The Color of Pomegranates
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''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a 1969
Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
n
art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
written and directed by
Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...
. The film is a poetic treatment of the life of 18th-century
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n poet and troubadour
Sayat-Nova Sayat-Nova ( Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ ( сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա ( reformed); ka, საიათნოვა; ; ; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and ''ashugh'', w ...
. It has appeared in many polls as one of the
greatest films ever made This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public. Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffe ...
and was hailed as revolutionary by
Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил Вартанов, links=no, hy, Միքայել Վարդանով, links=no, french: Mikhaïl Vartanov, links=no; b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Holl ...
. The film is now regarded as a landmark in film history.


Overview

''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a biography of the
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
''
ashug An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...
'' Sayat-Nova (King of Song) that attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally. The film is presented with little dialogue using active tableaux which depict the poet's life in chapters: Childhood, Youth, Prince's Court (where he falls in love with a
tsarina Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mona ...
), The Monastery, The Dream, Old Age, The Angel of Death and Death. There are sounds and music and occasional singing but dialogue is rare. Each chapter is indicated by a title card and framed through both Sergei Parajanov's imagination and Sayat Nova's poems. Actress
Sofiko Chiaureli Sophia Chiaureli ( ka, სოფიკო ჭიაურელი; 21 May 1937 – 2 March 2008), professionally known as Sofiko Chiaureli, was a Soviet Georgian actress. Thought to be the muse of filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, she played a sig ...
notably plays six roles in the film, both male and female. According to Frank Williams, Parajanov's film celebrates the survival of
Armenian culture The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people. Creative arts Literature Literature began in Armenia around 401 A.D. The majority of the literary ...
in face of oppression and persecution, "There are specific images that are highly charged—blood-red juice spilling from a cut pomegranate into a cloth and forming a stain in the shape of the boundaries of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia; dyers lifting hanks of wool out of vats in the colours of the national flag, and so on". Parajanov, the director, said his inspiration was "the Armenian illuminated
miniature A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to: * Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting * Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture * Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or probl ...
," and that he "wanted to create that inner dynamic that comes from inside the picture, the forms and the
dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the Representation (arts), representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...
of colour." He also described this film as a series of
Persian miniature A Persian miniature (Persian: نگارگری ایرانی ''negârgari Irâni'') is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a ''muraqqa''. The ...
s. His close friend
Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил Вартанов, links=no, hy, Միքայել Վարդանով, links=no, french: Mikhaïl Vartanov, links=no; b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Holl ...
has maintained that Parajanov's misunderstood cinematic language is "simple and only appears to be complex" and he partly demystified it in '' Parajanov: The Last Spring''. Some Russian versions of ''The Color of Pomegranates'' have Special Edition features. ''The Memories of Sayat Nova'', by Levon Grigoryan, is a 30-minute synopsis that explains what is happening in the tableaux and in each chapter of the poet's life. G. Smalley asserts that every carefully composed image in ''The Color of Pomegranates'' is coded to a meaning, but the key to interpreting them is missing. He agrees with Parajanov that "If someone sat down to watch ''The Color of Pomegranates'' with no background, they would have no idea what they were seeing." The making of the film and its different versions are explored in the other special features: "Introduction" by writer and filmmaker Daniel Bird; ''The World Is A Window: Making The Colour of Pomegranates''—a new documentary by Daniel Bird; and "Commentary" by Levon Abrahamyan, moderated by Daniel Bird.


Cast

*
Sofiko Chiaureli Sophia Chiaureli ( ka, სოფიკო ჭიაურელი; 21 May 1937 – 2 March 2008), professionally known as Sofiko Chiaureli, was a Soviet Georgian actress. Thought to be the muse of filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, she played a sig ...
– Poet as a Youth/Poet's Love/Poet's Muse/Mime/Angel of Resurrection *Melkon Aleksanyan – Poet as a child (as Melkon Alekyan) * Vilen Galstyan – Poet in the cloister *Giorgi Gegechkori – Poet as an old man *
Spartak Bagashvili Spartak Bagashvili ( ka, სპარტაკ ბაღაშვილი; 7 December 1914 - 1 February 1977) was a Soviet and Georgian actor. He appeared in more than twenty films from 1937 to 1975. Selected filmography References Exter ...
– Poet's father *
Medea Japaridze Medea Japaridze (20 February 1923, in Tbilisi – 31 March 1994) was a Soviet and Georgian actress. People's Artist of the Georgian SSR. Life In 1939, she graduated from Tbilisi VIII secondary school. She worked for two years at the Folk Art Th ...
– Poet's mother *Hovhannes Minasyan – Prince *Onik Minasyan – Prince


