Customer Reviews

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Special Edition)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first time I watched this movie, I had no idea what was going on. But the imagery was so interesting, I immediately rewound the tape and watched it again. The story began to take shape during the second viewing. Since then, I have watched this movie countless times, and I am still figuring out pieces of the story. This is not an "easy" movie. It does not provide a lot of information through dialogue. Most of the information is provided through imagery which is rich and thoroughly fine. If you are looking to extend your visual vocabulary, you will learn a lot from this film. Also check out any Tarchovsky film or "I Am Cuba" for similar visual masterpieces.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Special Edition) (1964) (Sub)
The information about this classic film posted by Amazon contains important errors of fact.
First of all, the film is NOT in Russian, but in UKRAINIAN.
Note to Amazon: PLEASE CORRECT THE LANGUAGE CLASSIFICATION!
Second: The story is not about "Russian regional history" as the writeup states. The Carpathian Mountains are nowhere near Russia. Its Hutsul people speak Ukrainian and are among the least russified in all of the former Soviet Union.
Third: What brought director Parajanov into conflict with communist authorities was not his prtrayal of harsh relities of Soviet life, but his stubborn insistence on filming his adaptation of Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky's 1911 Ukrainian-language novel in the authentic Ukrainian language of the region, and refusing to dub it into Russian.
These errors of fact mislead Amazon customers and tend to perpetuate the myth that all of the Soviet Union was Russia.

I've seen this film several times, and find it powerful, beautiful moving and confusing, all at the same time. It must be experienced to be appreciated fully.

As the previous reviewer noted, the information provided by amazon is woefully inaccurate and riddled with errors. More of it is wrong than is right. The film is set in the medieval Carpathians (NOT during the 19th century). It is in Ukrainian. And it has nothing to do with "harsh realities of Russian regional history"--the Carpathian region was not a part of the Russian empire until AFTER WWII, and it neither is nor ever was ethnically Russian.

If you want accurate information about his film, I suggest you try imdb or Wikipedia instead.

This movie has every thing; a great story, action, mysticism, romance, and beautiful imagery. This is also good movie for anyone who is interested in Ukrainian and Hutsula culture. The movie is also a documentry. Everyone in the movie, besides the main characters, are actual Hutsuls going about their daily lives. One thing to note, the story does not take place in medieval Ukraine, but in the 1960's (you will notice corn throughout the movie). This is a good movie for all ages, enjoy!!

This is a vividly visual and visceral film from the brilliantly unique and visionary director Paradjanov. It remains one-of-a-kind with its dazzling, colorful cinematography, hallucinatory and surreal, and its almost ethnographic depiction of ancient agrarian life and rituals in a community of the Carpathian mountains. It is a tragic love story and a story of the earth, which is like a forgotten folk song of intoxicating wonder.

This classic cult film by the late, brilliant director Sergey Paradjanov is still playing on the American and European college campuses or in art cinemas - from Berkeley to Boston, usually (and curiously) bundled with another cult classic, the "Eraserhead". It's about old traditions, mysticism, sorcery, and the inescapable fate, among the Ukrainians of the Carpathian mountains, in western Ukraine, known as the Hutsuls. Beautiful scenery of the Carpathians, native Ukrainian-Hutsul costumes, magical, traditional weddings and funerals all in the Ukrainian language, spoken in the region to this day. Film was released during the brief thaw under Krushschev, in an otherwise oppressive and murderous era of the old Soviet Union. The earlier comments about the film, erroneously refer to the film as being "about old Russia". The film has nothing whatsoever to do with old Russia.

Good news/bad news. The good news is that Amazon is selling a truly exceptional DVD entitled, `Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,' which is based on a novel by Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864-1913).

Journey into the past and experience the world-renowned Ukrainian Hutsul folklore and folkways that encyclopedists, historians, and authors depict by way of words and the film gives credence to via imagery, moods, symbolism, and sounds. Avenues you'll travel will branch off, giving you exposure to artistic embroideries, folk music, folk songs, ornate costumes, religious ceremonies, and traditional rituals (such as a traditional Hutsul wedding and a traditional Hutsul burial), along the way.

Folklife comes alive as you float down a river in a unique wooden raft, partake in Christmas festivities, encounter a sorcerer, and lots more--all against a backdrop of the magnificent Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, where trees' shadows silhouette straight as they stretch for the stars and for the skies, where horses dress in tassels as they meander meadows and highlands, where Hutsuls converse across Carpathian Mountains via trembitas--and, where Ivan cannot forget his true love.

`Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' is not your typical feel-good film; it's for the connoisseur of fine arts. If you want your senses stimulated, your imagination enlivened, and your knowledge of Hutsul culture expanded, then, this is the film for you!

Film director, Sergei Parajanov, was an Armenian born in Georgia. He insisted on filming `Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' in the Ukrainian language, and refused to dub it into Russian. In his lifetime, he was persecuted by the Soviets, was arrested several times, spent years in prison, and his subsequent works were banned.

`Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,' which was later renamed Wild Horses of Fire for most foreign distributions, was Parajanov's first major work, and earned him international acclaim for its rich use of color and costume. `Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' won six international film festival awards: London, San Francisco, Mar del Plata, New York, Montreal, and Thessaloniki.

The bad news is that inaccuracies exist. As accurately noted by both Dr. Luba and GR in their reviews on Amazon.com in the USA, `Russian regional history' should be changed to read `Ukrainian regional history.' Update: This has now been changed to good news: the copy now reads `Ukrainian regional history.'

Update: Changed from bad news to good news (August 13, 2008), in the Update Product Info section, Ukrainian has been added alphabetically to the permanent list of languages as a language in the drop-down menu.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' is a must see/must own DVD--at the very least, it should appear worldwide on library shelves and in personal collections. This DVD definitely deserves 5-stars!

Addendum: Readers, you may read my review of the classic book, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, and view my photos pertaining to the Hutsuls; also,you're invited to visit each of my reviews--most of them have photos that I took in Ukraine (over 600)--you'll learn lots about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The image gallery shows smaller photos, which are out of sequence. The preferable way is to see each review through my profile page since photos that are germane to that particular book/VHS/DVD are posted there with notes and are in sequential order.

To visit my reviews: click on my pseudonym, Mandrivnyk, to get to my profile page; click on the tab called review; scroll to the bottom of the section, and click on see all reviews; click on each title, and on the left-hand side, click on see all images. The thumbnail images at the top of the page show whether photos have notes; roll your mouse over the image to find notes posted.

Also, you're invited to visit my Listmania lists, which have materials sorted by subject matter.

Sergei Paradjanov made his sublime masterpiece with this matchless and epic story of starcrossed lovers against the ethnographic statement of the carphatian mountains . Visually stunning , loaded with symbols , and arresting metaphors with lyrical photography and ravishing intensity .
The only film I remind closely related in what concerns with passionate humanism would be Desu Uzala of Akira Kurosawa , but the point to remark is this film was made ten years before .

Film about the Ukrainians living in the Carpathian Mountains, known as Hutsuls. In Ukrainian. Beautiful imagery. The ancient Hutsul customs are still practiced today. Should be seen by anyone interested in Ukrainian people, or those planning a visit to Halychyna.

Such a wonderful film about the Ukrainian Hutsul culture. Beautiful use of imagery and symbolism. It's easy to see why this is such a popular cult film. It is also refreshing to see a film about Ukrainians done in their own language.