A visually hypnotizing cinematic feat, RUSSIAN ARK is Alexsandr Sokurov's spellbinding ode to St. Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum. Shot in one fluid take using High Definition video cameras, the photography floats and careens through the lavish corridors of the museum, examining its architectural details while following a dreamlike plot. A cast of 867 actors supply the action of the film, whether dancing the mazurka in a lively ballroom, performing a military salute, or watching a theater performance. The Marquis (Sergey Dreiden), an aged but limber European dressed in solid black, is the film's charismatic guide, leading the narrator--who is the unidentified voice behind the camera--through each doorway and into each gallery in a sweeping tour of the Hermitage. While the Marquis interacts with some of the guests, debating about Italian art with a couple of Russian scholars, delighting over rich paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck with an angelic blind woman, taking a lively brunette for a spin on the dance floor, others do not see him. Even the narrator suspects that the Marquis is a ghost, long dead and wandering the Hermitage in a quest to better understand history. Time periods, indicated by style of dress, fluctuate between the 1700s and the present. Famous Russian figures, such as Peter the Great, Nicholas I, and Catherine the Great appear and then disappear, with no explanation of their roles. Between the Marquis and the narrator, confusion reigns. They are spectators and trespassers in this mysterious space, trying to find their way.

Theatrical release: October 18, 2002 (NY)
November 2002 (NATIONAL)

DVD Features:

Region 0
Keep Case
Letterboxed
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus

Sergey Dreiden: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Maria Kuznetsova: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Leonid Mozgovoy: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Mikhail Piotrovsky: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
David Giorgobiani: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Alexander Chaban: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Lev Yeliseyev: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Oleg Khmelnitsky: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Alla Osipenko: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Artem Strelnikov: Actor, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)

Aleksandr Sokurov: Russian Director; "Mother and Son"

Jens Meurer: Producer, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Andrey Deryabin: Producer, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)
Karsten Stoter: Producer, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)

Sergey Yevtushenko: Composer, RUSSIAN ARK (2002)

"...One of the greatest technical accomplishments in the history of the visual arts..."
"...The movie is a meditation on the love and envy that Russia has always felt toward Europe..."
"...Rich in the colorful and opulent costumes and historical details of the Imperial eras, RUSSIAN ARK moves at a lively pace..."
"RUSSIAN ARK is an astonishing technological feat, but what is even more remarkable is that the technology does not overwhelm the artistry..."
"...Dazzling....RUSSIAN ARK's examination of the role in our lives of history and art makes it a fascinating and absorbing film..."
"[A]n astonishing technical feat."