<story><title>Tarkovsky&apos;s films online for free</title><url>https://kottke.org/23/05/watch-tarkovskys-best-films-online-for-free</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kamranjon</author><text>I&amp;#x27;ve tried twice now to watch Solaris and fell asleep both times - someone let me know if it&amp;#x27;s worth it! I&amp;#x27;ve seen every other Tarkovsky film and love his work, this one just felt particularly difficult for me.</text></item><item><author>dr_kiszonka</author><text>Stalker is a beautiful movie but perhaps not the easiest one to watch, especially if you are not used to 10 min long shots of nature (e.g., water in a stream). Possibly Solaris, which you recommend too, would be an easier movie to watch first.</text></item><item><author>Jun8</author><text>IMHO, if you’ll be watching your first Tarkovsky film start with &lt;i&gt;Stalker&lt;/i&gt;, which is how my girlfriend (now wife of 27 years), introduced me to him many years ago. I was very much a Fellini person, and the Bergman-Tarkovsky school seemed cryptic (at best) at the time. When finished, ask yourself (1) if you would have gone into the room and (2) what the dreamlike sequences with Stalker’s son meant.&lt;p&gt;Second one should be &lt;i&gt;Solaris&lt;/i&gt;, if you’re into SciFi or &lt;i&gt;The Mirror&lt;/i&gt; if you’re not of if you’d like a challenge. I think &lt;i&gt;The Mirror&lt;/i&gt; is the better movie, the woman (stand in for T’s mom) looking at the wheat field (T had these &lt;i&gt;specifically&lt;/i&gt; planted for the film!) haunts me to this day.&lt;p&gt;I personally couldn’t relate to The Sacrifice, perhaps his most personal film. His earlier films (Ivan and Rublev) I could not watch at all.&lt;p&gt;To be a genius artist like him in the Soviet Union meant privileges unheard for art film directors in Europe (let alone US), eg see the wheat field thing above. It also meant you’re at the mercy of the “masses”. I had read an article once that included a comment for &lt;i&gt;The Mirror&lt;/i&gt; from a regular filmgoer, saying after 30mins it caused such a headache! The funding was based on such feedback and the movie was labeled as elitist (it is) which greatly impacted his career. It’s infuriating to think T lost time due to such petty interference (OTOH, I could only finish the film on my third try, falling asleep in first two attempts! So she had a point)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>biztos</author><text>You could — at the risk of being burned at the stake by purists — try the other one [0] which is faster paced but touches on the same ideas.  Then if you’re really intrigued by that, go back to the original.&lt;p&gt;[0]: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Solaris_(2002_film)&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Solaris_(2002_film)&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>Tarkovsky&apos;s films online for free</title><url>https://kottke.org/23/05/watch-tarkovskys-best-films-online-for-free</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kamranjon</author><text>I&amp;#x27;ve tried twice now to watch Solaris and fell asleep both times - someone let me know if it&amp;#x27;s worth it! I&amp;#x27;ve seen every other Tarkovsky film and love his work, this one just felt particularly difficult for me.</text></item><item><author>dr_kiszonka</author><text>Stalker is a beautiful movie but perhaps not the easiest one to watch, especially if you are not used to 10 min long shots of nature (e.g., water in a stream). Possibly Solaris, which you recommend too, would be an easier movie to watch first.</text></item><item><author>Jun8</author><text>IMHO, if you’ll be watching your first Tarkovsky film start with &lt;i&gt;Stalker&lt;/i&gt;, which is how my girlfriend (now wife of 27 years), introduced me to him many years ago. I was very much a Fellini person, and the Bergman-Tarkovsky school seemed cryptic (at best) at the time. When finished, ask yourself (1) if you would have gone into the room and (2) what the dreamlike sequences with Stalker’s son meant.&lt;p&gt;Second one should be &lt;i&gt;Solaris&lt;/i&gt;, if you’re into SciFi or &lt;i&gt;The Mirror&lt;/i&gt; if you’re not of if you’d like a challenge. I think &lt;i&gt;The Mirror&lt;/i&gt; is the better movie, the woman (stand in for T’s mom) looking at the wheat field (T had these &lt;i&gt;specifically&lt;/i&gt; planted for the film!) haunts me to this day.&lt;p&gt;I personally couldn’t relate to The Sacrifice, perhaps his most personal film. His earlier films (Ivan and Rublev) I could not watch at all.&lt;p&gt;To be a genius artist like him in the Soviet Union meant privileges unheard for art film directors in Europe (let alone US), eg see the wheat field thing above. It also meant you’re at the mercy of the “masses”. I had read an article once that included a comment for &lt;i&gt;The Mirror&lt;/i&gt; from a regular filmgoer, saying after 30mins it caused such a headache! The funding was based on such feedback and the movie was labeled as elitist (it is) which greatly impacted his career. It’s infuriating to think T lost time due to such petty interference (OTOH, I could only finish the film on my third try, falling asleep in first two attempts! So she had a point)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>tleilaxu</author><text>The Mirror is one of my favourite films but I always fall asleep 2-3 times while watching it!&lt;p&gt;I find it so relaxing that I’ve just learnt to enjoy the whole experience and enjoy the dozing as part of the experience of watching the film.</text></comment>