Description:Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russian Ark. It's the first feature-length narrative film shot in a single take (on digital video, using a specially designed disc instead of tape). Russian Ark is shot from the point-of-view of an unseen narrator, as he Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russian Ark. It's the first feature-length narrative film shot in a single take (on digital video, using a specially designed disc instead of tape). Russian Ark is shot from the point-of-view of an unseen narrator, as he explores the museum and travels through Russian history. The audience sees through his eyes as he witnesses Peter the Great (Maksim Sergeyev) abusing one of his generals; Catherine the Great (Maria Kuznetsova) desperately searching for a bathroom; and, in the grand finale, the sumptuous Great Royal Ball of 1913. The narrator is eventually joined by a sarcastic and eccentric 19th century French Marquis (Sergey Dreiden), who travels with him throughout the huge grounds, encountering various historical figures and viewing the legendary artworks on display. While the narrator only interacts with the Marquis (he seems to be invisible to all the other inhabitants), the Marquis occasionally interacts with visitors and former residents of the museum. The film was obviously shot in one day, but the cast and crew rehearsed for months to time their movements precisely with the flow of the camera while capturing the complex narrative, with elaborate costumes from different periods, and several trips out to the exterior of the museum. Tilman Büttner, the director of photography, was responsible for capturing it all in one single Steadicam shot. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi... (more)(less)
"26/02/2013
Mielettömän suuri hatunnosto Sokuroville ja Tillman Büttnerille. Elokuva on siis kuvattu kokonaan yhdellä 96-minuuttisella otolla ilman leikkauksia. Kamera toimii nimettömän kertojan silminä aavemaisesti kummitellen pitkin Talvipalatsin käytäviä, tanssisaleja ja gallerioita. Suuri panostus ja harjoittelu näkyy ja kuuluu kaikkialla ja kasassa on ainutlaatuinen kokonaisuus. Salonkitanssit, taidehistorian keskustelut, Venäjän historia ja liveorkesterit tarraavat mukaansa eh"
❦ Anaëlle added this to a list 2 months, 3 weeks ago
"Russian Ark is a first-person account of a "time travel" through various facets of Russian history. Each scene is illustrated magnificently, with beautiful location settings and lavish costumes. Even more impressive, the entire film - approx. 97 minutes - was shot entirely on one take. Thus, I must give a special warm gesture to director of photography Tilman Büttner, who captures the whole adventure in numerous sweeping camera motions. The acting was also terrific; it's obvious that everyone w"
"It's basically a tour of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. But the whole movie is shot in a single take (WHAT?!!) so I'm curious to see what this movie is going to be like.
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"This one holds the record of longest take in film (right?). Intrigued? Wait till you hear the kicker. That one take is the whole film! I know, OMG and so forth. Sokurov's name doesn't mean much to me. Yet. But I'm hoping this will change things. After this I think I'd like to see his Golden Lion winning take on Faust. Oh fudge... haven't even seen Murnau's version. Nice."