sean_pak215

First of all, let's clear something up now: THE version of this film to watch is the original 205-minute cut. This is one instance when you can't trust the director's own words, and you must instead go with your gut feeling, especially comparing it with the director's other works. Tarkovsky may have gone on record as "preferring" the shorter version, but 1) he was still under Soviet support when he made that statement and it would've been politically damaging if he endorsed an uncensored version, and 2) the uncut Andrei Rublev simply feels much more like a Tarkovsky movie. Watch Solaris, Stalker and Sacrifice, then compare the two versions of Andrei Rublev. It becomes very apparent that the 205 minute cut is a true Tarkovsky film, with its meditative pace, long takes, and unflinching view of the world. Tarkovsky, if he had it his way, would never have cut out the jester's arse; he would never have edited out nudity, violence, even the infamous animal cruelty. He wouldn't have broken up the ebb and flow of his long takes. The worst offense of the shorter version is that, in many instances, scenes which were originally one unbroken shot is hacked by editing. The result is that the pacing might seem smoother and swifter, but now it doesn't have that style and feel of a Tarkovsky movie. Because of this contrast, the uncut version seems to contain significantly more long takes, plus a darker perspective, and it makes all the difference. This adds to the cumulative effect and power of the uncut version.

Now on to the film itself: in hindsight, this is one of the most ambitious second features in the history of cinema. Ivan's Childhood already had impressive scope for a debut, but a young Tarkovsky followed it up with an abstract, philosophical biopic which created an epic, immersive, gritty depiction of 15th century Russia. Every time I watch this, I'm struck by just how BIG the movie feels, like it easily holds its own against the scope of other epics such as Lawrence of Arabie or The English Patient. Yet it's also uncompromisingly experimental, weird, challenging. We must remember, this period is considered the "Golden Age" of Russian cinema, and part of that has to do with the big studios' willingness to throw money at artistic, personal projects such as this.

Not much is known of Rublev's real life, so Tarkovsky didn't even attempt to make a factual, standard biopic. Instead he paints a fictional tableau of medieval Russia and places a hypothetical Andrei Rublev character within it. Using this interesting foundation, Tarkovsky paints his own picture of Russian society, politics, existentialism, humanism, and the philosophies of art and creativity. Tarkovsky ponders on the meaning and role of an artist in the face of the bleakness of the real world and the darkness of humanity. He does all this with arresting visuals, grand battle scenes, poetic cinematography, and a very unorthodox script. With one massive sophomore feature, Tarkovsky already proved himself a genius with an incredibly unique perspective and style.

Note: I am rating and reviewing the unaltered version, which goes for the entire OT. I haven't seen any of the "Special Editions" since the 20th anniversary theatrical re-releases, and I consider only the unaltered forms as THE Original Trilogy.

After George Lucas made a splash with the first Star Wars, he and the studio were able to hire better writers, directors and crew members for future installments. A New Hope has the clunkiest dialogue and most simplistic storyline of the bunch, as well as the cheapest effects. The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi had bigger budgets, slicker filmmaking and more polished scripts. Each one expanded on the universe that Lucas created in magnificent ways (especially when we compare them now to the later installments).

What strikes me each new time I see this is the deliberate pacing. A New Hope took its time, we all know that, but then it had to. It was our introduction to the characters and the lore, and it couldn't be rushed. The Empire Strikes Back was faster paced, except for the scenes with Yoda on Dagobah. Here, all the characters are established, yet the first half is very patient. Compare this to the Sequel Trilogy that seems so afraid to bore anyone under 13. And I love the deliberate way this movie begins. A large chunk of time is devoted to the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba's palace. Each character comes into the story gradually, and I especially love the way Luke is introduced. It creates a great, grimy atmosphere that the movie sustains for most of its runtime. That's one thing that the original trilogy really pulls off, and the later films aren't as successful at: the atmosphere. Each film in the OT has its own tone, full of atmosphere and grit. The great beginning at Jabba's palace perfectly establishes the right tone here, and even when the action starts heating up, and even when the cute Ewoks come into the picture, the movie never relinquishes that gritty atmosphere. The Ewoks may be cute, but they're intelligent and tough, and they fight in one of the biggest land battles in the franchise. And the battles of the last third are interspersed with Luke's dark, slower scenes in Palpatine's Throne Room.

