Never mind whether or not St. Petersburg ever has coupons or not, those of you w/experience buying Russian DVDs, do I assume correctly that St. Petersburg is pretty much the cheapest place for Solaris on a regular basis? I am not too familiar with the various stores that sell Russian titles so any help is appreciated. Thanks....

Yes, St-P's would appear to be the least expensive.

Solaris is $34.99 at St-P's and $39.99 at rbcmp3.com. I don't know of any other retailers that stock this title in the US.

Okay,

I just called and bought:
Andrei Rublev - Ruscico - It's 34.99 ( as are all 2 disc sets )
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Vij
The Cranes are Flying

I phoned in my order to St-Petes... their English wasn't perfect, but they got it okay... I hope...
The guy said <in broken English>.. "I say, not to sell you, but Rublev is amazing... so much better than Criterion"...

Well, we'll be the judges of that.

This DVD does not appear to be listed on StP's web-site. Is it orderable only by phone?

Yes, I placed my order by phone....
1-800 something... it's on their website... but I'm sure they will have it up soon...

Gary, please be sure to post your review of the Rublev, I can't imagine one better than Criterions, but the thought of it makes one giddy!

For all of you Tarkovsky fans, for an opportunity to view some of his films you might not have seen, including the very rare The Steamroller and the Violin, plus two documentaries one of which is IMPOSSIBLE to find!, Turner Classic Movies is making Tarkovsky director of the month for September!

The schedule air dates and times are as follows, all times eastern -

One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich Sep 07 10:00pm
Steamroller and the Violin Sep 07 11:00pm
My Name is Ivan (Ivan's Childhood) Sep 07 12:00am
Andrei Roublev Sep 07 02:00am
Solaris Sep 14 10:00pm
Mirror Sep 14 01:00am
Stalker Sep 21 10:00pm
Nostalghia Sep 21 01:00am
Sacrifice Sep 28 10:00pm
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Sep 28 12:30am
Sacrifice Nov 30 02:00am

It should be better just because it anamorphic

I'm finding it difficult to locate reviews of the Kino Video versions of Tarkovsky's films - Nostalghia, Mirror, and the Sacrifice. Has anyone seen any of these?

My review of Mirror is here:

http://207.136.67.23/film/reviews/mirror.htm#mirror

but it doesn't specifically talk about the F/L DVD, which in this case wasn't too bad... compared to some of the tripe they have put out ( I'm talking Rohmer here... ). It is so visual a film, it needs a great transfer... I'd kill to see that anamorphic...

Cheers,

Just thought some may want to know that St-P now has Andrey Rublev available on their site. It's $34.99...thought somebody mentioned it was 2-disc, but it doesn't specify...not much info at all actually...Here's the link...


http://www.st-p.com/esell.asp?ItemId=12401

Nostalghia disc has a great transer. I have the disc, and, despite the Fox Lorber label, I find the transfer to be of Criterion quality. Well, the transfer *IS* the Criterion laserdisc's, that's why.

I've been doing some research on Kino's Mirror and I wanted to note that it is often listed as Pan and Scan - I assume it's probably just full frame since the OAR listed on IMDB is 1.37.

Yes, Kino's Mirror is in the correct 1.37:1 aspect ratio... but I'd hold off purchasing that one in favor of Ruscico's upcoming edition. Kino's is not bad, but the image quality of the teaser trailer of Mirror that Ruscico included on their Solaris disc easily surpasses the quality of Kino's effort. On the basis of that trailer alone, I'd say Ruscico's Mirror release is gonna blow Kino's out of the water.

FL's Nostalghia is from a solid Criterion LD transfer. Not anamorphic, but not bad at all. Get this one as there's probably no chance of seeing another region 1 version (Ruscico is only doing the Russian Tarkovsky discs).

Kino's The Sacrifice is a decent transfer and includes the feature-length documentary 'Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky' (or 'Tarkosvky' as per the typos on that lamentable cover). The documentary includes an uncut 3 minute 'outtake', an extraordinary unbroken tracking shot that's truly brilliant (portions of it made the final edit), as well as the disastrous first take of the climactic scene. Again, since Ruscico's only doing the Russian Tarkovsky films, this is likely the only version of The Sacrifice we'll see in Region 1. Recommended.

And, in anticipation of Ruscico's release of Stalker, let it be known that - like Mirror - this film was shot in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio!

Thanks for the info, Richard!

So, a buying guide to R0/R1 Tarkovsky DVDs would be:

Ivan's Childhood
Criterion upcoming release - 2002?

Andrei Rublev
Criterion is 205 minute version, non-anamorphic
RusCiCo is 185 minute version, anamorphic - initial reviews indicate picture/sound is superior to Criterion

Solaris
RusCiCo
Criterion upcoming release - 2002?

Mirror
RusCiCo upcoming release - 2001?

Stalker
RusCiCo upcoming release - 2001?
Criterion release cancelled

Nostalghia
Fox-Lorber release

Sacrifice
Kino release

Does this sound about right?

Someone, please, please, PLEASE review the Ruscico Andrey Rublev and let us know:

1) good DVD?

and

2) EXACTLY what are the differences between the Criterion 205 minute cut and the 185-minute "preferred" cut. What's missing?

I am itching for this because it's one of the greatest films ever made, but I want info!

The Mirror also has a Kino release.

You should check out the Criteriondvd.com's forum - there are already people who have reviewed the new Andrei Rublev Ruscico disc.

My list was meant to be a recommended buying guide, not an exhaustive list - given the odds that the RusCiCo Mirror will blow away the Kino release, I didn't mention it.

Jepthah - I assume the 185 minute cut on the RusCiCo disc is the same as the one widely available on VHS. It can be rented at almost any Blockbuster (assuming you're in the US).

The review on CriterionDVD.com mentions that the RusCiCo Rublev blows the Criterion away in terms of image and sound quality. If there's one film worth owning two copies of, this would be it!

Thanks, ehonauer. I just remembered I can rent the 185-minute one on *shudder* VHS, but I am reluctant to do so--rather I would get an answer from someone who knows the movie other than me, for the sake of 'objective thoroughness.'

I looked over on CriterionDVD and finally registered, but no one has really discussed the differences in the two cuts yet...maybe I'll look on nostalghia.com and seek possible answers there.

Hi all,

Okay, I was able to briefly review the RUSCICO Rublev DVD... unfortunately my Rear Porjection TV is on the fritz and I was just able to move my DVD player to another set... I have to prepare for a course tomorrow and have not had a chance to go through it as thoroughly as I would like... blah, blah, blah; This review is based on the small amount I have seen so far...

Here it is:
CLICK HERE

I will add more detail and answer any questions, probably on the weekend. Sorry...

Thanks Gary, your review is as good as I hoped it would be, now MUST order the RUSCICO copy of one of the best films ever made!

To answer a question above concerning what may be 'left out' of this edition compared to the Criterion, I can only tell you that I have the video that is the same length as the RUSCICO and that there are some scenes in the Criterion that do definitely add to the story.

But to see it with a transfer that is even better than Criterion is going to make it worthwhile for any Tarkovsky fan.

Don't forget too, that Turner Classic Movies is going to air Rublev on September 7th though I'm not sure which 'edition' they will air, I know that the Sundance Channel aired the Criterion edition last month.

And let me add my kudos to the new site, www.nostalghia.com, they are helping to bring the wide world of Tarkovsky together for his English speaking fans!

You may also see some reviews of the films at the other Tarkovsky site at http://www.skywalking.com/tarkovsky/messageboard.html

Can you post the URL for this review? I am not able to find it at CriterionDVD.com. Thanks.

Sure, here it is:

Rublev review