The Sacrifice
Encyclopedia
The Sacrifice is a 1986 film, and the final film by Russian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....

, who died shortly after completing it.

Synopsis

Alexander, an aging atheist actor/psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...

/writer with a younger actress wife, a teenage daughter, and a young son (who is referred to as "Little Man") experiences the opening throes of the end of the world by a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....

. In despair the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 vows to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 to sacrifice all he loves ("I'll give Thee all I have, I'll give up my family, whom I love, I'll destroy my home and give up Little Man") if only this good act of fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...

 may be undone, and to this end he sleeps with a local woman whom he believes to be a witch.

When he wakes up the next morning everything seems "normal", but whether Alexander dreamt the whole episode is never made explicit. Nevertheless, Alexander sets forth to give up all he loves and possesses, burning his house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 and being driven off to an institution.

Cast

  • Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...

     as Alexander
  • Susan Fleetwood
    Susan Fleetwood
    Susan Maureen Fleetwood was a British stage, film and television actress, best known as a star of the classical theatre companies of England. She received popular acclaim in the television series Chandler & Co and The Buddha of Suburbia.-Personal life:Fleetwood was born in St...

     as Adelaide
  • Allan Edwall
    Allan Edwall
    Johan Allan Edwall was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known outside Sweden for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergman's films such as Fanny and Alexander...

     as Otto
  • Guðrún S. Gísladóttir as Maria
  • Sven Wollter
    Sven Wollter
    Sven Wollter is a Swedish actor. He was born and grew up in Gothenburg.Sven Wollter is an actor in Sweden and has starred in many films such as, The Man on the Roof, The Man from Majorca, Änglagård and Jerusalem, based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf...

     as Victor
  • Valérie Mairesse
    Valérie Mairesse
    Valérie Mairesse is a French stage and film actress. She was nominated for the César Awards 1978 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Repérages.-Selected filmography:* Tu Seras Mon Fils...

     as Julia
  • Filippa Franzén as Marta
  • Tommy Kjellqvist as Gossen (Little Man)
  • Per Källman, Tommy Nordahl as ambulance drivers

Music

  • Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...


    "Matthäus-Passion" Erbarme Dich
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein is a German conductor and an academic.- Biography :Wolfgang Gönnenwein studied music and German studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Tübingen...

     (conductor) / Julia Hamari
    Julia Hamari
    Julia Hamari, originally Hamari Júlia , is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart.- Professional career :...

     (alto)
    EMI-Electrola GmbH LC 0233

  • Watazumido-Shuso
    Watazumi Doso
    Watazumi Doso Roshi was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. He studied Rinzai Zen, attaining the title of roshi...

    , Hotchiku flöjt (海童道祖 法竹)"
    "Shingetsu" (心月)
    "Nezasa No Shirabe" (根笹調)
    "Dai-Bosatsu" (大菩薩)
    The Everest Records Group 3289

  • "Locklåtar från Dalarna och Härjedalen"
    Elin Lisslass, Karin Edvards Johansson, Tjugmyr Maria Larsson, o.a.
    SR Records RELP 5017

Style

The camera work is slow and contains all the hallmarks of Tarkovsky and Nykvist. The film's soundtrack includes three distinct pieces: the passionate aria Erbarme dich from Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

's Mattheus Passion, soothing Japanese flute music played by Watazumi Doso Roshi, and eerie traditional chants from the Swedish forests (in the old days farm girls used to call home the livestock from their forest pastures in this way). The film also contains several long closeups of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

's Adoration of the Magi
Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo)
-Bibliography:-External links:******...

.

The film uses long take
Long take
A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished...

s more than Tarkovsky's previous films. The opening, post-credits shot (a tracking shot of Alexander, Little Man, and Otto talking and walking) lasts nine minutes and twenty-six seconds, and is the longest take in all of Tarkovsky's work. Shots lasting between six and eight minutes are commonplace in the film, and there are only 115 shots in the entire film.

