Russian Ark

[UglyCasanova]

Wow

I rented it tonight and was pretty impressed. They shot the entire movie in one big take. I can't imagine how hard that must have been, and at the last scene they have literally hundreds if not thousands of people all dressed up in old Russian clothes walking out of a ball. It does get kinda boring and, well weird, at points but overall an interesting movie to watch even if just for the cinematography (and it is set in The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg).

 

[mobobuff]

IMDb

Edited to include interesting trivia.

o Shot in a single take. The first three attempts were cut short by technical difficulties, but the fourth was successful.


o The first uncompressed high definition film.


o Because the Hermitage museum had to be shut down, the production had only one day to shoot the film.


o Among the many problems that plagued the one-day-only production, there was a considerable language barrier. Director Aleksandr Sokurov speaks only Russian, and cinematographer Tilman Büttner speaks only German, so a translator followed the duo around (along with 'Büttner' 's seven-man crew) to keep the communication open.


o The film's final, hypnotic dance sequence was a recreation of a 1913 gathering which marked the final ball ever held in Csarist Russia. It should be noted that the sequence was filmed in the exact same ballroom that was used in 1913, and that the room had not been used for dancing since that pre-Revolutionary time.


o The breakfast room where Csar Nicholas II has tea with his family is the exact room where Nicholas was later arrested by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917.


o The snowy courtyard that Catherine II walked through in the movie was covered and full of tropical plants and animals from around the world when Catherine II lived there. This second floor courtyard is now filled with statues and lilac bushes.


o Over 4,500 people participated in the making of the film, both in front of and behind the scenes. This included extras, seamstresses, grips, orchestras and the Hermitage staff.


o In interviews, the director has refused to say how many actors and extras appear in the film, or how much it cost.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Wanted to see this.

<-- Slowly getting sucked into the beauties of Russian Culture . . .. Damn you Bulgokov and Gogol !

 

[spherrod]

I honestly thought it was one of the worst films ever - technically impressive but so very dull

 

[POKOT]

A li'l boring, in my opinion. Not bad, though.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: spherrod
I honestly thought it was one of the worst films ever - technically impressive but so very dull

not worst, but yes, its mostly a gimmic.

 

[kranky]

Don't know anything about the movie, but what is the point to doing it in a single take? That's not going to make for a better movie.

Bragging rights, I guess.

 

[numark]

Originally posted by: kranky
Don't know anything about the movie, but what is the point to doing it in a single take? That's not going to make for a better movie.

Bragging rights, I guess.

In this movie, it was actually better to do it in a single take in my opinion. The main character is basically taking a tour through the Hermitage and encountering people from various periods of Russian history as he moves into each room. The single-take method allows him to wander throughout the Hermitage with smooth transitions between the rooms. Basically, it makes it look like someone is following the character around, which is what's happening, since the movie takes place through the eyes of another man.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: kranky
Don't know anything about the movie, but what is the point to doing it in a single take? That's not going to make for a better movie.

Bragging rights, I guess.

yes, the stunt covers up the lack of substance.

 

[spherrod]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: kranky
Don't know anything about the movie, but what is the point to doing it in a single take? That's not going to make for a better movie.

Bragging rights, I guess.

yes, the stunt covers up the lack of substance.

:thumbsup: