Ivan's Childhood - Criterion Collection Reviews

• Tarkovsky's very interesting debut feature..

  
  By A2RFG9LI7JDILS on 2007-07-27
  Exploring new techniques against an older framework, ivan's childhood may not have the same feel as other tarkovsky films but the stylistic innovation is still present especially in the dream sequences and in the interesting ways that water is photographed which would become a very prominent feature in his later movies as well..
  It is actually a very remarkable movie and one that the world took notice of (including ingmar bergman who was influenced a lot by this movie)..
  This is the work of a young director experimenting with a new cinematic technique.. The results are very interesting and Ivan's childhood remains a classic of 60's cinema..
  
  

• Death Wish

  
  By A283JVPUGXOFAZ on 2007-09-14
  This is a DVD to own. "Ivan's Childhood" is Tarkovsky's first and arguably his most famous film. Based on Vladimir Bogomolov's early novella, "Ivan" (that is, "John") (1957), the film achieved wide acclaim outside Russia. It was produced at the risky time when Premier Khrushchev's era was ending and fundamentalist Marxists were ascendant again, restricting freedom in the arts; it is, as one observer wrote, "one of the harshest, morally complex versions of the war in Soviet film." It won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. With this debut film, Tarkovsky established an international reputation that has influenced many other filmmakers.
  
  Except for this novella, Bogomolov is not widely known outside Russia. However, it was translated and anthologized widely around the world. Look for Bernard Isaac's translation into British English. It has the atmosphere of reality. It is punctuated it with references to real places, the Dnieper River, the town Gomel, where Ivan was born, and the Trostyanets death camp; even official Red Army and SS documents have an authentic flavor.
  
  The novella is told in the first person narrative of a Red Army lieutenant. Ivan is about 12 and a "scout", or reconnaissance spy, sneaking across the swampy Dnieper River into the night and behind German lines. The war made him an orphan and filled him with maddening hatred and desperation for revenge. He has been with partisans, in a death camp, and wounded by friendly fire returning from a mission one night. The soldiers are amazed he's been through so much.
  
  There is the pun, of course: Ivan's last name is Bondarev, Ivan Bondarev, that is, John Bond. In the story, it's an intelligence cover name. However, Ian Flemming's first James Bond novels appeared in the early fifties before "Ivan" was published. It may be coincidental, and probably only of interest to Western readers.
  
  Writers often insert their own lives and experiences into their writings, and Bogomolov served in the Red Army in World War II and in intelligence. I do not know if Bogomolov based Ivan on any real person that he may have met or learned about. I guess we can only speculate about Ivan, yet a child working as a war-time spy seems plausible to me. After all, in the desperate chaos at the close of the war, Germany mobilized the Hitler Youth and insurgent units called Werewolves. There is plenty of historical evidence pointing to child combatants throughout history as well as in current events. We recall that Baden-Powell, who created the Boy Scouts, was a former soldier and spy, and the crafts of scouting are important reconnoitering skills used in war. The world is as morally conflicted as ever.
  
  Though he argued with Tarkovsky about the way his story was filmed, like all authors, I think Tarkovsky's approach was correct, considering the demands and possibilities of the cinemagraphic medium. This Criterion Edition of the film is cleaned up with a high definition digital transfer. There is a new subtitle translation. The highlight of the features is the interview with Nicholai (Kolya) Burlyaev, who portrayed Ivan. He reminisces how he was cast at 14 and how the film was made.
  
  The film follows the novella closely, though it takes a more objective viewpoint and enters Ivan's troubled dreams, which make striking imagery. It is tragic poetry whereas the novella is matter-of-fact. Here, Ivan is somewhat bratty and hot tempered. Though he is a child scout, I think the film suggests that he may not be the only one. He knows his trade-craft and takes it very seriously. Still, no one seems overly concerned (in either film or story) that a child is a war-time spy. Frankly, he insists on doing it. Ivan's only friends are the soldiers who want to care for him (after the war)or send him to school but do not object to his missions.
  
