''Sculpting in Time'' (Russian "Запечатлённое время", literally "Captured Time") is a book by
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...
about art and
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
in general, and his own films in particular. It was originally published in 1985 in German shortly before the author's death, and published in English in 1987, translated by Kitty Hunter-Blair.
Paste Magazine
/ref> The title refers to Tarkovsky's own name for his style of filmmaking.
Synopsis
The book's main statement about the nature of cinema is summarized in the statement, "The dominant, all-powerful factor of the film image is ''rhythm'', expressing the course of time within the frame." It contains a great deal of poetry written by the filmmaker's father Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky
Arseny Aleksandrovich Tarkovsky (russian: link=no, Арсений Александрович Тарковский; 27 May 1989) was a Soviet and Russian poet and translator. He was predeceased by his son, film director Andrei Tarkovsky.
Biograp ...
along with a fair amount of Tarkovsky's personal writings on his life and work, lectures and discussions during making of ''Andrei Rublev
Andrei Rublev ( rus, Андре́й Рублёв, p=ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf , also transliterated as ''Andrey Rublyov'') was a Muscovite icon painter born in the 1360s who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is considered to be one of the ...
'' with a film history student named Olga Surkova, who later became a professional critic and helped in writing of this book.
The book has commentary on each of his 7 major feature films, and his complex relationship with the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. The final chapter, a discussion of his film '' The Sacrifice'', was dictated in the last weeks of his life.
Origin of the book
Tarkovsky decided to write this book in part to explain, or give insight, to his puzzled audience on the nature of his films. In the Introduction of his book, he cites many letters he received throughout the years, both of appraisal and discouragement.
Reception
Critical reception for ''Sculpting in Time'' has been positive, with the ''Slavic Review'' praising the book's translation, content, and layout.Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
''', Ian Christie stated that he acknowledges that the book accomplishes Tarkovsky’s purpose, which was to give insight into his creative process and to explain to his audience the logic behind his films.
Further reading
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sculpting In Time
1985 non-fiction books
Books of film theory
Andrei Tarkovsky