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Russian Ark Aleksandr Sokurov "One of the most astonishing films ever made" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). Using a specially-designed digital camera, a massive crew, and a meticulously coordinated cast, director Aleksandr Sokurov created the longest shot in film history - a 95 minute long, uninterrupted journey through 300 years of Russian history. A revolutionary and overwhelming feat of filmmaking, Russian Ark effortlessly and seamlessly follows the narrator's travels through time and documents the lush extravagance of pre-Revolution Russia and its icons, culminating in the Great Royal Ball on the eve of the 1913 Revolution. "Magnificent" (Stephen Holden, New York Times). Russia/Germany, 2002, 95 mins. DVD | $37.95
Confession Alexander Sokurov This powerful and unique documentary by Alexander Sokurov -- a man considered by many to be Russia's finest living filmmaker -- chronicles the lives of a soul-searching ship's captain and his young sailors as they sail the Arctic region in a Russian naval ship. Narrated mostly by the captain, the film focuses on the daily duties associated with a ship based in the Arctic, but it is also an engrossing study in human solitude and the effects of isolation. "A tremendously moving portrait of despair and its causes through imagery that's both sensuous and confined" (Chicago Reader). The DVD is letterboxed and includes DVD-ROM with editor's notes, biography and filmography, and optional English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian subtitles. In Russian with English subtitles. Russia, 1998, 210 mins. DVD | $44.95
Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn Alexander Sokurov In this evocative two-part documentary on Alexander Solzhenitsyn, director Alexander Sokurov interprets the Nobel Prize-winning novelist's life based on two lengthy talks with Solzhenitsyn and his wife. Also known as Uzel, Dialogues is not a straightforward biography, but instead focuses on the writer's monologues and his discussions with Sokurov about Russian literature, folklore, history, and language. The result is a portrait of a persecuted Russian legend through his own words. In Russian with English subtitles. Russia, 1999, 180 mins. DVD | $44.95
Elegy of the Land (Maria / Last Day of a Rainy Summer) Alexander Sokurov Two early short films by Russian auteur Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) are collected in Elegy of the Land. Both of these moody, melancholy works emphasize the significance of the Russian land to its people on an almost spiritual level. Maria, made in memory of Russian peasant Maria Semionovna Voinova, serves as a requiem for a hard-working woman as well as a lament over the loss of her a way of life--after she died, her secrets and work methods died with her. The Last Day of a Rainy Summer, shot in 1978 on a collective farm, captures the daily routines of a community whose lifestyle was fading even as it was being chronicled. In Russian with optional English, French, Spanish, or Italian subtitles. USSR, 1977-1988, 66 mins. DVD | $44.95
Elegy of a Voyage / Hubert Robert, A Fortunate Life Alexander Sokurov From Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) comes two shorts caught in the cross-section of painting and film. In Elegy of a Voyage (2002, 47 mins.), "a rapturous meditation haunted by moonlight and falling snow" (The Village Voice), Sokurov crosses vast terrain, sails the high seas, and stumbles through congested cities to arrive at the doors of the empty Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam. Only then does he discover that the goal of his voyage was to bask in the power of St. Mary's Square, a beautiful landscape by Peter Saenredam. In Hubert Robert, A Fortunate Life (1996, 26 mins.), the director meditates on the work of French romantic artist Hubert Robert, whose paintings of lost ruins evoke the same nostalgia and lyricism of Sokurov's own moody films. In Russian with optional English, Spanish, and Italian subtitles. Russia, 2002/1996, 73 mins. DVD | $44.95
Moloch Alexander Sokurov Acclaimed Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov (Russian Ark), considered by many to be the living heir to Tarkovsky, has created a work that's "like nothing you've ever seen before on film" (The Guardian) with this compelling portrait of Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler. Elena Rufanova plays the mysterious mistress who struggles with the complexities of a volcanic, megalomaniac lover. Shot partially in the original fortress at Hitler's retreat in the Bavarian Alps, Sokurov's film blends surreal melodrama with archival footage, and functions as a fascinating inquiry into historical representation. Winner for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. With Leonid Mosgovoi. In German with English subtitles. Russia, 1999, 108 mins. DVD | $44.95
Moscow Elegy Alexander Sokurov Originally produced to mark the 50th birthday of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, Alexander Sokurov's film focuses on Tarkovsky's absence from the then-Soviet Union and meditates on what he left behind. Using thematically representative scenes from Tarkovsky's films, juxtaposed against political events in the Soviet Union, Sokurov captures the great director's struggle between personal expression and state-supported suppression. This stunning documentary also includes footage from Tarkovsky's funeral. "Tarkovsky has been the subject of many films, but few are as revealing as Sokurov's elegiac work" (Museum of Modern Art). In Russian and Italian with English subtitles. USSR, 1986-87, 90 min. DVD | $44.95
Mother and Son Aleksandr Sokurov In a stone cottage in the countryside, a son takes care of his dying mother. Aleksandr Sokurov takes this simple scenario and creates pure cinematic poetry. This is the kind of contemplative, hypnotic beauty that is rarely achieved in film, and then only by true masters. While very little happens in terms of plot, the film offers more truths - about life, death and devotion - than the most complex narrative could ever provide. "...one of the great films of the decade...(Sokurov) is one of the rare contemporary filmmakers who works directly from his heart, soul and imagination, without concession to pop sensibilities" (Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle). "As a pastoral tone poem, the film is stunning; there are images here as remarkable as any in cinema" (Nick Bradshaw, Time Out Film Guide). In Russian with English subtitles; Russia/Germany, 1997, 73 mins. DVD | $44.95
Second Circle Alexander Sokurov Susan Sontag calls Aleksandr Sokurov "perhaps the most ambitious and original serious filmmaker of his generation." In this film, considered Sokurov's best by many critics, a man confronts his father's death in a society cut off from spiritual values. "Rarely has so much visual and emotional power been generated...the film is extreme in its rigor, subtlety and its sublimity" (Christian Science Monitor). In Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1990, 90 mins. DVD | $44.95
Spiritual Voices Alexander Sokurov In 1994, Alexander Sokurov accompanied Russian troops assigned to a frontier military post at the Tajikistan/Afghanistan border to film their experiences. While unnamed tribal forces occasionally engaged the troops in skirmishes, Sokurov's haunting documentary chronicles the downtime between activity. He effectively captures what it is like to be there as a Russian soldier -- the isolation, the mood of futility that afflicts the troops, and the harsh environment. "Alexander Sokurov is perhaps the most ambitious and original serious filmmaker of his generation working anywhere in the world today. Each of his films that I've seen has a visual power and moral depth that creates an unforgettable emotional experience." (Susan Sontag). In five parts. DVD includes bonus short by Alexander Sokurov (Soldier's Dream, 11 mins.), DVD-ROM with editor's notes, biography and filmography, and optional English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian subtitles. In Russian with English subtitles. Russia/Germany, 1995, 340 mins. DVD | $59.95
