DVD : Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780794203788
Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
ISBN: 0794203787
Label: Fox Lorber
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Fox Lorber
Region Code: 1
Release Date: September 09, 2003
Running Time: 99 minutes
Sales Rank: 10006
Studio: Fox Lorber
Theatrical Release Date: 2002
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Editorial Review:
Description:
A modern filmmaker magically finds himself transported to the 18th century, where he embarks on a time-traveling journey through 300 years of Russian history in Alexander Sokurov’s masterpiece. Filmed in HD with directors commentary
Amazon.com:
Russian master Alexander Sokurov has tapped into the very flow of history itself for this flabbergasting film. Thanks to the miracles of digital video, Sokurov (and cinematographer Tilman Buttner) uses a single, unbroken, 90-minute shot to wind his way through the Hermitage in St. Petersburg--the repository of Russian art and the former home to royalty. Gliding through time, we glimpse Catherine II, modern-day museumgoers, and the doomed family of Nicholas II. History collapses on itself, as the opulence of the past and the horrors of the 20th century collide, and each door that opens onto yet another breathtaking gallery is another century to be heard from. The movie climaxes with a grand ball and thousands of extras, prompting thoughts of just how crazy Sokurov had to be to try a technical challenge like this--and how far a distance we've traveled, both physically and spiritually, since the movie began. --Robert Horton
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
In addition to being a wonderful look at Russia in the time of Catherine the Great, an engrossing overview of Russian history, and a fine tour of he Hermitage, this film is an amazing technical achievement.
Don't miss the added features that describe how it was made in one continuous take - quite a story!
Rating: -
I would be willing to bet that if you assembled a theater full of ordinary folk (not movie critics, graduate students, or film connoisseurs) to watch RUSSIAN ARK, more than half would walk out before it was half over. This has to be one of the most boring, tedious films ever made. It is also one of the most daring and beautiful visions ever recorded.
Sokurov takes us on a tour of the Hermitage, in one unedited, 96 minute tracking shot, and along the way, we encounter notable figures from the Romanov dynasty ( Peter and Catherine the Great, Nicholas I, Alexander III, Nicholas II and family) living in their natural habitat (the Hermitage served as a royal residence), doing normal things that monarchs do, like humiliating underlings, hosting foreign dignitaries, and giving grand balls for the aristocracy. The exquisite art and surroundings, gorgeous period costumes, lush orchestral music, and a cast of thousands, coupled with the ingenious filming method, create a sinuous, dreamlike, almost hypnotic mood. The camera's 1st person perspective has Sokurov (the modern man) confused, as if in a dream, following a gangly, Russian speaking French Marquis from the 18th century, who's dressed all in black, and frequently makes disparaging remarks about Russian culture. This "guide" is the focal point of the film, and acts as a symbolic link between Russia and Western Europe leading up to the Revolution. At points during the tour they enter rooms or galleries filled with modern ... Read More
Rating:  -
ussian Ark (Russkiy Kovcheg) is one of those films more notable for the technical expertise it exhibits (or preens of) than any real artistic merit. It reminds one of Mike Figgis's 2000 film Timecode, wherein that whole film was supposedly done in four separate single takes, in real time. That claim was debunked by a simple watching of the film, and the film itself was notable for being a screenplay disaster. The four stories, which occupied one fourth of the whole screen the whole time, had volume turned up on one section while the others were backgrounded, and then switched, which made it difficult for the viewer to even stick with whatever tale he preferred. Technically, the film was a mess, and, as there was no real story, just a gimmick, the film bombed critically and financially. Russian Ark, made in 2002 by the infamously somnolent director Alexander Sokurov, has a similar gimmick. While not following four separate stories, it is claimed to have been shot in one continuous take, directly onto a High Definition portable hard drive. It also claims that it was shot over one day, and in real time. While not a technical film expert, I did notice several scenes where the camera passed over black spots, making it the perfect place for an edit to occur, so I tend to believe that the claim of its 87 minute single Steadicam shot are overblown, if not outright false, even though the filmmakers have stated that the completed, unedited film, was done on a fourth attempt by cinematographer ... Read More
Rating: -
The Russian Ark is an art journey for the mind. Having been to Russia twice and so impressed with the beauty of the Hermitage I decided to give this a try. The video is so impressive. This is the story of a ghost who is elusive to the current day visitors to the Hermitage. The ghost describes the days he worked at the museum and his experiences. The degree and depth of the photography is awesome. I highly recommend this DVD for anyone who enjoys the out of body experience studying art gives you. (This video is extra special because photography wasn't allowed on our second visit).
Rating: -
Marquis de Countese, a French diplomatic of XVII joins us in a mesmerizing and minimalist recount around the most emblematic passages of the Russian history.
Employing the Hermitage Museum as a huge stage, we will see since Catalina The Great to the Romanov Dynasty and the great Imperial Dances.
Surrounded of an exquisiteness and genuine sumptuousness, this master director - whose visual style reminds us so much to Andrei Tarkovsky, we will accompany him in this fascinating and original film.
That Russian Ark is like a kaleidoscopic cavern of the memory, filled of reflections about Art and History, which constitutes by itself a magnificent artistic device to carve in relief his smart and sharp thoughts along the narrative thread.
One of the most superb masterworks in this raising Century.
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