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IMDbPro

Ivan's Childhood

Original title: Ivanovo detstvo
  • 19621962
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
36K
YOUR RATING
Ivan's Childhood (1962)
  • Drama
  • War
During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
36K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Andrei Tarkovsky
    • Eduard Abalov(fired)
  • Writers
    • Vladimir Bogomolov(story "Ivan")
    • Mikhail Papava(screenplay)
    • Andrei Tarkovsky(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Nikolay Burlyaev
    • Valentin Zubkov
    • Evgeniy Zharikov
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Andrei Tarkovsky
    • Eduard Abalov(fired)
  • Writers
    • Vladimir Bogomolov(story "Ivan")
    • Mikhail Papava(screenplay)
    • Andrei Tarkovsky(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Nikolay Burlyaev
    • Valentin Zubkov
    • Evgeniy Zharikov
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 89User reviews
    • 94Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination

    Photos149

    Nikolay Burlyaev in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Nikolay Burlyaev in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Nikolay Burlyaev in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Nikolay Burlyaev in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Nikolay Burlyaev in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Vera Miturich in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Irina Tarkovskaya in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Irina Tarkovskaya in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Evgeniy Zharikov in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Evgeniy Zharikov in Ivan's Childhood (1962)
    Evgeniy Zharikov and Valentin Zubkov in Ivan's Childhood (1962)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nikolay Burlyaev
    Nikolay Burlyaev
    • Ivan Bondarev
    • (as Kolya Burlyaev)
    Valentin Zubkov
    Valentin Zubkov
    • Leonid Kholin
    • (as V. Zubkov)
    Evgeniy Zharikov
    Evgeniy Zharikov
    • Galtsev
    • (as Ye. Zharikov)
    Stepan Krylov
    Stepan Krylov
    • Katasonov
    • (as S. Krylov)
    Nikolay Grinko
    Nikolay Grinko
    • Gryaznov
    • (as N. Grinko)
    Dmitri Milyutenko
    Dmitri Milyutenko
    • Old Man
    • (as D. Milyutenko)
    Valentina Malyavina
    Valentina Malyavina
    • Masha
    • (as V. Malyavina)
    Irina Tarkovskaya
    Irina Tarkovskaya
    • Ivan's Mother
    • (as I. Tarkovskaya)
    Andrey Konchalovskiy
    Andrey Konchalovskiy
    • Soldier with glasses
    • (as A. Konchalovskiy)
    Ivan Savkin
    Ivan Savkin
      Vladimir Marenkov
      Vladimir Marenkov
        Vera Miturich
        Vera Miturich
        • Girl
        Nikolay Smorchkov
        Nikolay Smorchkov
        • Starshina
        • (uncredited)
        • Directors
          • Andrei Tarkovsky
          • Eduard Abalov(fired) (uncredited)
        • Writers
          • Vladimir Bogomolov(story "Ivan") (screenplay)
          • Mikhail Papava(screenplay)
          • Andrei Tarkovsky(uncredited)
        • All cast & crew
        • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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        Storyline

        Edit

        Did you know

        Edit
        • Trivia
          The movie was based on a short story "Ivan" by Vladimir Bogomolov. Andrei Tarkovsky wrote in his book "Sculpting in Time" later that he did not find the book very good, but stories that were not well written were easier to adapt into films.
        • Goofs
          In the famous "Well Scene" Ivan's mother says "If A well is too deep you can see a star in it even in the day time". While speaking she is standing on the left hand side of Ivan but when their reflection is shown in water she is standing on the right hand side. Lateral Inversion has not been depicted correctly. Please have a look.
        • Quotes

          Ivan's Mother: If a well is really deep, you can see a star down there even in the middle of a sunny day.

        • Connections
          Edited into Moskovskaya elegiya (1990)
        • Soundtracks
          Ne velyat Mashe
          [Song played on the gramophone. English translation: "Masha is not allowed beyond the river".]

        User reviews89

        Review
        Top review
        A childhood like no other.
        Tarkovsky appeared dismissive of this, his first feature, saying it was the sort of project dreamed up in film school pool halls. It was not a film he himself instigated, but it cannot for a moment be described as uncommitted or pedestrian. It most closely resembles some of the other 'names' in purely artistic cinema of the day in terms of formal style, Tarkovsky having not at that point worked out his own unique and so far inimitable 'style', if that's the right word. The dream sequence with the apples, though brilliantly done, seems derivative. He never used optical flourishes like that again.

        Tarkovsky believed a great deal of editing for the audience was vulgar and inimitable to great art, but this film is quite structured and conventional compared to his later slower and arguably more obscure works. The key performance comes from Ivan himself, a fine effort from one so young, and indeed Tarkovsky used him again in the bell section of Andrei Rublev; although he used rather harsh methods to get the performance he wanted in that case. Obviously influenced by Dreyer, you see the beginnings of Andrei's obsession with water and it's reflective calm around more tempestuous events. His use of black and white stock in terms of lighting is exemplary.

        The film's title is ironic as Ivan does not have a childhood, but the films majestic and moving final shot suggests that Ivan does receive a kind of immortality beyond the bleak finality of his discovered photo in Berlin, that the Russian spirit itself cannot be stifled and will ultimately run free.
        helpful•54
        4
        • Gary-161
        • Feb 2, 2000

        Details

        Edit
        • Release date
          • June 27, 1963 (United States)
        • Country of origin
          • Soviet Union
        • Languages
          • Russian
          • German
        • Also known as
          • My Name Is Ivan
        • Filming locations
          • Dnieper River, Kanev, Ukraine
        • Production companies
          • Mosfilm
          • Trete Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Box office

        Edit
        • Gross US & Canada
          • $22,168
        • Opening weekend US & Canada
          • $11,537
          • Sep 15, 2002
        • Gross worldwide
          • $72,043
        See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

        Technical specs

        Edit
        • Runtime
          1 hour 35 minutes
        • Color
          • Black and White
        • Sound mix
          • Mono
        • Aspect ratio
          • 1.37 : 1

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