DIRECTED BY ANDREI TARKOVSKY (1988) C widescreen 101m dir: Michal Leszczylowski

w/ Erland Josephson, Brian Cox, Andrei Tarkovsky, Larisa Tarkovsky

additional credits: producer: Lisbet Gabrielsson; editor: Leszczylowski; screenplay: Leszczylowski, from Tarkovsky's book Sculpting In Time; translator: Kim Loughran; music: Johann Sebastian Bach

Documentary on the late Soviet film director Andrei Tarkovsky, put together by his co-editor, Leszczylowski.

From the internet: "Filmmaker Michal Leszcylowski was editor for Andrei Tarkovsky's last film, The Sacrifice. During the time they spent together, their relationship grew into an enduring friendship. Directed By Andrei Tarkovsky is an homage, a fluid and captivating documentary that presents the brooding as well as the more playful side of a genius. According to Micahl Leszcylowski, 'Joseph Conrad wrote that at the outset of every work of art there is the will to isolate a moment out of the merciless flow of life and make it accessible to others. The time I spent with Andrei Tarkovsky while working on The Sacrifice will vanish and fade as memories always do... Maybe I fear such a loss in the labyrinth of recollection or maybe it is simply my affection for him that drives me... Andrei opened certain doors for me and let me in. The time I spent in the world of his ideas, thoughts and feelings enriched me... I felt obligated to share with you the time that passed.'"

"The Last Great European Art Film Director":

Article by: Ron Foley MacDonald:

"Amongst film directors, from Sweden's Ingmar Bergman to Canada's William D. MacGillivray, the figure of the late Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky is often described as `the greatest of them all'. From his debut feature The Childhood of Ivan in 1962 to his final film The Sacrifice in 1986 made while he was dying of cancer, Tarkovsky left a profound impact on the cinema. While his output consisted of only seven films, his command of cinematic imagery and fluid approach to narrative has won him the accolades of critics, directors and serious fans of the cinema alike. Often described as the cinematic heir to great Russian novelists such as Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, Tarkovsky treats epic subjects in a surprisingly intimate manner. In the three films playing through March on the IFC, 1972's Solaris, 1974's The Mirror and The Sacrifice (plus a revealing documentary on the making of The Sacrifice entitled Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky which kicks off the series and serves as an introduction to the great director), Tarkovsky tackles diverse subjects such as space travel, Russia under Stalin and the End of the World. By reducing his cutting, choreographing movement in front of the camera, and letting his camera loose over broad landscapes, the director achieves a deep cinematic style that stands opposite some of his Soviet predecessors such as Eisenstein and Vertov. First-time audiences often find their initial encounters with Tarkovsky's work daunting. Slow, fluid and sometimes ornery and obtuse, his narrative style blends elements of playwright Samuel Beckett's deliberate absurdity with long philosophical arguments about power, spirituality and the meaning of life. The deliberate pacing and refusal to let editing propel the narrative, however, eventually yields extraordinary results. Tarkovsky's greatest concerns are with a sense of the spiritual in every frame. Like some of his minimalist precursors Robert Bresson and Carl Theodore Dreyer, he sees cinematic space as something that is not filled simply by action but rather a place that is inhabited by sacredness. Each of his characters embarks on a quest that is often confounded by mystery. As the films progress, the mystery deepens; instead of a story being wrapped up in nice, easy package, the narratives often reveal the humanity's essential inability to know concrete anything about the universe. Ultimately, Tarkovsky outlines the necessity of faith throughout his films. Solaris, for example, uses Stanislaw Lem's famous science-fiction novel to suggest that memory can exist physically on the same plane of existence as life itself. The Mirror mixes a dense blend of symbolism to probe the realities of life under Stalinism. The Sacrifice deftly deals with an apocalypse and a supernatural response to save the world. In each narrative the story unfolds in a deliberate, stately fashion that balances a ravishing visuality with sequences and setpieces that defy easy interpretation. These are the kind of movies that yield more and more with each viewing. The extraordinary scope of Tarkovsky's vision takes in art, expression, love, and existence itself. These are no mere entertainments or diversions; instead, they are powerful, moving and ultimately deeply engrossing films that push the boundaries of cinema to its very limits.

"Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is perhaps the best place to start an investigation of the great filmmaker's art. Shot during the making of The Sacrifice in Sweden when Tarkovsky was working with Bergmans' favourite cinematographers, Sven Nykvist, Directed By...gently immerses viewers in Tarkovsky's art. It includes two extraordinary sequences left off the film, and follows the director's peculiar but pointed approach to esthetics which is set out in his book Sculpting In Time. The film was put together by the editor of The Sacrifice, Michal Leszczylowski who includes some deeply moving footage of Tarkovsky in a Paris Hospital as they prepare The Sacrifice for screening at Cannes. The work of Andrei Tarkovsky remains an inspiration for anyone interested in the cinema. His dense but rewarding films still form the highwater mark of the 20th Century European Art Cinema, an achievement that has yet to be matched anywhere in the movie world."