Russian Ark: Amazon.ca: DVD

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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

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful genius, Nov 4 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Russian Ark (DVD)

this film was groundbreaking, in that is was the first full length feature to be one continuous steadicam shot without any cuts. it is a marvel of logistics, incorporating live orchestras, choreographed dances, and hundreds of performers. it takes place in one sprawling palace in st. petersburg, moving from room to room and through the history of those rooms. the lead actor, who is on screen for at least 60 minutes of the film, is incredible.

certainly one of my favorites... it is slow, grand, beautiful, subtle. it is what every other period piece isn't.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly gorgeous. Magnificent. Otherworldly., Dec 1 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Russian Ark (VHS Tape)

Russian Ark is a true work of genius. According to the capitalist canon, government involvement is the kiss of death for art. But this film is a work of art on a level no American movie has ever achieved (yes, I include Citizen Kane) and it could not have been made without the involvement of the Russian government. (Thousands of actors garbed in gorgeous and intricate costumes.) Like all true art, this film is a powerful catalyst to becoming more deeply absorbed in the human journey. We flit back and forth between centuries of Russian history, bourn on by two protagonists who may be spirits from other times, who are inexplicable moving through the Hermitage as part of their journey. The Hermitage, a museum now, a Czarist palace before, is the one constant throughout those turbulent centuries. The single take technique is more than an amazing logistics achievement. It contributes powerfully to the movie?s strong spiritual feel. Everything changes as we move through time, except for the uninterrupted viewer, who is the immortal soul. The most sublime part of the movie is at the end. Then we understand we have not been watching a movie, but having a compressed experience of the beauty and pathos of life itself. And did I mention, I really liked this movie?

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, Nov 29 2007

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M. Diamond (London, Ont. Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Russian Ark (DVD)

Combining so much rich history in such interesting way, hearing the different sides. This movies was AMAZING! Loved it!

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