Since his death, Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-86) has become increasingly recognized as one of the true masters of world cinema. In the Soviet Union of his era, where the collective was of the utmost importance, Tarkovsky dared to create his own provocatively original style of filmmaking. His nonrealistic, highly charged images continued to be a source of inspiration-not only for a new generation of filmmakers but also for poets, musicians, and painters-even after he defected to the West, where Nostalgia was shot in Italy in 1983. His last film, The Sacrifice, was filmed in Sweden with Ingmar Bergman's collaborators. This volume collects his great works, including Solaris, Mirror, Stalker, Nostalgia, The Sacrifice, and Ivan's Childhood. These scripts deepen and expand our understanding of Tarkovsky's films, for they map out the early stages and personages (some never embodied on the screen) and help to clarify the obscure characters, images, and sequences that are so central to this great filmmaker's unique work.

Filmography

Andrei Tarkovsky died in Paris in 1986. William Powell previously translated The Selected Writings of Sergei Eisenstein. He lives in London.