Andrei Rublev (1973)
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Andrei Rublev is a cerebral epic that filters challenging ideas through a grand scope — forming a moving thesis on art, faith, and the sweep of history.
Andrei Rublev is like a three-hour-long spiritual journey that will leave you feeling both enlightened and exhausted. Tarkovsky’s portrayal of an artist’s humanity is so convincing that you’ll forget you’re watching a movie and feel like you’re living in medieval Russia. The black and white imagery and hushed sound design will transport you to a dreamlike state that’s both sacred and profane. It’s a film that doesn’t need to be understood, only experienced and wondered at. Just make sure you have plenty of snacks and a comfortable seat because you’re in for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Mosfilm Tvorcheskoe Obedinienie Pisateley i Kinorabotnikov
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Assumption Cathedral of the Dormition, Vladimir, Russia
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 45m
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Language(s):Russian, Italian, Tatar
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1972 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 2, 1999
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
starring Anatoliy Solonitsyn, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, written by Andrey Konchalovskiy and Andrei Tarkovsky, biography, art, faith, history, cerebral, epic, challenging, spirituality, religion, medieval Russia, revered religious icon painter, peace-seeking monk, art reputation, brutal battle, vow of silence, troubled soul, painter, R rating, Italian language, Tamara Ogorodnikova producer, $101.4K box office, Criterion Collection, Columbia Pictures distributor, Mono sound mix, critic reviews, Anthony Lane, Jake Cole, Bilge Ebiri, Derek Malcolm, Michael McNay, Steve Rose, Tom Meek, CJ Sheu, Jesús Fernández Santos, David Harris, Mattie Lucas, audience reviews, Joseph B, Robert B, Alex r
Worldwide gross: $145,491
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $241,306
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,901
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 26,315
US/Canada gross: $124,189
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $205,975
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,541
US/Canada opening weekend: $11,537
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $19,135
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,528
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): RUR 1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ivan Lapikov – Kirill
Nikolay Grinko – Daniil Cherny
Nikolaj Sergeev – Theophanes the Greek
Irma Raush – Durochka
Nikolay Burlyaev – Boriska
Director(s)
Andrei Tarkovsky
Writer(s)
Andrey Konchalovskiy, Andrei Tarkovsky
Producer(s)
Tamara Ogorodnikova
Film Festivals
Berlin, Venice
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (2)
You may dread being ground down by this extraordinary film, but fear not. It will bear you aloft.
August 27, 2018
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It evinces a complex understanding of spirituality and faith that would inform all of Andrei Tarkovsky’s subsequent films.
August 21, 2018
Jake Cole
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Tarkovsky’s version of an indifferent world is inflected with the spirituality that is ever-present in his work, a sense that while we may be on our own, we are never quite alone.
August 21, 2018
Bilge Ebiri
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
You can object to [Tarkovsky’s] vision as messianic and sometimes fundamentalist. It is hard, however, to mock the impact of his films.
March 4, 2015
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Tarkovsky makes his film one of the most convincing portrayals in art of an artist; he succeeds by concentrating on the man’s humanity.
August 26, 2013
Michael McNay
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
It is not a film that needs to be processed or even understood, only experienced and wondered at.
August 26, 2013
Steve Rose
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The film clocks in at more than three hours, but feels only half as long with themes of self, religion, art and freedom perforating each episode.
August 7, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
I think what [Rublev] truly can’t forgive is the world[.]
July 1, 2020
CJ Sheu
Review Film Review
The biography itself is awkwardly narrated and does not move us. [Full Review in Spanish]
July 30, 2019
Jesús Fernández Santos
El Pais (Spain)
We are forced to wonder if this magnificent art must have been carried through trauma to reach the ultimate seat of grace.
July 30, 2019
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
The stark black and white imagery, accompanied by the hushed sound design with its wordless vocals and tolling bells, immerses us in a dream that feels at once sacred and profane.
June 3, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
…a sprawling historical biography that sought to connect a godless society with the medieval monasticism that defined them as a separate ethnocultural entity.
December 29, 2018 | Rating: 9/10
Nathanael Hood
The Retro Set…
Plot
An expansive Russian drama that follows the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev, who takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work after witnessing a brutal battle and unintentionally becoming involved, but eventually takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Anatoliy Solonitsyn plays the lead role of Andrei Rublev in the film.
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