A subtly ravishing passage through the halls of time and memory, this sublime reflection on twentieth-century Russian history by Andrei Tarkovsky (Stalker) is as much a poem composed in images, or a hypnagogic hallucination, as it is a work of cinema. In a richly textured collage of varying film stocks and newsreel footage, the recollections of a dying poet flash before our eyes, his dreams mingling with scenes of childhood, wartime, and marriage, all imbued with the mystical power of a trance. Largely dismissed by Soviet critics on its release because of its elusive narrative structure, Mirror has since taken its place as one of the director’s most renowned and influential works, a stunning personal statement from an artist transmitting his innermost thoughts and feelings directly from psyche to screen.
TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Andrei Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer, a 2019 documentary about the director by his son Andrei A. Tarkovsky
- The Dream in the Mirror, a new documentary by Louise Milne and Seán Martin
- New interview with composer Eduard Artemyev
- Islands: Georgy Rerberg, a 2007 documentary about the cinematographer
- Archival interviews with Tarkovsky and screenwriter Alexander Misharin
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by critic Carmen Gray and, for the Blu-ray, the 1968 film proposal and literary script by Tarkovsky and Misharin that they ultimately developed into Mirror
MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
Package Dimensions : 6.81 x 5.51 x 0.75 inches; 8.32 ounces
Director : Andrei Tarkovsky
Media Format : Blu-ray
Release date : July 6, 2021
Actors : Filipp Yankovsky, Ignat Daniltsev, Margarita Terekhova, Nikolai Grinko, Oleg Yankovsky
Subtitles: : English
Studio : The Criterion Collection
ASIN : B092NQXD1L
Number of discs : 2
Best Sellers Rank: #4,711 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV) #635 in Drama Blu-ray Discs
Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (431) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Andy –
The Mirror Reflects and Meditates Like Poetry
Deeply personal, nearly free-form, highly poetic and slowly paced…clearly this not for all tastes. Visually arresting dream imagery with a loosely structured stream of consciousness (surpassing a fractured narrative) is more of an intensely intimate experience, or experimental art film than a traditional movie. Those familiar with Russian master director Andrei Tarkovsky will immediately see symbolic style and visual motifs in this beautifully unique work of nostalgia and reflection. A clear marker for his films to come, haunting elements of his superb, hypnotic Nostalghia, Stalker, and his final work, The Sacrifice, are present. Best suited for fans of Russian cinema, although readers of poetry or novels by Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust etc. may be much more receptive and reap the rewards of this challenging film. Criterion Collection’s two disc Blu Ray set restores the film’s mesmerizing cinematography, and contains hours of documentaries and interviews.
JB –
What an incredible movie.
Tarkovsky can be pretty challenging/opaque. Don’t be intimidated by this one. I found this movie to be relatively easy to understand. Just don’t try to think too hard or you’ll end up either confused or disappointed. “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” ~ Sigmund Freud. I find that when a film is extremely long, the time required to re-watch it is hard to come by. This one is just right. This is one of the most beautiful things (not just films) I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend it.
Mark Darda –
Mr .Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky has to be looked at in a different light, once you realize he only made seven features and was hounded by the Russian censers almost his whole career. There seems to be even talk of him being “eliminated” by the KGB ! A treasure to the world, by any standard and there comes talk of that !! “Mirror” is and was a very personal film to Tarkovsky and once the back ground to this film [ which comes with a 2nd DVD ] and his life is seen, it breaks one’s heart to know he passed away at just 54 years. That being said, the film that Criterion has presented is absolutely brilliant … it might even be better in blue ray, but I have the standard DVD and its faultless. The film might be a challenge for some, but with parents and the willingness to see what is being shown and said, it will be well worth the time spent. All his films are works of “art”, and he seems to have worked very hard to make that visible. This film is 46 years old and looks as if it were shot yesterday. Only a small hand full of director’s have that ability. Give it a look see … it might amaze you as it did me.
Lillian –
Great Movie
I’ve never heard of this movie before, but it popped up in the recommendations page from Amazon. The synopsis looked interesting so I bought it. What a great movie. The cinemotography was awesome and I just loved watching the film. I was a little confused while I was watching it, but the picture itself was great. After I saw the commentary in the video about this film, the movie started making sense to me. The movie is like a poem from the writer who wrote this about his life. Once I learned what it was about when I watched it the second time it actually made sense to me and I appreciated it a lot more. Great movie.
Santiago –
Amazing give me 14 of them right now.
Might buy another copy for a friend.
Naris Constantino –
Great movie
Product came in great condition and the movie is one of the all time greats
Chih-ming Chen –
Quality product arriving in good shape. Fast shipping.
Quality product arriving in good shape. Fast shipping.
Eclectically Inclined –
If you are a Tarkovsky fan then…
…this is a must have! Ethereal, surreal in only the way that Tarkovsky can do! I own all of his movies and this release on Criterion is one of my favorites. Enough said.
Stanley –
Andrey’s most personal and intuitive work. The booklet that comes with is nice.
Amazon カスタマー –
日本のメーカーも見習って欲しいクオリティです。
Heitor Guedert –
O disco veio com vários riscos profundos. Decepcionante
Al –
I’ve watched this movie twice now, and realize I’ll have to see it at least once more before I understand it very well. I did enjoy it, was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of it. It is hard to tell which scenes are memories and which are dreams. Well, the scenes where the ceiling’s falling in and the mom’s just wandering around oblivious to the plaster falling around her has to be a dream or fantasy. Likewise the levitation scene. Tarkovsky teaches and rewards patience.