Andrei Tarkovsky

Lore & Background

Andrei Tarkovsky was born in the village of Zavrazhye in the Yuryevetsky District of the Ivanovo Industrial Oblast to poet and translator Arseny Aleksandrovich Tarkovsky and Maria Ivanova Vishnyakova. His paternal grandfather was a Polish nobleman, and his maternal grandmother belonged to an old Russian noble family. According to family legend, his ancestors on his father's side were princes from the Shamkhalate of Tarki, Dagestan, though his sister called this a myth. Tarkovsky spent his childhood in Yuryevets; his father left the family in 1937 and later volunteered for the army in 1941. He studied piano and art, and was hospitalized with tuberculosis from November 1947 to spring 1948. He studied Arabic at the Oriental Institute but dropped out to work as a prospector, then decided to study film after a research expedition to the river Kureyka.

Tarkovsky studied film at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography under Mikhail Romm. His first feature film was Ivan's Childhood (1962), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He directed Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), Mirror (1975), and Stalker (1979) in the Soviet Union. After years of creative conflict with state film authorities, he left the country in 1980 and made his final two films—Nostalghia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986)—abroad. He published Sculpting in Time in 1986 and died later that year of cancer, a condition possibly caused by toxic locations used in filming Stalker.

Reader's Guide

Andrei Tarkovsky's significance lies in his distinctive cinematic style and thematic depth. His films, including Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Mirror, and Stalker, are celebrated for their slow pacing, long takes, and dreamlike visual imagery, exploring spiritual and metaphysical themes with a preoccupation with nature and memory. Despite creative conflicts with Soviet authorities, he achieved international acclaim, winning the Golden Lion, Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, and BAFTA Film Award. Three of his films—Andrei Rublev, Mirror, and Stalker—were featured in Sight & Sound's 2012 poll of the 100 greatest films of all time. His legacy endures as a master of cinematic art, influencing generations of filmmakers. He was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize in 1990.

Did You Know?

• Tarkovsky studied Arabic at the Oriental Institute before dropping out to work as a prospector.
• He was hospitalized with tuberculosis from November 1947 to spring 1948.
• His film Stalker was shot on toxic locations, possibly contributing to his death from cancer.
• Two of his films—Andrei Rublev and Stalker—appeared in Sight & Sound's 2012 list of the 100 greatest films.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (Russian: Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский) (4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist and opera director." — Andrei Tarkovsky "An artist needs knowledge and the power of observation only so that he can tell from what he is abstaining, and to be sure that his abstention will not appear artificial or false." — Andrei Tarkovsky "For me the most interesting characters are outwardly static, but inwardly charged by an overriding passion." — Andrei Tarkovsky "I have to say from the outset that not all prose can be transferred to the screen." — Andrei Tarkovsky