no one remembers the past.'
Sokurov stated that he had long held a dream of `making a film in one breath' - he has achieved that beautifully in RUSSIAN ARK, and it will take your breath away as well. This is cinema for the time capsule.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, the only other Sokurov film available in the US is MOTHER AND SON - check it out as well, and pray that more of his work will become accessible.
The best way to see any great film is, of course, on the screen - so don't pass up any opportunity to experience him in that way, either.
It's not really for viewing the art collection.
Look for Similar Items by Category
|