Most of the film takes place inside or around a house that was specially built for the production. The climactic scene at the end of the film is a long tracking shot
Tracking shot
In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...

 in which Alexander burns his house and his possessions. It was done in a single, six minute, fifty second take, often misstated as Tarkovsky's longest shot. The shot was very difficult to achieve. Initially, there was only one camera used, despite Sven Nykvist's protest. While shooting the burning house, the camera jammed, ruining the footage. (This disaster is documented in documentary entitled Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and the documentary One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich is a 1999 French documentary film directed by Chris Marker, about and an homage to the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was an episode of the French documentary film series Cinéastes de notre temps , which in over ninety episodes since 1966...

.) The scene had to be reshot, requiring a quick and very costly reconstruction of the house in two weeks. This time two cameras were set up on tracks, running parallel to each other. The footage in the final version of the film is the second take, which lasts for several minutes and ends abruptly because the camera had run through an entire reel in capturing the single shot. The cast and crew broke down in tears after the take was completed.

Relationship with Bergman

The film reflects Tarkovsky's respect for the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

. It was set in Sweden on the island of Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

, close to Fårö
Fårö
Fårö is a small Baltic Sea island north of the island of Gotland, off Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the province. It has a population of fewer than 600 and has become a popular summer resort. The island has no banks, post offices, medical services or police...

 where many of Bergman's films had been shot (he wanted to do it on Fårö but was denied access by the military), and was photographed by Bergman's favourite cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...

 Sven Nykvist
Sven Nykvist
Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman...

. The cast included one of Bergman's most well known actors, Erland Josephson
Erland Josephson
Erland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...

, and the film's production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...

 was Anna Asp, who had won an Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...

 for the sumptuous décor of Bergman's Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander is a 1982 Swedish fantasy drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally conceived as a four-part TV movie and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes. A 188-minute version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the...

. Additionally, one of Bergman's sons, Daniel Bergman
Daniel Bergman
Daniel Sebastian Bergman , born 7 September 1962, is a Swedish film director. He is the son of Ingmar Bergman and Käbi Laretei. He also directed an episode on the Swedish horror series CHOCK, with Ernst-Hugo Järegård.-Selected filmography:* 1987 - Ägget...

, worked as a camera assistant.

Awards

The film won the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...

 and the FIPRESCI Prize
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...

 at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
1986 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Sydney Pollack*Alexandre Mnouchkine*Alexandre Trauner*Charles Aznavour*Danièle Thompson*István Szabó*Lino Brocka*Philip French*Sonia Braga*Tonino Delli Colli-Feature film competition:* After Hours by Martin Scorsese...

.

External links


The Sacrifice is a 1986 film, and the final film by Russian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....

, who died shortly after completing it.

Synopsis

Alexander, an aging atheist actor/psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...

/writer with a younger actress wife, a teenage daughter, and a young son (who is referred to as "Little Man") experiences the opening throes of the end of the world by a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....

. In despair the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 vows to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 to sacrifice all he loves ("I'll give Thee all I have, I'll give up my family, whom I love, I'll destroy my home and give up Little Man") if only this good act of fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...

 may be undone, and to this end he sleeps with a local woman whom he believes to be a witch.

When he wakes up the next morning everything seems "normal", but whether Alexander dreamt the whole episode is never made explicit. Nevertheless, Alexander sets forth to give up all he loves and possesses, burning his house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 and being driven off to an institution.

