Andrei Rublev

"In much wisdom there is much grief."

1966 3h 3m RU

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 987🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes★8IMDB · 60,197

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.

“In much wisdom there is much grief.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Anatoliy Solonitsyn
Andrei Rublev
Ivan Lapikov
Kirill
Mykola Hrynko
Daniil Chornyy
Nikolai Sergeyev
Theophanus the Greek
Irma Raush
God's Fool
Nikolay Burlyaev
Boriska
Yuriy Nazarov
Grand Duke / Minor Duke
Yuriy Nikulin
Patrikey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Writers: Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrei Tarkovsky
Languages: Tatar, Russian, Italian
Countries: Soviet Union

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

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 183 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Tatar, Russian, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, shot by Vadim Yusov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrei Tarkovsky directs. Vadim Yusov behind the camera. Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov scores. Lyudmila Feiginova cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Soviet Union. Dialogue in Tatar, Russian, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 183 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
460 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Tatar, Russian, Italian.
6Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, shot by Vadim Yusov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Lyudmila Feiginova shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Anatoliy Solonitsyn and Ivan Lapikov and Mykola Hrynko carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "In much wisdom there is much grief.".
11IMDB entry: tt0060107 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 23 themes, including "rape", "christianity", "monk", "artist".
13Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Vadim Yusov
Original score: Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Editing: Lyudmila Feiginova
Production design: Evgeniy Chernyaev
Costume design: Maya Abar-Baranovskaya
Makeup / hair: Vera Rudina
Runtime: 183 min · 3h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,300,000
Box office: $24,173
Return: 2% of budget
Original language: RU
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Andrei Rublev (1966)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 8/10 · 60,197 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

4 wins & 1 nomination total

Also by

Andrei Tarkovsky

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-08
★ 7/10
Later canonised (in 1988!), this tells the story of the renowned Russian iconographist and fresco painter. His actual life, as you might expect from the early 15th century, is not well documented so Andrei Tarkovsky has, forgive the pun, a pretty blank canvas on which to draw us a portrait of the trials and tribulations of this inspired, misunderstood, suspected and troubled soul. It has an octuple, episodic, narrative that marries his own development as a man and an artist with the quite literally revolutionary goings on as his country is, frequently quite brutally, coming into some some semblance of cohesive existence. It focuses on the role of the church in this most religious, and superstitious, of nations and offers us a much less aggressive correlation between the communist Soviet threads so often prevalent in sate backed movies made at the time and of those iconic figures so prominent in Russian history. The imagery is creatively bamboozling at times; the story doesn't follow any linear a-b-c narrative and we are presented with an oblique interpretation not just of his life, but of life in an embryonic nation that is emerging from an almost primitive existence - and that is fascinating (if not always easy to follow and/or comprehend). It is the vision of the man in the title, but also of the man behind the camera - a startlingly effective sequence of beautifully photographed concepts that offer layers of complexities depicting human nature in pretty much all of it's guises. Surprisingly, for a film in excess of three hours, it flows effortlessly with Anatoliy Solonitsyn conveying an overwhelming sense of humanity with his character. If you can ever see it on a cinema screen, then it is definite a must - especially the last ten minutes or so which demonstrate (in glorious colour) some of his magnificent artistry.

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