Review of The Sacrifice (1986) by Dan H — 19 Feb 2009

The second disc in the 'Artificial Eye' release titled 'Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky' is one of the most insightful I've seen for a long time. Tarkovsky's masterclass exerpt in which he classifies film directors into two camps - those who make films about (fictional or symbolic) real life, which is what most people watch - and the 'poets' who create their own worlds (he cites Bergman, Bunuel, Fellini et al and obviously includes himself in this category) is the best description of the difference between 'popular' and 'art cinema' as I've come across to date.

In addition, on this disc we see many of Ingmar Bergman's regulars working on the film, including the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who has to contend with a jammed camera whilst filming a crucial scene involving total destruction of the set. The film and the accompanying disc make this a very worthwhile buy indeed if you have any appreciation of Tarkovsky's work.