Collected Screenplays

Before going to see a Shakespeare play, I always read the play first, as doing so always enhances the experience. I never thought I'd say that about a film maker; but there was never another film maker like Tarkovsky. Reading these scripts, which are both highly cerebral and intensely visual, gives one the rare, intimate pleasure of watching genius at work: and the unproduced scripts will give the imaginative reader a rich experience. To my experience, only Antonioni's That Bowling Alley on the Tiber matches this work for sheer cinematic brilliance in book form. This won't be an inexpensive purchase for anyone. But it is a precious one.

First, this collection does NOT include the Andrei Rublev script, printed separately and in great need of a reprint. Here you will find all of Tarkovsky's other scripts, including two unreleased ones. Scripts contain some omitted and alternate scenes. Indispensable for the Tarkovsky fan.

Just saw The Stalker last night. Possibly the best movie I've seen in my life. Tarkovsky is a master of magic/symbolism/the human condition. No wonder he was Bergman's favourite. I really look forward to reading this book.

Unanimously hailed by the intellectual crowd as the greatest poet of modern cinema Tarkovsky's Collected Screenplays provides a blueprint into the mind of this genius. The density of his films typically filled with a cannon of symbolism and metaphors are revealed to us in a new light through his screenplays by lucid and coherent writing providing yet a distinctly new approach in understanding and appreciating his deeply felt themes on life. Without the element of time so inherent in film, the ability to rest on a thought or a remark by this incredible film-maker is what makes reading this book such a pleasure. In addition to this book I would recommend Sculpting in Time.

If ever it was a remarkable thing to compare the screenplay to the finished film, these collected screenplays of Tarkovsky might be the most interesting. Tarkovsky's cinema was always poetic, eschewing a lot of traditional narrative in favour of powerful imagery and artistic montage. dialogue is often sparse, so the screenplay for something like Stalker may only take up less than 30 pages, compared to a nearly 3 hours film. the excerpts from Tarkovsky's diaries that accompany each screenplay also give great insight into the great Russian's creative process. although missing Andrei Rublev, this collection does include several unproduced scripts and his student short. no fan of Tarkovsky should be without.

exactly what I wanted, and arrived so quickly.

This book allow us to better understand Tarkovski vision. You will see how time is crucial and how a 6 pages text can result on a 2 hours film.

I wanted screenplay format of scripts rather than narrative format.

amazing book