Portions of Tarkovsky’s reality are familiar to us through the lens of Cold War propaganda films and books. But Sculpting in Time maps a route to new ways of seeing those filmmakers and others. Tarkovsky influenced many filmmakers, and one doesn’t necessarily have to go through him to get to, say, Hou Hsiao-Hsien or Lars von Trier. Today, in times when cultural savvy resounds with Facebook privacy policy notices, the notion of poetic articulation in cinema cries out like a misunderstood Mayan prophecy. It’s also a necessary work, in ways I think we can all understand.ĭirector of seven feature films, five under the watchful eye of Soviet regimes, Tarkovsky oeuvre offers the epitome of the spirituality of art. It’s a remarkable work for reasons I’ll try to articulate.

In this memoir, published the year of his death, Tarkovsky breaks down cinema through the prism of his perception. The closing chapter on The Sacrifice, dictated in the last weeks of Tarkovsky's life, makes the book essential reading for those who already know or who are just discovering his magnificent work.The Great Russian filmmaker Andrey Tarkovsky (1932-1986) died in exile in Paris at age 54. He discusses their history and his methods of work, he explores the many problems of visual creativity, and he sets forth the deeply autobiographical content of part of his oeuvre-most fascinatingly in The Mirror and Nostalgia. In Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky sets down his thoughts and his memories, revealing for the first time the original inspirations for his extraordinary films-Ivan's Childhood, Andrey Rublyov, Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker, Nostalgia, and The Sacrifice. Many critics have tried to interpret his intensely personal vision, but he himself always remained inaccessible. Since Ivan's Childhood won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962, the visionary quality and totally original and haunting imagery of Tarkovsky's films have captivated serious movie audiences all over the world, who see in his work a continuation of the great literary traditions of nineteenth-century Russia. In Sculpting in Time, he has left his artistic testament, a remarkable revelation of both his life and work. Sculpting in Time: The Great Russian Filmaker Discusses His Art, by Andrey Tarkovsky / ISBN 9780274708888 / 254-page paperback from University of Texas PressĪndrey Tarkovsky, the genius of modern Russian cinema-hailed by Ingmar Bergman as 'the most important director of our time'-died an exile in Paris in December 1986.

Tarkovsky book sculpting in time