Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema

by Andrei Tarkovsky, Andreï Tarkovski, andrey tarkovsky

Book Overview

Andrey Tarkovsky, the genius of modern Russian cinema--hailed by Ingmar Bergman as "the most important director of our time"--died an exile in Paris in December 1986. In Sculpting in Time, he has left his artistic testament, a remarkable revelation of both his life and work. Since Ivan's Childhood won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962, the visionary quality and totally original and haunting imagery of Tarkovsky's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292776241
• ISBN13: 9780292776241
• Release Date: April 1989
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Didn’t receive in new condition totally

A few pages arrived with crinkled edges even though it was packaged nicely.

THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF ART -- IN CINEMA AND ELSEWHERE...

If that sounds like a heavy load...in the hands of some, it could well be just that. Here, it's a different - and refreshing - story. In this book, the great Russian film director looks back at his life's work - but not in the standard `this is how I did this' format. Rather, he approaches his cinematic creations from the aspect of his views on life as a whole: Where does mankind stand today, in respect to the past? In what direction should we turn - not just for answers, but also for the very questions themselves? What is the definition of art - and how does `artistic' cinema differ from `entertainment'? The discussion he undertakes here will open your mind and soul, as well as your eyes.Over the course of this book's nearly-250 pages, Tarkovsky addresses these questions and many others - and at the same time, gives the reader invaluable insights into the thoughts that inspired his amazing films. The work progresses roughly in a straightforward time-line - unlike some of his films - and lays out the director's beliefs as well as his methods, but not in a cold step-by-step way. Instead, I came away from this book feeling that I understood Tarkovsky as a human being much more than I did before - and, as a result, I now feel like I know him better as an artist as well.Without employing standard plotlines, characterizations, overdone (and overused) special effects, or any other low-ball devices so prevalent in film, Tarkovsky's works reach into the very soul of the viewers and touch them on the very deepest level. Far from being cold and emotionless and surreal, his works are some of the most moving I've ever experienced - and, true to his vision, they do so by actually being ULTRA-real, evoking the feelings that we carry around at our core. Words cannot really convey the power of his works - they have to be experienced. I recently came across a reference to Tarkovsky's work in the booklet of a cd of contemporary classical music - the note-writer likened his films to a `cold landscape, devoid of human life'...! I couldn't believe it - and I had to wonder what 5 minutes of which of Tarkovsky's films the writer had actually seen!! This was one of the most ludicrous references I've ever read.There is a spiritual quality and undercurrent to Tarkovsky's films that runs very, very deep - and is extremely moving. This spirituality never comes across as `preaching' or `sermonizing' - it's simply there, as a foundation for his outlook and philosophy of life. He draws from numerous schools of thought, combining his influences into one of the most gently - and truthfully - humanist outlooks I've ever seen expressed.The book is a revelation - and I know it will bear repeated readings. I've seen all of his films - but after reading his thoughts so eloquently expressed here, I know that they'll affect me even more deeply now.

Tarkovsky lives on

If you're looking for a key to understanding Tarkovsky's works, this may not be what you are looking for. The details and decisions that went into creating his sparse ouvre of films are treated only in the context of laying out his own artistic theories. At the same time Tarkovsky's broad artistic treatise gives great insight into the motivations, passions, and influences behind his anachronistic masterpieces. In fact, Tarkovksy presents a theory of film and art so archaic that the lines between religion and creation become irrelevant. More comfortable in the company of the religious mysticism of Dosteovsky and Rublyev, Tarkovsky proposes ideas blasphemous to the current commercialy driven, psuedo-naturalist film zietgeist. A must read for any artist serious about creating works of profundity and universiality, Sculpting in Time is plea from the grave for more film that is alive.

Utterly fascinating and inspiring

I suspect that perhaps even someone unacquainted with Tarkovsky would find this book interesting - provided that someone is curious about the relationship of art, human experience, and transcendence. One of the most inspired and inspiring works about cinema I've encountered, it releases the floodgates of cinema's potential energy and power. Next to the films themselves, this is the most important work to own for students or admirers of Tarkovsky. Probably as close as a book can come to representing a sacred text on the art of film.

insights from a genius

This extraordinary book is not just about filmmaking, it's about all art...about life, faith, inner exploration and the Russian soul. It contains exquisite poetry, mostly written by his father, Arseniy Tarkovsky, and detailed descriptions of the making of several of his films as well as photos of them that are eerie, mystical, and incredibly beautiful. Tarkovsky is the master of making us see the wonder of creation in the most mundane subjects. He brings us one step closer in our journey towards the light. From page 43: "The allotted function of art is not, as is often assumed, to put across ideas, to propagate thoughts, to serve as an example. The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good".

An Essential Book about Film

The idea behind the title of the book is that the film-goer goes to the cinema to experience time, and that the director's job is to sculpt the time that the audience experiences-- cut away the inessential words and seconds and pieces. This book is an introduction to the rules that Tarkovsky set for himself in achieving this goal.The book covers his thoughts around a wide range of his films, beginning with "Ivan's Childhood" and finally ending with "The Sacrifice". On the way he covers his view of various aspects (both concrete and philisophical) of the cinema. Other chapter titles include "Cinema's destined role" and "The author in search of an audience".The book is beautifully written and the ideas are important and relevant. It's useful on the level of the student learning film techniques (he provides some wonderful examples of the difference in how major and minor directors handle the same character moments in different films. It's also useful as a book about the philosophy of art in general (and cinema, obviously, in specific).