It's not a masterpiece or as tightly constructed as Episodes 4 and 5. A New Hope had a clunky script, but fortunately the plot was straightforward enough where it was still okay. Empire Strikes Back had an excellent script, and if there were plot holes and lapses in logic, I didn't really notice. Here, you have some cheap conveniences that hold the movie back, as if the writers knew how to build up an epic finale, but then didn't quite know how to stick the landing at the end. One of the most glaring is how Han's team on Endor finally takes out the shield generator. I don't want to spoil it, but it seemed too easy, and unrealistic. An enemy with any brains at all wouldn't have acted that way. Another clunky scene is when Vader approaches Palpatine about sensing Luke on Endor. First, Palpatine seems surprised and admits he didn't sense Luke, but right after that he somehow has already "foreseen" that Luke will approach Vader. Huh? The writers tried so hard to move the story forward in these scenes, and sacrificed some logic. Overall, I still believe the script here is less clunky than A New Hope, and at most, contains just as many holes and conveniences, but as I said, it seemed more excusable in Ep 4 because the story was simpler. Here, the writers try for a much more complicated plot, and in the second half, they were pressured to tie up the entire trilogy in a neat way. So the various coincidences and logic gaffes stood out a bit more as the grand finale seemed overly rushed.

But that's close to nitpicking, because I'll be honest: I grew up with this movie, and have seen it, well, I don't know how many times now. It's endlessly rewatchable, as is the OT as a whole, and is a thrilling and rewarding conclusion to the first trilogy. So even if the script isn't perfect, or as tight as Empire Strikes Back, the writers and director definitely did something right, because the flaws don't fully dampen my enjoyment, or prevent this from being the classic it is.

This is just a beautifully made series, a lot of love went into this. Firstly, you have a great opening song. Actually, it's an older 2004 song by the excellent Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, titled "Re:Re." Despite the name and how perfectly the lyrics connect to the themes of the story, it actually wasn't written for the show, believe it or not. It's a great song in its own right, and make sure you look up the full version on Spotify (it's actually the version that's on the 2016 re-recording of their album Sol-Fa, not the 2004 original). The credits sequence severely truncates the song, and the full track is awesome.

Then you have the animation, which goes heavily for realism yet still does things only the anime format could accomplish effectively. The world the animators build of both 2006 and 1988 Japan is detailed and spot-on.

The storyline itself isn't perfect, but it's fully engaging and, for the most part, well-paced through the entire series. For the most part. The plot kind of fizzes out a bit in the last 3 episodes, feeling more rushed, and bringing up nagging questions in my mind (such as why exactly the protagonist is still alive). I thought some of the writing could have been stronger towards the end, and that's mainly why I only give this an 8. It's not one of the greatest anime series I've ever seen, but it's still excellent. I've heard that the original manga is more detailed in the latter parts of the story, so I'm not sure why this adaptation rushed things when it had a whole series to tell the story. Were the directors required to stay within 12 episodes or something?

Here you have a body-swap/alternate timeline/murder mystery combo, and the first moments of Episode 1 drop you straight into the story without wasting a moment. There were some things about the main character Satoru's Revival ability that remained unclear to me, and seemed inconsistent, but overall the time shifts to and from 2006 and 1988 were done well and kept things interesting. The characters were memorable, and the writing was very strong throughout, with a well-done voiceover, good mystery, and believable interactions. Although in hindsight there were a bunch of clues I should have noticed, I admit that the big twist actually got me.