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Granted the narrative thread was a little weak... and the sound was not "production sound" as it ought to have been... but, WOW!Russian Ark is one long unedited sweep, revealing treasure after treasure through time upon time -- 17th Century playgoers, modern museum-goers, the paintings themselves in the Hermitage, three orchestras, dancers, winter weather...
Especially striking were the intimate scenes of Catherine the Great with children and the doomed Nicholas II in the family breakfast room. Of course you have to recognize the images...
The ballroom scene, with the mazurka being danced in splendid costumery, features several dozen minor roles. I'll not forget the chap whose eye was searching throughout for someone (or something) he never finds, undistracted by the merry proceedings or the camera.
The final scene is a brilliant tour-de-force such as never seen before in the theatre or on film. Soon as I saw what was developing, I laughed out loud.
And remember, all the many hundred actors and musicians have to be precisely lined up and ready to move when the unstoppable camera enters the door. This Russki Sokurov is a genius.
clark
The originally-posted Boston Herald review:
Follow Ups:
n
but probably not. The bouyancy of the Steadicam would nearly prohibit scene-matching, and in any event the film is densely populated.
but I didn't realize that a motion picture camera had a film magazine large enough to hold 98 minutes in one piece. Was it a specially made camera? The Boston Herald mentions it as a "high res" camera, but I didn't see the film capacity mentioned.Definitely seems worth seeing, even if for the curiosity.
"'Course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough."
nt
I retained every part of that sentence except the hard disk drive part - duh!
"'Course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough."
***This Russki Sokurov is a genius.No, he is not. He is kitsch artist.
So you've attended this one eh?What did you think?
No, this one I haven't seen yet. I have several of his works and had chance to form that opinion.I have heard good words about this film and I intend to see it... if for no other reason than that Hermitage is special place for me. The film was apparently made specifically for the Western audience and it seems successful in its goal.
We have several very cultured friends here with split on Sokurov. The majority agrees with me, except for one couple, who love him so much they have all his works in their collection.
I have been looking forward to seeing this films for months!
...halfway through but the payoff is enormous.clark
If I can sit through both versions of Solaris without fidgits, I imagine I can cope with RA tonight.BTW, NPR had a nice piece on Stan Brakhage yesterday morning.
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