Russian Ark

"2000 cast members, 3 orchestras, 33 rooms, 300 years, ALL IN ONE TAKE"

2002 1h 39m RU

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

89%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 520🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●87Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 22,084

DramaFantasyHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A ghost and a French marquis wander through the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, encountering scenes from many different periods of its history.

“2000 cast members, 3 orchestras, 33 rooms, 300 years, ALL IN ONE TAKE”

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Cast

Sergey Dreyden
Marquis de Custine
Mariya Kuznetsova
Catherine The Great
Leonid Mozgovoy
The Spy
Mikhail Piotrovsky
Hermitage director
Edisher (Davit) Giorgobiani
Orbeli
Aleksandr Chaban
Boris Piotrovsky
Lev Eliseev
Self
Oleg Khmelnitsky
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Writers: Aleksandr Sokurov, Anatoly Nikiforov
Languages: Persian, Russian, French
Countries: Russia, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Persian, Russian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Russia, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov, shot by Tilman Büttner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Sergei Yevtushenko. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stefan Ciupek shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sergey Dreyden and Mariya Kuznetsova and Leonid Mozgovoy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "2000 cast members, 3 orchestras, 33 rooms, 300 years, ALL IN ONE TAKE".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Aleksandr Sokurov directs. Tilman Büttner behind the camera. Sergei Yevtushenko scores. Stefan Ciupek cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Russia, Germany. Dialogue in Persian, Russian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 24 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Persian, Russian, French.
3International production across 2 countries: Russia, Germany.
4Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov, shot by Tilman Büttner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Sergei Yevtushenko. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Stefan Ciupek shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sergey Dreyden and Mariya Kuznetsova and Leonid Mozgovoy carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "2000 cast members, 3 orchestras, 33 rooms, 300 years, ALL IN ONE TAKE".
9IMDB entry: tt0318034 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.