Andrei Rublev (1966)

[Akijama]

Also coming in September. Check the coming soon page.

Andrei Rublev Blu-ray PRE-ORDER

[Cremildo]

Major news. My most anticipated Criterion upgrade. Held off buying the Artificial Eye release because of this.

[steel_breeze]

A-maz-ing news. Now I can ditch my Russian import, which was pretty darn good once I brought the black levels wayyyy down. This is a day one purchase, for me.

[movieben1138]

September is going to primarily be an upgrade month then (which I'm perfectly happy with). Can add ANDREI RUBLEV and MY MAN GODFREY DVDs to my trade pile...and might finally add SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE to my collection.

[dumb_dutchman]

Hopefully this will include the 205-minute, longer cut of the film.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by dumb_dutchman

Hopefully this will include the 205-minute, longer cut of the film.

Your wish has been granted!

[Akijama]

https://www.criterion.com/films/300-andrei-rublev

[][New 2K digital restoration of the director’s preferred 185-minute cut, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New 2K digital transfer of the original 205-minute version of the film, The Passion According to Andrei
Steamroller and Violin, Tarkovsky’s 1961 student thesis film
The Three Andreis, a 1966 documentary about the writing of the film’s script
On the Set of “Andrei Rublev,” a 1966 documentary about the making of the film
New interviews with actor Nikolai Burlyaev and cinematographer Vadim Yusov by filmmakers Seán Martin and Louise Milne
New interview with film scholar Robert Bird
Selected-scene commentary from 1998 featuring film scholar Vlada Petric
New video essay by filmmaker Daniel Raim
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman
New cover by Nessim Higson

[Poya]

The 205-min cut is Tarkovsky’s true vision of the film. I’ve seen both cuts and his “preferred” cut misses out a lot. You don’t get a great poem and remove some verses. Probably one of my most anticipated Criterion releases ever. Shame it’s not restored in 4K but I can’t complain with this at all.

[jfearnside]

Woo hoo! With two discs including both the so-called director’s preferred 185-minute cut and the original 205-minute version, this is a no-brainer.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by jfearnside

Woo hoo! With two discs including both the so-called director’s preferred 185-minute cut and the original 205-minute version, this is a no-brainer.

Nothing so-called about it. He made the cuts himself.

[mikesncc1701]

Bloody fantastic! I've been waiting for this since I first started buying blus in 2008. I'll pay full MSRP to have this day one if u have to!

[trip66]

I consider myself a huge Tarkovsky fan, but I have been holding out on Andrei Rublev for years. Not for lack of interest, but because the man only made seven films, and the only two I have seen are this and Nostalgia.

Since I discovered him, I've been pacing myself with watching his films. Its almost like I'm letting his filmography to be properly released over the years so that I still have anticipation for a "new" tarkovsky film. I will blind buy this and I know it will be worth every penny.

I'm also interested in the doc "The Three Andreis" because Andrei Konchalovsky, director of Runaway Train, co-wrote the script for Andrei Rublev. He also co-wrote Ivan's Childhood (but remains uncredited) and also co-wrote "Steamroller and Violin", Tarkovsky's student film. I'm also glad Steamroller and Violin will also be included since I have not seen that as well.

[Poya]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Nothing so-called about it. He made the cuts himself.

Forced, is more like it.

[WeeBey]

Tarkovsky's own words:

Nobody has ever cut anything from Andrei Rublev. Nobody except me. I made some cuts myself. In the first version the film was 3 hours 20 minutes long. In the second — 3 hours 15 minutes. I shortened the final version to 3 hours 6 minutes. I am convinced the latest version is the best, the most successful. And I only cut certain overly long scenes. The viewer doesn't even notice their absence. The cuts have in no way changed neither the subject matter nor what was for us important in the film. In other words, we removed overly long scenes which had no significance. We shortened certain scenes of brutality in order to induce psychological shock in viewers, as opposed to a mere unpleasant impression which would only destroy our intent. All my friends and colleagues who during long discussions were advising me to make those cuts turned out right in the end. It took me some time to understand it. At first I got the impression they were attempting to pressure my creative individuality. Later I understood that this final version of the film more than fulfils my requirements for it. And I do not regret at all that the film has been shortened to its present length.

[stepeanut]

Andrei Rublev is a dream upgrade, akin to Welles’s Othello. I have the Criterion DVD of the 205-minute cut already (as well as the AE BD of the 185-minute cut), but I’m excited at the prospect of a new 2K transfer.

Also, The Steamroller and the Violin for the first time in an English-friendly BD edition.

First day purchase for me.

The AE BD is excellent, btw, for those who have not seen it. And, personally speaking, I prefer Tarkovsky’s shorter cut.

[jfearnside]

Originally Posted by WeeBey

Tarkovsky's own words:

This is super interesting. Thanks, WeeBey. Re Hadjimurad's post above, when was this quote given? What was the source, the context?

[jfearnside]

Originally Posted by Poya

Forced, is more like it.

Yes, this is what I meant when I wrote "so-called director's cut" above. My understanding is that while Tarkovsky was allowed to make the cuts, he was essentially put into the position where he had to when he didn't want to. Hadjimurad speaks in more detail about that in a post that followed (now right above this one).

[Sommerswerd]

Looks like some of the specs have changed on the Criterion website. Not sure what this means.

Old:

BRAND NEW 2K RESTORATION restoration of the director's preferred 185-minute cut, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
BRAND NEW 2K RESTORATION of the original 205-minute version of the film, The Passion According to Andrei
Steamroller and Violin, Tarkovsky's 1961 student thesis film
The Three Andreis, a 1966 documentary about the writing of the film's script
On the Set of "Andrei Rublev," a 1966 documentary about the making of the film
New interviews with actor Nikolai Burlyaev and cinematographer Vadim Yusov by filmmakers Seán Martin and Louise Milne
New interview with film scholar Robert Bird
Selected-scene commentary from 1998 featuring film scholar Vlada Petric
New video essay by filmmaker Daniel Raim
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman

New:

New high-definition digital restoration of the director’s preferred 185-minute cut, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
The Passion According to Andrei, the original 205-minute version of the film
Steamroller and Violin, Tarkovsky’s 1961 student thesis film
The Three Andreis, a 1966 documentary about the writing of the film’s script
On the Set of “Andrei Rublev,” a 1966 documentary about the making of the film
New interviews with actor Nikolai Burlyaev and cinematographer Vadim Yusov by filmmakers Seán Martin and Louise Milne
New interview with film scholar Robert Bird
Selected-scene commentary from 1998 featuring film scholar Vlada Petric
New video essay by filmmaker Daniel Raim
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Poya

Forced, is more like it.

As are most films ever made.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

As are most films ever made.

Originally Posted by stepeanut

It is also likely that specific cuts for violence and nudity were forced on Tarkovsky, but that is not a situation unique to the Russian authorities by any means.

I'm not aware of any US production companies empowered to send "difficult" directors to the gulag, so the comparison between Russian government censorship and US studio recutting seems pretty specious to me.