Moscow Elegy

Moscow Elegy (Russian: Московская элегия) is a 1988 documentary film directed by Alexander Sokurov, about the later life and death of Soviet Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was originally intended to mark the 50th birthday of Tarkovsky in 1982, which would have been before his death. Controversy with Soviet authorities about the film's style and content led to significant delays in the production.[1]

Moscow Elegy
Moscow Elegy DVD cover
Directed byAlexander Sokurov
Written byAlexander Sokurov
StarringAndrei Tarkovsky
Tonino Guerra
Narrated byAlexander Sokurov
CinematographyAlexander Burov
Alexei Naydenov
Edited byLyudmila Feiginova
Tatyana Belousova
Alexandra Zhikhareva
Leda Semenova
Lida Volkova
Release date
1988
Running time
88 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Production

The film consists mostly of Sokurov's narration over stock footage from Tarkovsky's films Mirror, Nostalghia, Voyage in Time, and The Sacrifice, as well as footage of Tarkovsky shot during production for The Sacrifice. Some footage was supplied by Chris Marker.[2] Sokurov also shot footage of various houses and apartments where Tarkovsky had lived. With the exception of some of the archival footage, the film is entirely in black and white. Sokurov and the crew had scheduled a total of 12 days for the entire production.[2]

Reception

The film was first screened at Dom Kino in Moscow in 1987 on Tarkovsky's birthday, and many Russian filmmakers and actors (for example Alexander Kaidonovsky) strongly disliked it.[2]

Similar documentaries

Several dozen other documentaries about Andrei Tarkovsky have been produced. Most notable are Voyage in Time by Tonino Guerra and Andrei Tarkovsky himself, One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich by Chris Marker, The Recall by Tarkovsky's son Andrei Jr., and Regi Andrej Tarkovskij by Michal Leszczylowski, the editor of Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice. Tarkovsky has also been featured in numerous documentaries about the history of cinema or the craft and art of filmmaking.[3]

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References
  1. Sokurov, Alexander, Moscow Elegy Archived 2007-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, Alexander Sokurov's official website, accessed June 20, 2007
  2. Sokurov, Alexander, Editor's Notes in DVD release of Moscow Elegy, Ideale Entertainment, 2006
  3. Trondsen, Trond S.; Jan Bielawski. "Significant Documentaries". Nostalghia.com – An Andrei Tarkovsky Information Site. Retrieved 2008-09-01.


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