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"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
Product Description
The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky throws new light on one of the greatest -- and most misunderstood -- filmmakers of the past three decades. Johnson and Petrie provide accounts of all Tarkovsky's films, interpreting them within a biographical and historical framework. Part One examines Tarkovsky's life, working methods, aesthetic theories, and place within the spectrum of Soviet cinema. Part Two offers critical analyses of Tarkovsky's seven feature films and provides a detailed synopsis of each film. The final section surveys main stylistic devices, recurring image patterns, and themes that constitute Tarkovsky's "poetic world." The text in enhanced by more than sixty frame enlargements from the films.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book contains an excellent, clear and well written overview of Andrei Tarkovsky's films and style as a director. It is very detailed and full of information, all you need to get a guide to these "difficult" films. I also like that even while the authors admire Tarkovsky as a great director, they don't hesitate to point out less flattering sides and flaws in his films.
The first part gives some interesting details about the Soviet film industry in the 1960s and 70s, when Tarkovsky produced his first five major films: Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Mirror and Stalker. It also nuances the storys about how the Soviet system worked against Tarkovsky. Of course, the film bureaucracy was hard to deal with and made several crazy demands that could have ruined T:s films. But then again: he actually managed to make five films and get them through the socialist-realist censorship. For example: all 30 demands for cuts and so on on Solaris were somehow avoided. Maybe this says something about Tarkovskys status as a director, his first film (Ivan's Childhood) was an immediate international success. Also, there were other directors shose careers were halted by the system when they were only allowed to make one film.
The first part also contains biographical information and discussions on Tarkovsky's working method and aesthetics. Tarkovsky wanted films to be a "poetic" art form, and an art that captured "time", like a sculpture of time. Here we can think about the long takes in his films, they got longer over the years and in The Sacrifice, his last film, the opening take is over 9 minutes.
The second part is an overview of his seven films, one chapter for each. I find the analyses very clear and interesting. One thing I find fascinating is the ambiguity about what is real and what is dream or fantasy. Does the zone in Stalker really exist? Is Hari in Solaris human? What in Nostalghia is dream and what is reality? And does the protagonist in The Sacrifice delude himself, or is he more clear than the others? And so on. This is one aspect that makes the films so interesting and open to different interpretations. Also, the authors discuss the use of different themes lika fire, rain, milk, horses and so on. They suggest they have no fixed symbolic meaning, but should be seen as poetic themes that recur through the films: the levitation scene in Solaris has counterparts in Mirror and Sacrifice, the hotel room in Nostalghia looks similar to the room where Stalker lives, the "holy fool" appears as both Stalker and Domenico and Alexander, the close ups of medieval paintings, the vegetation under water, the rain and so on... This is why the book is called "A Visual Fugue".
The third part deepens the analysis of the themes of Tarkovskys films.
All in all I can really recommend this book to anyone who, like me, want an enlightening and clear introduction.
Also, the authors (Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie) comments on the Criterion DVD of Solaris (my favourite Tarkovsky film). This commentary is recommended listening to (and the DVD is splendid).
The first part gives some interesting details about the Soviet film industry in the 1960s and 70s, when Tarkovsky produced his first five major films: Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Mirror and Stalker. It also nuances the storys about how the Soviet system worked against Tarkovsky. Of course, the film bureaucracy was hard to deal with and made several crazy demands that could have ruined T:s films. But then again: he actually managed to make five films and get them through the socialist-realist censorship. For example: all 30 demands for cuts and so on on Solaris were somehow avoided. Maybe this says something about Tarkovskys status as a director, his first film (Ivan's Childhood) was an immediate international success. Also, there were other directors shose careers were halted by the system when they were only allowed to make one film.
The first part also contains biographical information and discussions on Tarkovsky's working method and aesthetics. Tarkovsky wanted films to be a "poetic" art form, and an art that captured "time", like a sculpture of time. Here we can think about the long takes in his films, they got longer over the years and in The Sacrifice, his last film, the opening take is over 9 minutes.
The second part is an overview of his seven films, one chapter for each. I find the analyses very clear and interesting. One thing I find fascinating is the ambiguity about what is real and what is dream or fantasy. Does the zone in Stalker really exist? Is Hari in Solaris human? What in Nostalghia is dream and what is reality? And does the protagonist in The Sacrifice delude himself, or is he more clear than the others? And so on. This is one aspect that makes the films so interesting and open to different interpretations. Also, the authors discuss the use of different themes lika fire, rain, milk, horses and so on. They suggest they have no fixed symbolic meaning, but should be seen as poetic themes that recur through the films: the levitation scene in Solaris has counterparts in Mirror and Sacrifice, the hotel room in Nostalghia looks similar to the room where Stalker lives, the "holy fool" appears as both Stalker and Domenico and Alexander, the close ups of medieval paintings, the vegetation under water, the rain and so on... This is why the book is called "A Visual Fugue".
The third part deepens the analysis of the themes of Tarkovskys films.
All in all I can really recommend this book to anyone who, like me, want an enlightening and clear introduction.
Also, the authors (Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie) comments on the Criterion DVD of Solaris (my favourite Tarkovsky film). This commentary is recommended listening to (and the DVD is splendid).
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic Resource
31 July 2001
Format: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
Decent Source of Background Info, but Flawed Critique
18 Jan 2001
Format: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
Excellent book for anyone interested in this master of film.
15 Oct 1999
Format: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.
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