Crew

*Mikael Arakelyan – Set decorator *Stepan Andranikyan – Production designer *
Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил Вартанов, links=no, hy, Միքայել Վարդանով, links=no, french: Mikhaïl Vartanov, links=no; b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Holl ...
– Behind-the-scenes documentarian


Locations

The film was shot at numerous historic sites in Armenia, including the
Sanahin Monastery Sanahin Monastery is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in the Lori Province of Armenia, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Sanahin literally translates from Armenian as 'this one is older than that one', presumabl ...
, the
Haghpat Monastery Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank ( hy, Հաղպատավանք), is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century. Location The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks ...
, the St. John church at
Ardvi Ardvi ( hy, Արդվի) is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regi ...
, and the Akhtala Monastery. All are medieval churches in the northern province of Lori. Locations in Georgia included the
Alaverdi Monastery Alaverdi Monastery ( ka, ალავერდის მონასტერი) is a Georgian Eastern Orthodox monastery located from Akhmeta, in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia. While parts of the monastery date back to 6th century, th ...
, the countryside surrounding the
David Gareja monastery complex David Gareja ( ka, დავითგარეჯის სამონასტრო კომპლექსი) is a rock-hewn Georgian Orthodox monastery complex located in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, on the half-desert slopes of ...
, and the Dzveli Shuamta complex near
Telavi Telavi ( ka, თელავი ) is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 19,629 inhabitants (as of the year 2014). The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombo ...
. Azerbaijani locations included the Old City of Baku and
Nardaran Fortress Nardaran Fortress ( az, Nardaran qalası) was built in 1301 by architect Mahmud ibn Sa'd in the northern part of Absheron Peninsula. Nardaran Fortress is located 25 km north of Baku in the village of Nardaran near the town of Mashtaga. Shirv ...
.


Censorship and release

Soviet censors and Communist Party officials objected to Parajanov's stylized, poetic treatment of Sayat-Nova's life and complained that it failed to educate the public about the poet. As a result, the film's title was changed from ''Sayat-Nova'' to ''The Color of Pomegranates'', and all references to Sayat-Nova's name were removed from the credits and chapter titles in the original Armenian release version. The Armenian writer
Hrant Matevosyan Hrant Ignati Matevosyan ( hy, Հրանտ Իգնատի Մաթևոսյան, 12 February 1935 - 19 December 2002) was an Armenian writer and screenwriter. By the time of his death he was considered Armenia's "most prominent and accomplished contempora ...
wrote new, abstractly poetic Armenian-language chapter titles. Officials further objected to the film's abundance of religious imagery, although a great deal of religious imagery still remains in both surviving versions of the film. Initially the
State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR (russian: link=Yes, Госкино СССР) is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It w ...
in Moscow refused to allow distribution of the film outside of Armenia. It premiered in Armenia in October 1969, with a running time of 77 minutes. The filmmaker
Sergei Yutkevich Sergei Iosifovich Yutkevich (russian: Серге́й Ио́сифович Ютке́вич, 28 December 1904 – 23 April 1985) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1962) and a Hero of ...
, who had served as a reader for the script in the
State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR (russian: link=Yes, Госкино СССР) is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It w ...
's Script Editorial board, recut the film slightly and created new Russian-language chapter titles in order to make the film easier to understand and more palatable to the authorities. In addition to cutting a few minutes' worth of footage—some of it clearly due to its religious content—he changed the order of some sequences. The film ultimately received only a limited release in the rest of the Soviet Union, in Yutkevich's 73-minute version.


Reception and legacy

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 15 retrospectively collected reviews, with an average rating of 7.09/10. In 1980
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that "the film is elusive in any circumstances. However, anything this purely mysterious has its magic." ''The Color of Pomegranates'' made the Top 10 list for 1982 in ''
Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
''. Filmmaker
Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил Вартанов, links=no, hy, Միքայել Վարդանով, links=no, french: Mikhaïl Vartanov, links=no; b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Holl ...
has said, "Besides the film language suggested by
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...
and Eisenstein, the world cinema has not discovered anything revolutionarily new until ''The Color of Pomegranates'', not counting the generally unaccepted language of the '' Andalusian Dog'' by
Buñuel Buñuel is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...
". According to
Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...
, "Parajanov's ''Color of Pomegranates'' is of a stunningly perfect beauty. Parajanov, in my opinion, is one of the best film directors in the world." French filmmaker
Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
said, “In the temple of cinema there are images, light and reality. Sergei Paradjanov was the master of that temple…” Film critic
Gilbert Adair Gilbert Adair (29 December 19448 December 2011) was a Scottish novelist, poet, film critic, and journalist.Stuart Jeffries and Ronald BerganObituary: Gilbert Adair ''The Guardian'', 9 December 2011. He was critically most famous for the "fiend ...
argued that "although in both style and content it gives us the impression, somehow, of predating the invention of the cinema, no historian of the medium who ignores ''The Color of Pomegranates'' can ever be taken seriously." The work ranked 84th in the 2012 ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' critics' poll of the world's greatest films and appeared in another list of the greatest films by '' Time Out''.


