Andrey Rublyov (1966)

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky

Writers:

Andrei Konchalovsky (writer)
Andrei Tarkovsky (writer)

Release Date:

1973 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

Andreiv Rublev charts the life of the great icon painter through a turbulent period of 15th Century Russian history...

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Invasion | Russian | Icon | Tatar

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Anatoli Solonitsyn	...	Andrei Rublyov
Ivan Lapikov	...	Kirill
Nikolai Grinko	...	Danil Chorny
Nikolai Sergeyev	...	Theophanes the Greek
Irma Raush	...	Idiot girl (Durochka)
Nikolay Burlyaev	...	Boriska
Yuri Nazarov	...	The Grand Prince / The Lesser Prince
Yuri Nikulin	...	Monk Patrikey
Rolan Bykov	...	The jester
Nikolai Grabbe	...	Stepan
Mikhail Kononov	...	Foma
Stepan Krylov	...	Head Bell-founder
Irina Miroshnichenko	...	Mary Magdalene
Bolot Bejshenaliyev	...	Tatar Khan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
K. Aleksandrov
S. Bardin
E. Borisovsky
I. Bykov
Igor Donskoy	...	Christ
Nikolai Glazkov	...	Efim
Vladimir Guskov		(as Vova Guskov)
Nikolai Kutuzov		(as N. Kutuzov)
I. Loskoy
B. Matysik
Anatoli Obukhov
Tamara Ogorodnikova	...	Mother of Jesus
Dmitri Orlovsky	...	Old Stonemason
G. Pokorsky
P. Radolitskaya
Muratbek Ryskulov		(as M. Ryskulov)
G. Sachevsko
Nelly Snegina	...	Marfa (as N. Snegina)
Aleksandr Titov
Vladimir Titov		(as Volodya Titov)
Slava Tsarev
A. Umuraliyev
Vasili Vasilyev		(as Vasya Vasilyev)
Vladimir Volkov
Zinaida Vorkul
N. Vykov

Also Known As:

Андрей Рублёв (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Andrei Rublev (USA)
Strasti po Andreyu (Soviet Union: Russian title) (working title)
The Passion According to Saint Andrew (Europe: English title) (literal English translation of Russian working title)

Runtime:

Soviet Union:165 min (re-edited version) | Soviet Union:186 min (re-edited version) | UK:183 min (2004 re-release) | 205 min (original length) | UK:145 min (UK version)

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian | Italian | Tatar

Color:

Color (Sovcolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | UK:12 (re-rating) (1991) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2004) | UK:AA (original rating) | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Andronnikov Monastery, Moscow, Russia

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

Anatoli Solonitsyn succeeded by coming to Mosfilm himself and offering to play the title role.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Rublev comments that nothing is more terrible than snow falling in a temple, some of it lands on Durochka's hair and is clearly a white feather.

Quotes:

Kirill: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth and the thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. Walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes but know that for all these God will bring thee into judgment. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth before the difficult days come and the years draw nigh when thou shalt say "I have no pleasure in them." Remember thy creator before the silver cord be loosed...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le temps du loup (2003)

The Greatest Movie Ever Made

"Andrei Rublev" is not merely my favourite all-time film; it transcends such pat, by-the-numbers praise. I have seen "Andrei Rublev" three times (twice on the big screen), at three very different points in my life. Each viewing, it has spoken eloquently and directly, has immersed and fascinated me. And has moved me with superlative skill and force. Other great movies have entertained me, inspired me, made me think; only "Rublev" has palpably altered my outlook on life.

Andrei Rublev was a medieval Russian iconographer; the film chronicles his struggle to maintain faith and artistry in a world of immeasurable cruelty and suffering. Rather than give us a crackerjack plot line with all the proper scene climaxes & paradigm shifts, director Tarkovsky presents us with a world in which we must immerse ourselves; once we are inside, we are confronted with rigorous pain and profound triumph. The movie is divided into chapters; the final one, involving an orphaned bell-maker's son, is a stunning film-within-a-film that provides a microcosm of the whole movie. That section, if it stood alone, would be my all-time favourite film.

Be warned: "Andrei Rublev" is SLOW. You have to slide into it; it's not a flick which dazzles, it is a world which beguiles, and which demands to be inhabited. Also, there are EXTREMELY difficult scenes to watch--torture and bloodshed abounds. Watching the Tartar attack on a Russian town is the most painful experience I've ever had--not just in a cinema, but in life.

For those willing to make the gruelling trek, however, "Andrei Rublev" is an inspiring, life-affecting experience. Created under an oppressive Soviet regime (which banned the film for years, recognizing its symbolic commentary on 20th-century Soviet government), the film shows how life can be valuable and even joyful, no matter how much suffering stands in the way.

Especially recommended for Tarkovsky fans, Dostoevsky fans, fans of medieval art, and anyone grappling with questions about suffering and human expression.