Andrei Rublev

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

Tonight was of course movie night, as you already know and as you may have seen by my post earlier. We saw Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev", which I have on dvd and have seen about 4 times previously. But this was my first time seeing it on a movie screen, and like last week's film ("Ivan's Childhood") the difference is like night and day. I have become used to Tarkovsky's films on a tv set, but they are sooooo cinematic and so when you see them blown up - and widescreen in the case of "Rublev" - it's simply amazing.

"Andrei Rublev" is set in 15th century Rus (as Russia was originally named), so it's a primitive Medieval environment, and the story follows Rublev, a religious painter who works in churches, as he and his assistants travel on foot across the landscape. There is no real narrative to the story, just a series of themed episodes playing out over 3 hours. The episodes add up to a whole, however, and anyone with the patience to watch is rewarded with what I think is perhaps one of the ten greatest films ever made.

Tarkovsky is unlike any filmmaker you've ever seen, but his films will put off anyone expecting even the remotest conventions of plot or pacing. In some respects, he does have a Western aesthetic, as in his staging of Epic Scenes, which would do any early Hollywood director proud. Also, he is technically as excellent in pictures and sound as any filmmaker who ever lived. But that's where the similarities end. What he asks of the viewer, more than anything, is patience. Tarkovsky draws things out slowly, even though he features a lot of action while doing so.

In watching "Rublev", shot in mystical b&w, you are transported into Medieval Russia, with all it's hardships, cruelties and religious faith. You could call it a Christian themed movie, but not in the definition of that term in the modern American age.

I'll just call it a Tremendous Film and leave it at that for now.  :)

I hope you had a nice day. I saw this morn your posts about the James/Beiber song, and I got the message in the text of one of them, and I loved it and just think the whole thing is great. I also saw another post for Romantic Rebel, so I am hoping they are a new client. Fingers are crossed on that score. One thing I wanted to mention, as an addendum to my blog of last night, is that in the 1970s especially, which was the Golden Era of rock magazines, there were photographers who were so well known that they were almost on a par with the Stars. Look up Neil Zlozower and Bob Gruen, two guys who were huge in rock photography.

I can't emphasize enough that you, because you are working with up and coming bands, are more than just a picture-snapper. You can set a style, and that can be anything from subtle pictorial statements for more musician-oriented bands, to full-on larger than life characterisation of guys like James, who are up for it. Another name to Google is Hipgnosis, a very famous company who did tons of album covers in the 70s, usually combining photography and art set-ups. You already have such a sense of style and composition in your shots and videos, that you can now combine with your clients to see what the possibilities might be for wide open artistic concepts.

Well, just some thoughts, cause I was inspired by Tarkovsky tonight. I am in a Medieval Mode at the moment, because I am also working on a book mentioned earlier, "A Distant Mirror" by Barbara Tuchman, detailing the turbulent 14th century in France and England during the Black Plague and of the endless wars that followed. I will write more about it at a later date, but My Goodness!, the history of battles in Europe is enough to make anyone's head spin. A continent of great strife and great culture. Though things aren't perfect today, thank goodness we've tried to escape from barbarity (for the most part)......

That's all I know for tonight, my Darling.

See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)