Restoration

In 2014 the film was digitally restored and re-edited to be as close as possible to the director's original vision and world premiered at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. The US premiere took place on 20 September 2014 at The Academy at
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
(LACMA) and was introduced by
Martiros Vartanov Martiros is an Armenian given name meaning martyr. Martiros and its variant Mardiros in Western Armenian may refer to: Places *Martiros, Vayots Dzor Persons Martiros *Saint Martiros, Christian saint, son of Saint Sarkis the Warrior *Martiros Kavo ...
. The East Coast premiere took place at the 52nd
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...
on 2 October 2014, and was introduced by Scorsese. The restoration was completed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
's Film Foundation in conjunction with
Cineteca di Bologna The Cineteca di Bologna is a film archive in Bologna, Italy. It was founded on 18 May 1962. Since 1989, it has been a member of the Fédération internationale des archives du film (FIAF). It has been a member of the Association des cinémath ...
, and was, described by critic and Toronto festival programmer James Quandt as "a cinematic Holy Grail". Martin Scorsese received the 2014
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute The Parajanov-Vartanov Institute is an American film organization based in Los Angeles, California, that works to study, preserve and promote the legacy of filmmakers Sergei Parajanov and Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил ...
Award for the restoration of ''The Color of Pomegranates''. A
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
of the restoration was released in the UK on 19 February 2018, and an American release by Criterion with Mikhail Vartanov's 1969 documentary ''The Color of Armenian Land'' on 17 April 2018.


Influence in popular culture

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
's 1995 music video ''
Bedtime Story A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a child at bedtime to prepare the child for sleep. The bedtime story has long been considered "a definite institution in many families".Dickson, Marguerite Stockm ...
'' restages some content from the movie (such as the scene of a young child lying in a fetal position on a pentagram on the floor while an adult covers it with a blanket, and another where a naked foot crushes a bunch of grapes lying on an inscribed tablet), among other artistic inspiration depicting dreams and surrealist artwork in the video. Without permission
Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar (; ; es, Nicolás; born January 10, 1990) is a Chilean-American composer and recording artist based in New York. Among his notable works are the albums ''Space Is Only Noise'' (2011), ''Sirens'' (2016), and '' Cenizas'' (2020). H ...
released, in 2015, the album ''Pomegranates'', described as an "alternative soundtrack" for the movie. A screening of the film with a live performance by Jaar was scheduled at Cinefamily in Los Angeles for February 22, 2017, but the performance was replaced with the original soundtrack due to objections from the
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute The Parajanov-Vartanov Institute is an American film organization based in Los Angeles, California, that works to study, preserve and promote the legacy of filmmakers Sergei Parajanov and Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил ...
and The Film Foundation that the live performance would not present the film as Parajanov intended it.
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's "911" music video released in September 2020 is openly influenced by the movie. It also influenced alternative rock group
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
's music video for "
Losing My Religion "Losing My Religion" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in February 1991 as the first single from the group's seventh album, '' Out of Time'' (1991). Built on a mandolin riff, the song was an unlikely hit for the group ...
".


See also

*''
Bible of Dreams ''Bible of Dreams'' is the fourth album released by the multi-genre trance group Juno Reactor. The song "God Is God" was covered by Laibach for their album Jesus Christ Superstars (Mute Records). Track listing All tracks made by Ben Watkins w ...
'' *
Cinema of Armenia The cinema of Armenia was established on 16 April 1923, when the Armenian State Committee of Cinema was established by government decree. The National Cinema Center of Armenia (NCAA), founded in 2006, is the governing body of film and cinema in A ...
*
List of biographical films This is a list of biographical films. Before 1950 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s , '' The Final Game'' , , Manuel Estiarte , , Álvaro Cervantes , - , , Pedro García Aguado , , Jaime Lorente , - , , ''Major' ...
* List of films based on poems


References


External links

* * *
English subtitles

Excerpt from Criterion Collection's official YouTube channel''The Color of Pomegranates: Parajanov Unbound''
an essay by Ian Christie at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Color Of Pomegranates, The 1969 films 1969 drama films 1960s avant-garde and experimental films 1960s biographical drama films Armenfilm films Armenian-language films Biographical films about poets Films based on poems Films directed by Sergei Parajanov Nonlinear narrative films Russian avant-garde and experimental films Russian biographical drama films Soviet avant-garde and experimental films Soviet biographical drama films Soviet-era Armenian films Censored films