Works by Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986)^[1] was a Soviet filmmaker who is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors of all time.^[2][3] His films are considered Romanticist and are often described as "slow cinema", with the average shot-length in his final three films being over a minute (compared to seconds for most modern films).^[4] In his thirty-year career, Tarkovsky directed several student films and seven feature films,^[3] co-directed a documentary, and wrote numerous screenplays. He also directed a stage play and wrote a book.

Tarkovsky on a 2007 Russian stamp

Born in the Soviet Union, Tarkovsky began his career at the State Institute of Cinematography, where he directed several student films.^[5] In 1956, he made his directorial debut with the student film The Killers, an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's eponymous short story.^[6] His first feature film was 1962's Ivan's Childhood, considered by some to be his most conventional film.^[7] It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.^[8] In 1966, he directed the biopic Andrei Rublev, which garnered him the International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.^[9]

In 1972, he directed the science fiction film Solaris, which was a response to what Tarkovsky saw as the "phoniness" of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).^[10] Solaris was loosely based on the novel of the same title by Stanislaw Lem and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.^[11][12] His next film was Mirror (1975). In 1976, Tarkovsky directed his only play—a stage production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Lenkom Theatre. Viewing Tarkovsky as a dissident, Soviet authorities shut down the production after only a few performances.^[13] His final film produced in the Soviet Union, Stalker (1979), garnered him the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes.^[14]

Tarkovsky left the Soviet Union in 1979 and directed the film Nostalghia and the accompanying documentary Voyage in Time.^[15] At the Cannes Film Festival, Nostalghia was awarded the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury but was blocked from receiving the Palme d'Or by Soviet authorities.^[16] In 1985, he published a book, Sculpting in Time, in which he explored art and cinema.^[17] His final film, The Sacrifice (1986), was produced in Sweden, shortly before his death from cancer. The film garnered Tarkovsky his second Grand Prix at Cannes, as well as a second International Critics' Prize, a Best Artistic Contribution, and another Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.^[18] He was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize in 1990, the most prestigious award in the Soviet Union.^[19]

Filmography

The logo for Solaris (1972)

The ruins of the 13-century Abbey of San Galgano were used in the filming of Nostalghia (1983).^[20]

1985 mug shot of Tarkovsky at an Italian refugee camp, after leaving the Soviet Union

Table featuring completed feature films by Andrei Tarkovsky

Year	Title	Credited as		Notes	Ref.
		Director	Writer
1956	The Killers	Yes	Yes	Student film, also actor, co-directed with Aleksandr Gordon and Marika Beiku, co-written with Gordon	[6][21]
1959	There Will Be No Leave Today	Yes	Yes	Student film, co-directed with Aleksandr Gordon, co-written with Gordon and Irina Makhovaya	[22]
1960	The Steamroller and the Violin	Yes	Yes	Student film	[23]
1962	Ivan's Childhood	Yes	No		[24]
1966	Andrei Rublev	Yes	Yes		[25]
1968	Sergey Lazo	No	Yes	Also an uncredited acting role	[26][27]
1969	One Chance in One Thousand	No	Yes	Co-written with Artur Makarov	[27]
1970	The End of Ataman	No	Yes	Co-written with Andrei Konchalovsky & Eduard Tropinin	[28]
1972	Solaris	Yes	Yes		[10]
1973	The Ferocious One	No	Yes	Co-written with Andrei Konchalovsky & Eduard Tropinin	[29]
1974	Sour Grape	No	Yes	Co-written with Ruben Ovsepyan	[30]
1975	Mirror	Yes	Yes		[31]
1979	Stalker	Yes	No		[32][33]
	Look Out, Snake!	No	Yes		[34]
1983	Nostalghia	Yes	Yes	Co-written with Tonino Guerra	[35][36]
1983	Voyage in Time	Yes	Yes	Documentary, co-written and co-directed with Tonino Guerra	[37]
1986	The Sacrifice	Yes	Yes		[38]

Unfilmed scripts

Table featuring unfilmed scripts by Andrei Tarkovsky

Year written	Film	Ref.
1975	Hoffmanniana	[9]
1978	Sardor	[39]
1981	The Witch	[39]

Theatrical productions

Table featuring theatrical productions by Andrei Tarkovsky

Year	Play	Location	Ref.
1976	Hamlet	Lenkom Theatre, Moscow	[9][13]

Bibliography

Table featuring books by Andrei Tarkovsky

Year	Book title	Translator	Ref.
1985	Sculpting in Time	Kitty Hunter-Blair	[17]
1991	Time Within Time: The Diaries 1970–1986	Kitty Hunter-Blair	[40]