Venezia Classici – the program is unique. Retrospective screenings are always rife at any festival. But this only demonstrates what a restored copy of the best films of the past, and among them chooses the best – on a number of parameters including not only the artistic level paintings, but also its relevance, and, most importantly, the quality of the actual restoration. In previous years this program was “I step through Moscow”, “Alexander Nevsky” and “My friend Ivan Lapshin”, and now for the prize will compete “Stalker”.
In Venice will show “Stalker” Tarkovsky, and in the competition program
Not that “Stalker” was the world’s most famous film by Andrei Tarkovsky. But it just so happened that work on its restoration, and it is several months of hard work and thirty thousand dollars, which will never return, coincided with the 30th anniversary since the death of Andrei Tarkovsky. Venice film festival where Tarkovsky won the Golden lion for Ivan’s childhood, I could not miss this date. Besides, as you know, the competition this year involved a new film by Andrei Konchalovsky’s “Paradise”, and because he was a co-author “Ivanov of the childhood”, it turns out that they both once again participate in the festival, albeit in different programs.
Cannes film festival is also hunting for refurbished versions of the Mosfilm paintings: there has already been shown “Ivan the terrible” and “Solaris”.
The trailer of the film “Solaris”
In Moscow held a special press conference dedicated to the participation of “Stalker” at the Venice film festival. It became especially clear that the restoration of old films in Russia is a thankless task. As the Director of “Mosfilm” Karen Shakhnazarov, the state, this process did not sponsor or hire these films have not come out, and interest only some foreign companies, but their money can’t recoup the costs of restoration. Even though “Mosfilm” make it on their own, and the rights to the movies belong to him. The restoration of “Ivan the terrible” took about 7 months, cost about 70 thousand dollars.
The program Venezia Classici of this year, the Italians will present the restored classics. This is a film of Nikita Mikhalkov’s “dark Eyes”.
“Mosfilm” is spending money on it just for the love of cinema, because there is no other interest here can not be. A large part of the restored films ( for several years they had accumulated more than 70) do not take domestic channels, even the TV takes, except for the channel “Culture” says Karen Shakhnazarov. But in the case of the “Stalker” would be a small exception: a few small sites in Moscow will show a picture after the premiere of the new copy in Venice. Something similar, but on a smaller scale, was “Ivan the Terrible”. However, “Mosfilm”, without expecting commercial gain from this side of its activities, not only gives these films for cinema free of charge, but openly puts them into a Network almost immediately after finishing work. However, the minimum quality is far from perfect restored version.
Karen Shakhnazarov believes that there is no esoteric copies of the first version of “Stalker” does not exist, because, according to the rules, is not accepted by the material is simply washed away, and make nothing was impossible
The process of restoration is much more difficult than commonly believed. Many have understood this simple digitization of film, but this is only the first part of the work. Not the easiest, because the film can be deformed, sometimes you need to digitize a few different prints, because different areas may be in better safety. Moreover, there are cases, as with “War and peace” and many other well-known paintings, when the negative is generally not preserved, and it is first necessary to re-create, and then to conduct restoration. Sometimes you have to order the restoration of the film perforation to be adequately scanned. But the hardest part still comes later. One shot of Ivan the terrible,” contains thousands of artifacts that need to just remove without damaging the picture: a white dot may be a defect in the film or a shining star, which was a very important Director. You need to restore the color and sound. To do this, always buying new equipment and programs. For example, almost all shot on film stock, you’ll be uneven color, which is why there is the flickering effect. All of this need to “clean up”, correct manually.
“I will add that Ivan the terrible looks after our work is better than when he was shot by Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein, and I think that he’s not offended if they heard,” says Shakhnazarov. The film looks modern! It’s a different quality, and this is important. Young audience today to watch a movie in which the image is of poor quality. But not only young. When we showed restored “Andrei Rublev” Vadim Ivanovich Yusov, he said, “You got the image that Andrey has failed to achieve. We have conceived, and you did.” This is especially true of the colored part in the final.”
A fragment of the film “Stalker”
Shakhnazarov also noted that “Mosfilm” now stores the restored versions of all of Tarkovsky’s films that were filmed in Russia. In addition to “Ivanov of the childhood”, because negative film “Mosfilm” refuse to issue a scan, for fear of damaging it. “I think we owe it to Tarkovsky we have completed,” finished Shahnazarov.
73 the Venice international film festival will be held from 31 August to 10 September. Tickets cost from 3 to 45 Euro tickets – up to 1600 Euro.
