Ivan's Childhood (1962) Ivanovo detstvo (original title)

Director:

Andrey Tarkovskiy
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Writers:

Vladimir Bogomolov (story)
Vladimir Bogomolov (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 June 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

12-year old Ivan works as a spy at the eastern front. The small Ivan can cross the German lines unnoticed to collect information...

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Water Well | Dream | World War Two | Anti War

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Nikolay Burlyaev	...	Ivan (as Kolya Burlyayev)
Valentin Zubkov	...	Capt. Kholin (as V. Zubkov)
Yevgeni Zharikov	...	Lt. Galtsev (as Ye. Zharikov)
Stepan Krylov	...	Cpl. Katasonov (as S. Krylov)
Nikolay Grinko	...	Lt. Col. Gryaznov (as N. Grinko)
Dmitri Milyutenko	...	Old Man (as D. Milyutenko)
Valentina Malyavina	...	Masha (as V. Malyavina)
Irma Raush	...	Ivan's Mother (as I. Tarkovskaya)
Andrey Konchalovskiy	...	Soldier (as A. Konchalovskiy)
Ivan Savkin		(as I. Savkin)
Vladimir Marenkov		(as V. Marenkov)
Vera Miturich	...	Girl

Directed by
Andrey Tarkovskiy
Eduard Abalov		(fired) (uncredited)

Writing credits
Vladimir Bogomolov		(story "Ivan")
Vladimir Bogomolov		(screenplay) and
Mikhail Papava		(screenplay)
Andrey Konchalovskiy		uncredited and
Andrey Tarkovskiy		uncredited

Original Music by
Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov

Cinematography by
Vadim Yusov

Film Editing by
Lyudmila Feiginova		(as L. Feiginova)

Production Design by
Yevgeni Chernyayev

Art Direction by
Ye. Chernyayaev

Makeup Department
Lyudmila Baskakova	....	makeup artist (as L. Baskakova)

Production Management
G. Kuznetsov	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Georgi Natanson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Inna Zelentsova	....	sound (as E. Zelentsova)

Special Effects by
Sergei Mukhin	....	special effects
V. Sevostyanov	....	special effects

Music Department
Emin Khachaturyan	....	conductor

Other crew
E. Smirnov	....	script editor

Production Companies

• Mosfilm

Distributors

• Shore International (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Fox Lorber Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS) (Pan and scan/sub-titled for Corinth Films)
• Seagull Films (2000) (USA) (theatrical)
• Contemporary Films (2000) (UK) (all media)
• RUSCICO (2004) (worldwide) (DVD)
• General Video (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Another World Entertainment (2008) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (Argentina) (video)
• Sovexportfilm (Argentina)

Other Companies

• Kinostudiya "Mosfilm"  production unit

Also Known As:

"Ivanovo detstvo" - Soviet Union (original title)
"My Name Is Ivan" - USA

Runtime:

95 min | USA:84 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (re-rating) (1988) | UK:A (original rating) | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Dnieper River, Kanev, Ukraine

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

Nikolay Burlyaev is seen in this film ringing a bell. He would, 4 years later, play the character of Boriska - who shall build a giant bell - in Andrey Tarkovskiy's next feature Andrei Rublev (1966).

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinéma, de notre temps: Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch" (2000)

The youth is out there

Tarkovsky's monochrome delight deals with the tragedy of youth lost in war. Its main theme is of childhood innocence lost (becoming accessible to Ivan only in dreams) however the young officers are also vastly aged by the conflict they find themselves in.

The backdrop is nature itself - woodpeckers and cuckoos emulate (or become replaced by) the sounds of machine gun fire and the hoots of the falling flares. It pervades most scenes: the seemingly endless channel of water between the opposing sides, the huge birch trees stretching out as high and as far as the eye can see while also providing bunkers for the Russian forces. But nature's power is continually challenged by the great war going on around it and is ultimately defiled and devastated (like Ivan's, and the other young officers' innocence) - turning from green grasslands to mud and ashen trees.

Reminded me of 'The Thin Red Line' in its use of the natural world war tries to ignore. The shots are honestly stunning. The leads are all fantastic. Enjoy the desolation.