• I’ll start here- it’s simply one of the greatest films in the history of cinema
  • Whether you call it a sci-fi film, a religious film, parable, allegorical, philosophical, it doesn’t really matter—it’s controlling, potent– and the visual rendering by Tarkovsky is his strongest- which puts it up there with the rest of cinema history as the strongest
  • The casting is also his strongest- all 3 leads are superb but Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy gives a top, all-time level performance
  • There is mist/steam in nearly every scene just as there is water or dripping water on the soundtrack in almost every scene
  • The camera is constantly moving- framing with doorways (amongst other things) constantly
  • There could be a little myth-making here but apparently 3 people on the cast/crew, including Tarkovsky himself, died from the exposure to the on-location shooting chemical/nuclear area—reminds me of the John Wayne death story
  • Need to verify but according to IMBD trivia an average shot length of 88 seconds
  • Tarkovsky is credited with his own art direction here- and it might be the best in cinema history—every set is meticulously crafted, gorgeous dirt and decay and detail—it would go on to influence everyone from Jarmusch to cuaron’s children of men—it is damp—broken glass
  • There’s a distinct yellowish brown hue to the black and white
  • Bela Tarr would essentially make movies very similar to the opening “pre zone” portion of the film
  • Gorgeous blocking of the mise en scene here- one in particular is framing the action with a massive piece of wood nearly on top of the action dividing the action
  • The “zone” section is a wizard of oz-like color reveal—it’s also when the synthesizer score starts
  • The tunnel sequence set design is amazing
  • There are religious and political implications and meaning clearly- but also memory
  • One of the best films of all-time
  • Masterpiece