Birgit Beumers 
Aleksandr Sokurov 
Russian Ark

Released in 2002,
Russian Ark drew astonished praise for its technique: shot with a Steadicam in one ninety-six-minute take, it presented a dazzling whirl of movement as it followed the Marquis de Custine as he wandered through the vast Winter Palace in St. Petersburg – and through three hundred years of Russian history.

           


This companion to
Russian Ark addresses all key aspects of the film, beginning with a comprehensive synopsis, an in-depth analysis and an account of the production history. Birgit Beumers goes on from there to discuss the work that went into the now-legendary Steadicam shot – which required two thousand actors and three orchestras – and she also offers an account of the film’s critical and public reception, showing how it helped to establish director Aleksandr Sokurov as perhaps the leading filmmaker in Russia today.


 


A list of all books in the series is here on the Intellect website on the series page 
Kino Sputnik

 

Table of Content

Note on transliteration

Acknowledgements

Kino Sputniks general editors’ preface

List of illustrations

Production credits

Plot summary

Chapter 1: Introduction and production history

Chapter 2: Contexts

Chapter 3: Film analysis

Chapter 4: Themes and motifs

Chapter 5: Reception

Conclusion: The sinking ship

About the author

Birgit Beumers is professor of film studies at the University of Aberystwyth, Wales. She is editor of the journals Kino Kultura and Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema.