Artificial Eye to Release Andrei Tarkovsky Films on Blu-ray in 2015

Posted November 13, 2014 04:51 PM by


British distributors Artificial Eye have informed us that they have re-licensed their Andrei Tarkovsky catalog and are planning to release a number of films on Blu-ray. Preliminary release dates are yet to be announced, but the first titles are expected to arrive on the market in Q2. One of world's most visionary, celebrated and inﬂuential ﬁlmmakers, Andrei Tarkovsky made just seven features before his tragically early death at the age of 54. Characterised by metaphysical and spiritual explorations of the human condition, each ﬁlm is an artistic masterpiece of extraordinary visual beauty and stands as an enduring classic of world cinema. IVAN'S CHILDHOOD Tarkovsky's extraordinarily accomplished debut feature is a powerful and moving tale of a 12 year-old boy who vows to avenge his family's death at the hands of the Nazis. USSR 1962 \| Black and white \| Russian with English subtitles \| 90 minutes approx. ANDREI RUBLEV Regarded by many as Tarkovsky's ﬁnest ﬁlm, this epic tale of the great medieval icon painter chronicles a turbulent period of Russian history and was long suppressed by the politically sensitive Soviet authorities. USSR 1966 \| Black and white & part colour \| Russian with English subtitles \| 174 minutes approx. SOLARIS Based on Stanislaw Lem's novel, Solaris is a moving and unsettling vision of memory and humanity which transcends the science ﬁction genre and has often been compared to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. USSR 1972 \| Colour & black and white \| Russian with English subtitles \| 159 minutes approx. MIRROR Reﬂecting upon his own childhood and the destiny of the Russian people, this beautiful and densely layered ﬁlm is Tarkovsky's most autobiographical work. USSR 1974 \| Colour & black and white \| Russian with English subtitles \| 101 minutes approx STALKER Set in a devastated future landscape, Tarkovsky's second foray into science ﬁction is a surreal and disturbing exploration of man's quest to realise his dreams and desires. USSR 1979 \| Colour & black and white \| Russian with English subtitles \| 154 minutes approx. NOSTALGIA Filmed in Italy just prior to his defection to the west, Tarkovsky's unforgettably haunting ﬁlm explores the melancholy of exile from one's homeland. Italy 1983 \| Colour \| Russian and Italian with English subtitles \| 120 minutes approx. THE SACRIFICE In Tarkovsky's ﬁnal masterpiece, completed as he was gravely ill, a man vows to God that he will sacriﬁce all he holds dear if an imminent nuclear catastrophe can be averted. Sweden / France 1986 \| Colour \| Swedish, French and English with English subtitles \| 142 mins approx.
Source: Blu-ray.com \| Permalink \|

News comments (16 comments)

Top contributor

Oscar Rothman

Nov 13, 2014

Whoa. That's some seriously great news!

Filmninja

Nov 13, 2014

Should be an indication that Criterion's Andre Rublev upgrade is going to be announced soon. If not, I guess I'll be going for the Artificial Eye release!

Great news! Not that it would take much, but I seriously hope their blu-rays of Stalker and Nostalghia are better than Kino's half-assed crap releases. Andrei Rublev has been at the top of many people's lists for years, so I hope they do it right!

henry001

Nov 13, 2014

That is a great news for all of our Tarkovsky funs. But I am a bit worried that their Andrei Tarkovsky Collection in DVD in the past release had mixed reviews and they may be applied to Blu Ray release as well (please read the reviews on Amazon). Due to that, I never purchased it and I can not tell it for sure.

I just have to cross my fingers for each one of the release next year.

Top reviewer

Arkadin

Nov 13, 2014

@coljohn--Stalker hasn't been released by Kino. what in the world are you talking about??
the original Russian Andrei Rublev bd--with English subs--looks great.

Top contributor

rapta

Nov 13, 2014

Part of the reason I got into blu-ray was the hope Artificial Eye would release these, especially Solaris and Stalker. Let's hope they release a set of all of them! Glad this will be Q2 - first recent rumour was saying 'early 2015' and the second quote was that it would be Q3, but Q2 sounds even better. My guess is Q3/Q4 would be for the complete set?

Top reviewer

Top contributor

billyearle

Nov 13, 2014

Fingers crossed on PQ, and will wait for a box set as long as I can hold out. Artificial Eye has been one of my favorite labels, I replaced several Criterions with their releases, but I've seen a couple of their recent releases have joined what seems to be a UK tendency for what looks like either higher brightness or contrast than the rest of the world (Tess would be a good example), which may look good on projectors, or appeal to certain sensibilities, but is all wrong for my set up.
Fortunately I've only bought Solaris so far. Will wait for reviews.

RhymeAnimal

Nov 13, 2014

It's all filler until Criterion steps in and knocks it out of the park.

HOWEVER upgrades of Stalker (miserable DVD, all of them) and Mirror are very welcome.

Stalker is in the top 3 of greatest films of all time in my opinion.

Top contributor

NjabPhungula

Nov 14, 2014

Wow. I've never seen any of Tarkovsky's movies but I was planning on buying a whole bunch of them on DVD for the time being. This is great.

jw007

Nov 14, 2014

I so much wish Criterion would release a Tarkovsky box set, because if they did, it would be probably the best release they ever had (more than Zatoichi I think). One can only dream.....

wolffuncut

Nov 14, 2014

if the release the blu-rays so quickly like au hazard balthazar then we can expect them in 2095

Top contributor

insomniac013

Nov 14, 2014

In for Solaris! (if it's as good or better than Criterion)

coljohnmatrix

Nov 14, 2014

@Arkadin, woops, meant The Sacrifice, but their DVDs are mediocre, too. Why is it so hard to do Tarkovsky films right?

Top contributor

W0m6at

Nov 14, 2014

Hopefully Stalker has the option of the original (vs. "enhanced") audio in HD.
Really looking forward to this! One of the last of my favourites to get the HD treatment.

Top contributor

retask

Nov 16, 2014

Wow. Just speechless. Stalker on Blu-ray must be the greatest announcement since Eraserhead.

Top contributor

dog_star_man

Nov 17, 2014

What a bombshell! As someone whose favorite narrative filmmaker may very well be Andrei Tarkovsky (I hate trying to select impossible favorites), there are no words to do this announcement justice. Assuming Artificial Eye hits these releases out of the park PQ-wise especially, this is some of the greatest home video news I've heard since the debut of the Blu-Ray format. Blu-ray was made for films like Tarkovsky's!