Cast

  • Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...

     as Alexander
  • Susan Fleetwood
    Susan Fleetwood
    Susan Maureen Fleetwood was a British stage, film and television actress, best known as a star of the classical theatre companies of England. She received popular acclaim in the television series Chandler & Co and The Buddha of Suburbia.-Personal life:Fleetwood was born in St...

     as Adelaide
  • Allan Edwall
    Allan Edwall
    Johan Allan Edwall was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known outside Sweden for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergman's films such as Fanny and Alexander...

     as Otto
  • Guðrún S. Gísladóttir as Maria
  • Sven Wollter
    Sven Wollter
    Sven Wollter is a Swedish actor. He was born and grew up in Gothenburg.Sven Wollter is an actor in Sweden and has starred in many films such as, The Man on the Roof, The Man from Majorca, Änglagård and Jerusalem, based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf...

     as Victor
  • Valérie Mairesse
    Valérie Mairesse
    Valérie Mairesse is a French stage and film actress. She was nominated for the César Awards 1978 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Repérages.-Selected filmography:* Tu Seras Mon Fils...

     as Julia
  • Filippa Franzén as Marta
  • Tommy Kjellqvist as Gossen (Little Man)
  • Per Källman, Tommy Nordahl as ambulance drivers

Music

  • Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...


    "Matthäus-Passion" Erbarme Dich
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein is a German conductor and an academic.- Biography :Wolfgang Gönnenwein studied music and German studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Tübingen...

     (conductor) / Julia Hamari
    Julia Hamari
    Julia Hamari, originally Hamari Júlia , is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart.- Professional career :...

     (alto)
    EMI-Electrola GmbH LC 0233

  • Watazumido-Shuso
    Watazumi Doso
    Watazumi Doso Roshi was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. He studied Rinzai Zen, attaining the title of roshi...

    , Hotchiku flöjt (海童道祖 法竹)"
    "Shingetsu" (心月)
    "Nezasa No Shirabe" (根笹調)
    "Dai-Bosatsu" (大菩薩)
    The Everest Records Group 3289

  • "Locklåtar från Dalarna och Härjedalen"
    Elin Lisslass, Karin Edvards Johansson, Tjugmyr Maria Larsson, o.a.
    SR Records RELP 5017

Style

The camera work is slow and contains all the hallmarks of Tarkovsky and Nykvist. The film's soundtrack includes three distinct pieces: the passionate aria Erbarme dich from Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

's Mattheus Passion, soothing Japanese flute music played by Watazumi Doso Roshi, and eerie traditional chants from the Swedish forests (in the old days farm girls used to call home the livestock from their forest pastures in this way). The film also contains several long closeups of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

's Adoration of the Magi
Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo)
-Bibliography:-External links:******...

.

The film uses long take
Long take
A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished...

s more than Tarkovsky's previous films. The opening, post-credits shot (a tracking shot of Alexander, Little Man, and Otto talking and walking) lasts nine minutes and twenty-six seconds, and is the longest take in all of Tarkovsky's work. Shots lasting between six and eight minutes are commonplace in the film, and there are only 115 shots in the entire film.

Most of the film takes place inside or around a house that was specially built for the production. The climactic scene at the end of the film is a long tracking shot
Tracking shot
In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...

 in which Alexander burns his house and his possessions. It was done in a single, six minute, fifty second take, often misstated as Tarkovsky's longest shot. The shot was very difficult to achieve. Initially, there was only one camera used, despite Sven Nykvist's protest. While shooting the burning house, the camera jammed, ruining the footage. (This disaster is documented in documentary entitled Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and the documentary One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich is a 1999 French documentary film directed by Chris Marker, about and an homage to the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was an episode of the French documentary film series Cinéastes de notre temps , which in over ninety episodes since 1966...

.) The scene had to be reshot, requiring a quick and very costly reconstruction of the house in two weeks. This time two cameras were set up on tracks, running parallel to each other. The footage in the final version of the film is the second take, which lasts for several minutes and ends abruptly because the camera had run through an entire reel in capturing the single shot. The cast and crew broke down in tears after the take was completed.

Relationship with Bergman

The film reflects Tarkovsky's respect for the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

. It was set in Sweden on the island of Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

, close to Fårö
Fårö
Fårö is a small Baltic Sea island north of the island of Gotland, off Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the province. It has a population of fewer than 600 and has become a popular summer resort. The island has no banks, post offices, medical services or police...

 where many of Bergman's films had been shot (he wanted to do it on Fårö but was denied access by the military), and was photographed by Bergman's favourite cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...

