Sergei Parajanov

  • Sergei Parajanov – Pervyy paren aka The First Lad (1959)

    1951-1960ComedyMusicalSergei ParajanovUSSR
    Pervyy paren (1958)
    Pervyy paren (1958)

    Also know as “The Top Guy” and “The First Lad” , “Pervyy paren” is Sergei Paradjanov’s first solo film made for Dovzhenko studios! A musical comedy in the tradition of Russian propaganda films (very much in the tradition of Dovzhenko actually), with beautifully lush cinematography, colors and “mise-en-scene” – Not to be missed!Read More »

  • Sergei Parajanov – Ukrainskaya rapsodiya AKA Ukrainian Rhapsody (1961)

    1961-1970ArthouseDramaSergei ParajanovUSSR

    Singer Oksana has lost her beloved in the war. Everyone thinks he perished, but actually he was taken prisoner, then ran away, hid, fell into American hands, and… Finally, he returns to his village, and meets Oksana.Read More »

  • Yakov Bazelyan & Sergei Parajanov – Andriesh (1954)

    1951-1960AdventureFantasySergei ParajanovUSSRYakov Bazelyan

    A major foreshadowing of Paradjanov’s later work, the visually prodigious Andriesh is an entertaining tale about a young shepherd who is given a magic shawm (a flutelike instrument) to help him conquer his foes. With its flying sheep, evil wizards, and storm demons—all captured in the gloriously artifical palette of fifties Soviet color stock—Andriesh has the kind of eye-popping, whirlwind weirdness of Paradjanov’s last films, Suram Fortress and Ashik Kerib.Read More »

  • Sergei Parajanov – Sayat Nova aka Tsvet granata aka The Color of Pomegranates [Yutkevich cut] (1969)

    1961-1970EpicSergei ParajanovUSSR

    Quote:
    Soviet censors and Communist Party officials objected to Parajanov’s stylized, poetic treatment of Sayat-Nova’s life and complained that it failed to educate the public about the poet. As a result, the film’s title was changed from Sayat-Nova to The Color of Pomegranates, and all references to Sayat-Nova’s name were removed from the credits and chapter titles in the original Armenian release version. The Armenian writer Hrant Matevosyan wrote new, abstractly poetic Armenian-language chapter titles. Officials further objected to the film’s abundance of religious imagery, although a great deal of religious imagery still remains in both surviving versions of the film. Initially the State Committee for Cinematography in Moscow refused to allow distribution of the film outside of Armenia. It premiered in Armenia in October 1969, with a running time of 77 minutes.Read More »

  • Sergei Parajanov – Tsvetok na Kamne AKA The Flower on the Stone (1962)

    1961-1970ArthouseDramaSergei ParajanovUSSR

    Quote:
    The overtly propagandistic, anti-religious plot of The Flower on the Stone (Tsvetok na kamne, Dovzhenko Film Studio 1960–1962) does not look like promising Parajanov material: when a new Komsomol mine and mining community is established in the Donbas region, a member of a Pentecostal cult sends his daughter Christina to recruit new believers. Arsen Zagorny, an upstanding Komsomol member and a talented violinist, falls in love with Christina and crosses paths with Zabroda, the leader of the local cell of the cult. Additional problems crop up in the form of Grigori Griva a local boy prone to hooliganism and drink and his buddy Chmykh, a dissolute accordion player. Grigori learns to mend his ways thanks to the guidance of Pavel Fedorovich Varchenko, the wise and patient director of the mine, and Liuda, the Komsomol organizer with whom he falls in love. The film’s title refers to fossilized plants visible on pieces of coal.Read More »

  • Sergei Parajanov – Hakob Hovnatanyan (1967)

    1961-1970DocumentarySergei ParajanovShort Film

    Exploring the art of Armenian portraitist Hakob Hovnatanyan, Parajanov revives the culture of Tbilisi of the 19th century.Read More »

  • Yakov Bazelyan & Sergei Parajanov – Andriesh (1954)

    1951-1960AdventureArthouseSergei ParajanovUSSRYakov Bazelyan and Sergei Parajanov

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Андриеш

    Quote:
    The feature length version of Andriesh (Kyiv Film Studio 1955) is a straight forward example of the Soviet fairytale film genre. In the film, the young shepherd Andriesh is charged with guarding the village’s flock of sheep. There Andriesh meets Voinovan, a bogatyr (hero) who gives the young boy his magic wooden flute. Black Storm, a wicked sorcerer who despises the flute’s joyous music, descends upon the village in human form, hypnotizes and kidnaps Voinovan’s beloved Liana, sets the village aflame, and steals its flock. Andriesh undertakes a journey to confront Black Storm and meets various individuals who help him, while Voinovan amasses an army of Haiduks (mercenary soldiers) with sun tempered maces to battle the sorcerer.Read More »

  • Sergei Parajanov – Tsvetok na kamne AKA A Little Flower on a Stone (1962)

    1961-1970ArmeniaDramaSergei ParajanovUSSR

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Quote:
    The overtly propagandistic, anti-religious plot of The Flower on the Stone (Tsvetok na kamne, Dovzhenko Film Studio 1960–1962) does not look like promising Parajanov material: when a new Komsomol mine and mining community is established in the Donbas region, a member of a Pentecostal cult sends his daughter Christina to recruit new believers. Arsen Zagorny, an upstanding Komsomol member and a talented violinist, falls in love with Christina and crosses paths with Zabroda, the leader of the local cell of the cult. Additional problems crop up in the form of Grigori Griva a local boy prone to hooliganism and drink and his buddy Chmykh, a dissolute accordion player. Grigori learns to mend his ways thanks to the guidance of Pavel Fedorovich Varchenko, the wise and patient director of the mine, and Liuda, the Komsomol organizer with whom he falls in love. The film’s title refers to fossilized plants visible on pieces of coal.Read More »

  • Sergei Parajanov & Dodo Abashidze – Ashug-Karibi aka The Hoary Legends of the Caucasus (1988)

    Drama1981-1990ArthouseDodo AbashidzeGeorgiaSergei ParajanovUSSR

    Synopsis:
    Wandering minstrel Ashik Kerib falls in love with a rich merchant’s daughter, but is spurned by her father and forced to roam the world for a thousand and one nights – but not before he’s got the daughter to promise not to marry till his return. It’s told in typical Paradjanov style, in a series of visually ravishing ‘tableaux vivants’ overlaid with Turkish and Azerbaijani folksongs.Read More »

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