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Andrei Rublev Details

1966 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 1895 members

Director Andrei Tarkovsky's second film, ANDREI RUBLEV, is a massive and sweeping retelling of the life of the 15th-century Russian icon painter and perhaps the first great Russian artist. Unfolding in a free-flowing series of eight episodes, ANDREI RUBLEV follows the painter (Anatoli Solonitsyn) as he faces unbearable violence,.. Read more

Starring Anatoly Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Grinko
Director Andrei Tarkovsky
Genres Drama, World Cinema

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Andrei Rublev cover art

Andrei Rublev

Director Andrei Tarkovsky's second film, ANDREI RUBLEV, is a massive and sweeping retelling of the life of the 15th-century Russian icon painter and perhaps the first great Russian artist. Unfolding in a free-flowing series of eight episodes, ANDREI RUBLEV follows the painter (Anatoli Solonitsyn) as he faces unbearable violence, endless attacks by the crude and malicious Tartars, and, eventually, a crippling crisis of faith. A moving mosaic of time, spirituality, dreams, history, culture, and politics, Tarkovsky's masterpiece was immediately condemned by the Russian authorities, who waited years before giving it an official release. Despite this, the film endures as a wrenching testament to Tarkovsky's unique vision of the power of art and the duty of the artist. The film follows Rublev as he traverses the wretched earth of Russia in the Middle Ages, encountering jesters, fools, other artists, and the masses who eventually restore his faith in life and art. Tarkovsky's signature elliptical style, matched with stunning cinematography and breathtaking (and often nonnarrative) editing, creates a film unlike any other. Neither strict biography nor historical epic, ANDREI RUBLEV is the visual depiction of the mystical capacity for art to transform the struggles and joys of the human into the divine.

Starring Anatoly Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Grinko
Director Andrei Tarkovsky
Studio ARTIFICIAL EYE
Run time DVD: 3 hrs 5 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language DVD: Russian
Subtitles DVD: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
Released DVD: 21 Jan 2002
Production year: 1966
Format DVD

Andrei Rublev (2 discs) (1966)

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  • Critics' reviews (3) of Andrei Rublev

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  • 5 stars out of 5

    Divided into eight episodes and majestically photographed by Vadim Yusov, this is a remarkable study of the artist Andrei Rublev's struggle to create works of inspirational power and outstanding beauty, overcoming both his own doubts, and the poverty and cruelty of his time. Anatoly Solonitsin plays the 15th-century icon painter as a sort of wandering mystic who takes a vow of silence in protest at conditions in Russia under the Tartars. Director Andrei Tarkovsky includes too much impenetrable symbolism, but the battle, the balloon flight, the snow crucifixion, the casting of the bell and the colour montage from Rublev's work are stunning.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • The complete version (39 minutes longer than the print originally released) 'explains' no more than the cut version,... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
    • Posted 04 Nov 2008

  • Most helpful member's review of Andrei Rublev

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  • 22 out of 22 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Tarkovsky masterpiece

    A friend confessed to us that she saw this in the cinema and was so bored she walked out. It's hard to believe she was watching the same film. OK, the film is slow and episodic but it totally immerses you in 15th Century Russia, almost every stunning shot is like a painting (probably by Bruegel) and the ending may well move you to tears. If you have even a passing interest in European art cinema then you should see it.

    Warning: the film is split between two disks, with extras on both DVDs, so you will need to rent them in sequence to see whole thing.

      • chimp1 from London
      • Posted 16 Sep 2004 22:34

  • Most recent members' review of Andrei Rublev

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Excellent

    This is a great work of art and should be seen. However, note that this particular DVD is a slightly cut-down version. E.g., the notorious burning cow and stabbed horse shots aren't in it. As it happens I didn't particularly want to see a cow on fire or a horse being stabbed, and the fact that they were in it in the first place overshadowed the genius of the rest of the film in some quarters, but it makes me nervous wondering what else might have been cut. Just from reading about the film I suspect portions of Andrei's dialogues with Theophanes and Danila have been edited too. Tarkovsky was apparently quite happy with this version, and what I have seen here unquestionably constitutes a masterpiece; and for all I know this cut is better. But be aware that there is a longer version, I think available from Criterion.

      • Yorick from Manchester
      • Posted 05 Mar 2009 06:05

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      • Director Andrei Tarkovsky's second film, ANDREI RUBLEV, is a massive and sweeping retelling of the life of the 15th-century Russian icon painter and perhaps the first great Russian artist. Unfolding ...