 Sven Nykvist
Sven Nykvist
Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman...

. The cast included one of Bergman's most well known actors, Erland Josephson
Erland Josephson
Erland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...

, and the film's production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...

 was Anna Asp, who had won an Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...

 for the sumptuous décor of Bergman's Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander is a 1982 Swedish fantasy drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally conceived as a four-part TV movie and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes. A 188-minute version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the...

. Additionally, one of Bergman's sons, Daniel Bergman
Daniel Bergman
Daniel Sebastian Bergman , born 7 September 1962, is a Swedish film director. He is the son of Ingmar Bergman and Käbi Laretei. He also directed an episode on the Swedish horror series CHOCK, with Ernst-Hugo Järegård.-Selected filmography:* 1987 - Ägget...

, worked as a camera assistant.

Awards

The film won the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...

 and the FIPRESCI Prize
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...

 at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
1986 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Sydney Pollack*Alexandre Mnouchkine*Alexandre Trauner*Charles Aznavour*Danièle Thompson*István Szabó*Lino Brocka*Philip French*Sonia Braga*Tonino Delli Colli-Feature film competition:* After Hours by Martin Scorsese...

.

External links


The Sacrifice is a 1986 film, and the final film by Russian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....

, who died shortly after completing it.

Synopsis

Alexander, an aging atheist actor/psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...

/writer with a younger actress wife, a teenage daughter, and a young son (who is referred to as "Little Man") experiences the opening throes of the end of the world by a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....

. In despair the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 vows to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 to sacrifice all he loves ("I'll give Thee all I have, I'll give up my family, whom I love, I'll destroy my home and give up Little Man") if only this good act of fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...

 may be undone, and to this end he sleeps with a local woman whom he believes to be a witch.

When he wakes up the next morning everything seems "normal", but whether Alexander dreamt the whole episode is never made explicit. Nevertheless, Alexander sets forth to give up all he loves and possesses, burning his house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 and being driven off to an institution.

Cast

  • Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...

     as Alexander
  • Susan Fleetwood
    Susan Fleetwood
    Susan Maureen Fleetwood was a British stage, film and television actress, best known as a star of the classical theatre companies of England. She received popular acclaim in the television series Chandler & Co and The Buddha of Suburbia.-Personal life:Fleetwood was born in St...

     as Adelaide
  • Allan Edwall
    Allan Edwall
    Johan Allan Edwall was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known outside Sweden for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergman's films such as Fanny and Alexander...

     as Otto
  • Guðrún S. Gísladóttir as Maria
  • Sven Wollter
    Sven Wollter
    Sven Wollter is a Swedish actor. He was born and grew up in Gothenburg.Sven Wollter is an actor in Sweden and has starred in many films such as, The Man on the Roof, The Man from Majorca, Änglagård and Jerusalem, based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf...

     as Victor
  • Valérie Mairesse
    Valérie Mairesse
    Valérie Mairesse is a French stage and film actress. She was nominated for the César Awards 1978 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Repérages.-Selected filmography:* Tu Seras Mon Fils...

     as Julia
  • Filippa Franzén as Marta
  • Tommy Kjellqvist as Gossen (Little Man)
  • Per Källman, Tommy Nordahl as ambulance drivers

Music

  • Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...


    "Matthäus-Passion" Erbarme Dich
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein
    Wolfgang Gönnenwein is a German conductor and an academic.- Biography :Wolfgang Gönnenwein studied music and German studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Tübingen...

     (conductor) / Julia Hamari
    Julia Hamari
    Julia Hamari, originally Hamari Júlia , is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart.- Professional career :...

     (alto)
    EMI-Electrola GmbH LC 0233

  • Watazumido-Shuso
    Watazumi Doso
    Watazumi Doso Roshi was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. He studied Rinzai Zen, attaining the title of roshi...

