Tarkovsky’s Ten Favorite Films
As if it were a cinematography author manifesto, Andrei Tarkovsky listed his ten favorite films of all time.
In the past we’ve published Tarkovsky’s advice for future filmmakers. Among these we find a recommendation which states that one should not separate one’s private life from film, as he clearly did in Nostalghia and The Mirror. But, what is it that inspired him to create some of the most disturbing, poetic and personal pieces in the history of film? Nostalghia.com published a conversation he held with Russian critic Leonid Kozlov, where he shared a list of his favorite films.
When Koslov asked Tarkovsky to name a list with his ten favorite films, he “took my proposition very seriously and for a few minutes sat deep in thought with his head bent over a piece of paper. Then he began to write down a list of directors’ names – Buñuel, Mizoguchi, Bergman, Bresson, Kurosawa, Antonioni, Vigo… One more, Dreyer, followed after a pause.”
This is the final version of the list:
Le Journal d’un curé de champagne (Robert Bresson, 1951)
Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman, 1963)
Nazarin (Luis Buñuel, 1959)
Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953)
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
Mouchette (Robert Bresson, 1967)
Woman of the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964)
His list, which includes three films by Bergman, with whom he had a unique affinity, reflects his taste as a director and as a viewer, but the latter is always subordinate to the first. Kozlov concludes: “The essence of Tarkovsky’s top ten films shows nothing less than his own manifesto for authorial film-making.”
Related Articles
7 Recommendations for Organizing Your Library
For the true bibliophile, few things are more important than finding a book from within your library.
Red tea, the best antioxidant beverage on earth
Red tea is considered to be the most unusual of teas because it implies a consistently different preparation process. ––It is believed that its finding came upon surprisingly when traditional green
A brief and fascinating tour of the world's sands
To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. - William Blake What are we standing on? The ground beneath our feet
Strengthen your memory with rosemary oil
For thousands of years rosemary oil has been traditionally admired and used due to its many properties. In the Roman culture, for example, it was used for several purposes, among them cleansing, as
Literature as a Tool to Build Realities
Alain de Botton argues that great writers are like lenses through which we can see an infinite array of possibilities.
Mandelbrot and Fractals: Different Ways of Perceiving Space
Mathematics has always placed a greater emphasis on algebra, a “purer” version of itself, one that is more rational at least. Perhaps like in philosophy, the use of a large number knotted concepts in
Luis Buñuel’s Perfect Dry Martini
The drums of Calanda accompanied Luis Buñuel throughout his life. In his invaluable memoirs, published under the Buñuel-esque title, My Last Sigh, an entire chapter is dedicated to describing a
A Brief Manual of Skepticism, Courtesy of Carl Sagan
Whether or not you’re dedicated to science, these tips to identify fallacies apply to any form of rigorous thinking.
How to Evolve from Sadness
Rainer Maria Rilke explored the possible transformations that sadness can trigger in human beings.
Alan Watts, A Discreet And Charming Philosopher Of The Spirit
British thinker Alan Watts was one of the most accessible and entertaining Western interpreters of Oriental philosophy there have been.