SYNOPSIS: The great Andrei Tarkovsky's debut feature, Ivan's Childhood (Ivanovo Detstvo), is an evocative, poetic journey through the shadows and shards of a boy's war-torn youth.  Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky's film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of violence on children in wartime.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:  Ivan's Childhood is probably Tarkovsky's most famous film, if not his best.  We offered this film first in 2003, but removed it after a short while because the quality was atrocious.  Leave it to the wizards at Criterion Co. to remaster this masterpiece and give it the look it so deserves.  Ivan's Childhood often amazes with the fluidity of its camerawork, its wonderful use of sound and its matter of fact depiction of war - not the moments of combat that make up only a tiny part of the experience, but the moments between, where people try to catch whatever they can, be it love, hope, memories or just sleep. It's a simple tale extraordinarily well told, and if the sudden leap in chronology at the end is jarring, the result is nonetheless very moving. Even the fantasy/memory scenes of a nature more vivid that the burnt out husk or swamps of war are beautifully handled, and it's easy to see this being a major influence on Spielberg's most underrated film, Empire of the Sun.

Very impressive indeed, it's a surprise to learn that the film was shot on an ultra-low budget because another director and cast had used up half the budget before their version was scrubbed, only for Kruschev's disapproval to limit the film's Russian release while it was conquering the arthouses worldwide.  (editorial review with input from Trevor Willsmer)

In typical Criterion fashion, this DVD has loads of extras:

° Life as a Dream - This video appreciation, recorded for the Criterion Collection in 2007, features film scholar and writer Vida T. Johnson discussing the significance of Ivan's Childhood in Tarkovsky's body of work.
° Nikolai Burlyaev Interview - In this new video interview, actor Nikolai Burlyaev offers his heartfelt memories of playing the title role in Ivan's Childhood and working with director Andrei Tarkovsky.
° Vadim Yusov Interview - This new video interview features cinematographer Vadim Yusov, a longtime collaborator of Andrei Tarkovsky's reminiscing about their work on Ivan's Childhood.

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* This DVD will play in North America only.  This DVD should play in most players outside of North America as well, but it's not guaranteed. This DVD will play in any computer DVD-Rom.  This is NOT a DVD-R.

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STARRING: Kolya Burlyayev, V. Zubkov, Ye. Zharikov, S. Krylov.
AVAILABILITY: In stock! Ships within one business day.
LENGTH: 95 minutes.
LANGUAGE: Russian, with OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 1.33:1 (4:3 Full Screen); Mono audio; 1 disc; Plenty more extras (see above); Uncut.
VIEWER DISCRETION: Brief nudity, coarse language.
PICTURE QUALITY: Excellent picture quality. (what's this mean?)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USSR (1962).
ALSO KNOWN AS: Ivanovo detstvo (original title) / Childhood of Ivan / Ivan's Childhood / My Name Is Ivan (USA) / The Youngest Spy / Иваново детство (Soviet Union: Russian title).
DATE ADDED TO OUR LIBRARY:  December 19, 2008.
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