    , Hotchiku flöjt (海童道祖 法竹)"
    "Shingetsu" (心月)
    "Nezasa No Shirabe" (根笹調)
    "Dai-Bosatsu" (大菩薩)
    The Everest Records Group 3289

  • "Locklåtar från Dalarna och Härjedalen"
    Elin Lisslass, Karin Edvards Johansson, Tjugmyr Maria Larsson, o.a.
    SR Records RELP 5017

Style

The camera work is slow and contains all the hallmarks of Tarkovsky and Nykvist. The film's soundtrack includes three distinct pieces: the passionate aria Erbarme dich from Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

's Mattheus Passion, soothing Japanese flute music played by Watazumi Doso Roshi, and eerie traditional chants from the Swedish forests (in the old days farm girls used to call home the livestock from their forest pastures in this way). The film also contains several long closeups of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

's Adoration of the Magi
Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo)
-Bibliography:-External links:******...

.

The film uses long take
Long take
A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished...

s more than Tarkovsky's previous films. The opening, post-credits shot (a tracking shot of Alexander, Little Man, and Otto talking and walking) lasts nine minutes and twenty-six seconds, and is the longest take in all of Tarkovsky's work. Shots lasting between six and eight minutes are commonplace in the film, and there are only 115 shots in the entire film.

Most of the film takes place inside or around a house that was specially built for the production. The climactic scene at the end of the film is a long tracking shot
Tracking shot
In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...

 in which Alexander burns his house and his possessions. It was done in a single, six minute, fifty second take, often misstated as Tarkovsky's longest shot. The shot was very difficult to achieve. Initially, there was only one camera used, despite Sven Nykvist's protest. While shooting the burning house, the camera jammed, ruining the footage. (This disaster is documented in documentary entitled Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and the documentary One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich
One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich is a 1999 French documentary film directed by Chris Marker, about and an homage to the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was an episode of the French documentary film series Cinéastes de notre temps , which in over ninety episodes since 1966...

.) The scene had to be reshot, requiring a quick and very costly reconstruction of the house in two weeks. This time two cameras were set up on tracks, running parallel to each other. The footage in the final version of the film is the second take, which lasts for several minutes and ends abruptly because the camera had run through an entire reel in capturing the single shot. The cast and crew broke down in tears after the take was completed.

Relationship with Bergman

The film reflects Tarkovsky's respect for the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

. It was set in Sweden on the island of Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

, close to Fårö
Fårö
Fårö is a small Baltic Sea island north of the island of Gotland, off Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the province. It has a population of fewer than 600 and has become a popular summer resort. The island has no banks, post offices, medical services or police...

 where many of Bergman's films had been shot (he wanted to do it on Fårö but was denied access by the military), and was photographed by Bergman's favourite cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...

 Sven Nykvist
Sven Nykvist
Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman...

. The cast included one of Bergman's most well known actors, Erland Josephson
Erland Josephson
Erland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...

, and the film's production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...

 was Anna Asp, who had won an Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...

 for the sumptuous décor of Bergman's Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander is a 1982 Swedish fantasy drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally conceived as a four-part TV movie and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes. A 188-minute version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the...

. Additionally, one of Bergman's sons, Daniel Bergman
Daniel Bergman
Daniel Sebastian Bergman , born 7 September 1962, is a Swedish film director. He is the son of Ingmar Bergman and Käbi Laretei. He also directed an episode on the Swedish horror series CHOCK, with Ernst-Hugo Järegård.-Selected filmography:* 1987 - Ägget...

, worked as a camera assistant.

Awards

The film won the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...

 and the FIPRESCI Prize
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...

 at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
1986 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Sydney Pollack*Alexandre Mnouchkine*Alexandre Trauner*Charles Aznavour*Danièle Thompson*István Szabó*Lino Brocka*Philip French*Sonia Braga*Tonino Delli Colli-Feature film competition:* After Hours by Martin Scorsese...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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