Works by Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986)^[1] was a Soviet^[a] filmmaker who is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors of all time.^[2][3] His films are considered Romanticist and are often described as "slow cinema", with the average shot-length in his final three films being over a minute (compared to seconds for most modern films).^[4] In his thirty-year career, Tarkovsky directed several student films and seven feature films,^[3] co-directed a documentary, and wrote numerous screenplays. He also directed a stage play and wrote a book.

Born in the Soviet Union, Tarkovsky began his career at the State Institute of Cinematography, where he directed several student films.^[5] In 1956, he made his directorial debut with the student film The Killers, an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's eponymous short story.^[6] His first feature film was 1962's Ivan's Childhood, considered by some to be his most conventional film.^[7] It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.^[8] In 1966, he directed the biopic Andrei Rublev, which garnered him the International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.^[9]

In 1972, he directed the science fiction film Solaris, which was a response to what Tarkovsky saw as the "phoniness" of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).^[10] Solaris was loosely based on the novel of the same title by Stanislaw Lem and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.^[11][12] His next film was Mirror (1975). In 1976, Tarkovsky directed his only play—a stage production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Lenkom Theatre. Viewing Tarkovsky as a dissident, Soviet authorities shut down the production after only a few performances.^[13] His final film produced in the Soviet Union, Stalker (1979), garnered him the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes.^[14]

Tarkovsky left the Soviet Union in 1979 and directed the film Nostalghia and the accompanying documentary Voyage in Time.^[15] At the Cannes Film Festival, Nostalghia was awarded the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury but was blocked from receiving the Palme d'Or by Soviet authorities.^[16] In 1985, he published a book, Sculpting in Time, in which he explored art and cinema.^[17] His final film, The Sacrifice (1986), was produced in Sweden, shortly before his death from cancer. The film garnered Tarkovsky his second Grand Prix at Cannes, as well as a second International Critics' Prize, a Best Artistic Contribution, and another Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.^[18] He was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize in 1990, the most prestigious award in the Soviet Union.^[19]

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