Sergei Paradjanov

Started by Seraphim, November 11, 2003, 06:13:40 AM

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Seraphim

I'm thinking of renting two films of the (for me to unknown) Russian filmmaster Sergei Paradjanov...

Anybody knows his works? It's supposed to be highly emotional, poetic...VERY visual.
If you've seen his works, please tell me something about it.

I will (try to) rent The Color of Pomegranates (1969) and The Legend of Suram Fortress (1984) tonight, so next week or so I will let you know my thoughts about those works.

His most famous work appears to be Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964).

Want to know more about Paradjanov?
Paradjanov
Paradjanov
The Cinema and Art of Paradjanov on this site Paradjanov is mentioned alongside Tarkovsky, Bergman, Bresson, Godard, Kurosawa, Sokurov and Bunuel...just to let you know in which kind of direction you'll have to search...
Paradjanov some reviews
Paradjanov

Enjoy.... (I know I will, tonight!)!
Seraphim's magic words:
Dutch
Dead Can Dance/ Cocteau Twins
Literature
European/ Art Cinema:
Tarkovsky, Bresson, Fellini, Angelopoulos

Seraphim

Ah- I was wondering why nobody told something about Paradjanov.
But I see I haven't told about my experiences with this very unknown Master yet (been away for 2 or 3 months, maybe that's why).  :roll:

Behold!
Sergei Paradjanov is one of the world's greatest filmmakers, easily one of the 20 or so most important in the world. From those 20 or so, he is by far the least known.
Maybe the 15-year ban (by Soviet authorities) have something to do with that. Or maybe his films are just to complex, mystical, etcetera.

Although Paradjanov can't be put in the list of Five or so best Filmmakers ever (like Bergman, Tarkovsky, Bresson etc.), Sayat Nova can easily put in the same list of the best films of those directors...
Sayat Nova- you will never see such a film again. One of the two or three most visually stunning films ever made, together with Zerkalo (Tarkovsky) for instance. I can't really describe exactly how good this film is...just see it before you die.

You won't probably understand it (it IS one of the most mystical film ever), but then again...what is there to understand besides the highly poetic, emotionally laden images who speak directly to the Soul?

The Legend of Suram Fortress has a bit more of a "story", but it still is great mythical and surrealistic. See this one too.

Paradjanov isn't well-known (although Sayat Nova is frequently called one of the best 100 films ever, f.i. in Time Out magazine), but make absolutely SURE that you'll put him on your list if you're a fan of Tarkovsky, Fellini, Bergman, Pasolini etcetera!

And that's an order.  :roll:

Read for instance this review for at least a bit of an understanding about how stunning Sayat Nova is.
"Ostensibly a biopic of 18th-century Armenian poet Sayat Nova, it takes the form of an experimental fantasia on the theme of Nova's life. Paradjanov scares up one startling sequence after another, crafting a bizarre mosaic of Nova's world while limiting himself to the materials of the poet's time, not excluding livestock...Attempting to make literal sense of the film would probably prove daunting even to scholars of 18th-century Armenian poetry; like a dream, it's destroyed by too much scrutiny. As an immersive cinematic experience, however, few films match it, though Soviet officials thought otherwise."

Another review:
"A ravishingly beautiful film, not so much a biography of the 18th century Armenian poet Sayat Nova but a series of tableaux of Armenian costume, embroidery and religious ritual interspersed with scenes and verses from the poet's life. This is the most perfect example of Paradjanov's uniquely painterly approach to film-making; with a reliance on visual effects and compositions of objects (as opposed to cinematographic tricks) it provides at least an idea of Armenian monastic life and the impulses of poetry."

Interview with Paradjanov

Try to find his films..
Seraphim's magic words:
Dutch
Dead Can Dance/ Cocteau Twins
Literature
European/ Art Cinema:
Tarkovsky, Bresson, Fellini, Angelopoulos

pete

yeah I've got the shadow of our forgotten ancestors and the color of pomegranate.  this guy truly rules.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

LostEraser

Wow, there's actually a thread of this guy here. I also think he's one of the all time greats. If only he made more films. Color of Pomegranates is brilliant and defies description. Everyone who first hears of that film probably hears that description a lot too. But it's true. There's just no other way to explian it. Except that it's the most passionate and emotional filmmaking I've ever seen (as oposed to Kubrick who is also a great example of brilliant filmmaking but is hardly emotional or even passionate). His other three films are also brilliant. Shadows of our Forgetten Ancestors and his other two that hardly ever get any attention: The Legend of Suram Fortress and Ashik Kerib (those ones having more of a story to them and Pomegrantes). I have all of his films on VHS but have receantly come across some out of print region 1 Kino DVDS of his on ebay. Does anyone know of these are any good? I've actually heard some bad things about them. But still, I want them on dvd. I'll be getting them in the mail soon. It'd be great if Criterion would rerelease all his films in a great boxed set or something.

There's another great website about him along with the ones that have already been mentioned (though it doesn't have enough material on there yet) called www.parajanov.com if anyone's interested.
Capra tells us that, in effect, love's dreams are only dreams and that they will never quite bear translation into practical forms of relationship and expression. They will never be realized in the world but only in our consciousness and in our most daring and glorious works of art - but that, for Capra, is no reason to abandon love's dreams.
--Ray Carney, American Vision: The Films Of Frank Capra

Ravi


w/o horse

There must be some licensing reason they can't make their foreign box sets in the $20 range like they make their Hollywood ones.
Raven haired Linda and her school mate Linnea are studying after school, when their desires take over and they kiss and strip off their clothes. They take turns fingering and licking one another's trimmed pussies on the desks, then fuck each other to intense orgasms with colorful vibrators.