  The film, shot on location at the Dnieper River, is pregnant with dramatic, almost heavy-handed imagery and symbolism. There is the first metaphor of crossing the river. Then there is the metaphor of the dead tree. It's his extraction point where Sgt. Katasonov waits for him to bring him ashore to safety. But, Ivan misses the rendezvous because of German patrols and must swim further away. Here, one metaphor abuts another. At the end, following Ivan's last mission, Tarkovsky re-introduces the dead tree metaphor as Ivan races laughing on a beach, perhaps in whatever kind of dream that may have come for him. There are other interpretations, and this one satisfies me now. At the end of the day, we have Bogomolov's poignant story enhanced by Tarkovsky's uncompromising, haunting vision.
  
  
  

• More conventional that Andrei's later work, but still essential....

  
  By A2UYAFQ40U2PHS on 2007-06-06
  This is Andrei Tarkovsky's first feature film, and it's wonderful. It doesn't have the epic feel of grandeur and astonishment of his later work, and it's quite conventional compared to the mystery and ambiguity of films like Solaris and Stalker, but it's still very good and has to be seen by anyone who loves Tarkovsky, Russian cinema, and cinema in general. The film was not actually instigated by Tarkovsky himself. The original director had quit/got fired, and the production was going to be shut down. Tarkovsky, fresh out of the Soviet film school, took the film on, and made it his own. I'm glad that Criterion is releasing this, as earlier VHS and laserdisc copies weren't the greatest transfers, and some material had been cut (mostly the stock WWII footage that Tarkovsky used at the end of the film). For those who don't like Tarkovsky later, lengthy, abstract films, you may like this one, as it is much more straightforward, but still definitely a Tarkovsky film.
  
  

• a very nice film.

  
  By AI0OAQ6E2O8VF on 2007-08-11
  This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
  
  Ivan's Childhood releaed in the Soviet Union as Ivanovo Detstvo is about a boy of about 12 named Ivan, who assists Soviet soldiers during World War II. It is the first studio film by acclaimed director Andrei Tarkovsky.
  
  This was first announced as an upcoming relaease by Criterion almost 10 years ago and is finally available. I have no idea the reason for the delay. It has some good scenes in it and is well photographed.
  
  The DVD also contains interviews with cinematographer Vadim Yusov (who worked on Tarkovsky's other films) and the film's lead actor Nikolai Burlyaev who played the title role. Also included is an interview with Vida T. Johnson, who wrote a book about Tarkovsky.
  
  

• A Different Slant on War Movies

  
  By A2AREUQXKG7PCG on 2007-10-18
  This film marks the debut of what was to become one of filmmaking's greatest directors, Andrei Tarkovsky. While he had already directed "The Steamroller & the Violin" as part of his graduation from film studies, this was his first foray into a full-length film.
  
  What other reviewers do not note about this film is the interesting angle it presents on the theme of war. The movie's namesake, Ivan (a name selected to generically mean any Russian boy), is not simply an innocent who suffers the horrors of war, but is an aggressive, generally confident and committed scout, dedicated to eradicting the German presence in his beloved Russia. After some idyllic opening shots, we see the 12-year-old Ivan ordering around the military man he is put in the care of. The scene is distinctively striking, as is the subsequent narrative arc that traces Ivan's involvement as a scout along the front. If you are familiar with another excellent Russian war film centered around a young man, "Come and See" (by Elem Klimov), then you will certainly recognize some of the roots of that movie in this one.
  
  In general, this is one of the most narrative-driven of Tarkovsky's movies. Later in his career, he seems to have raised the technique of making content match style to the highest pitch; here, the story is clearly dominating how he films his scenes, sometimes experimentally rotating the camera, utilizing defamiliarizing angles, and running alongside actors during tracking shots. One very notable difference from his later films is the speed of many shots. Here, Tarkovsky tends to opt either for a still camera in static scenes, or to quickly moving shots. There is very little of the excruciatingly slow ballet or creep-pans that mark his later work. This is not a merit or defect of "Ivan's Chilldhood," necessarily, but one can certainly sense a younger director exploring the possibilities of technique in this film in a way that his other films do not reflect.
  
  It is interesting to note what one reviewer points out below, that Tarkovsky was not the original director for this film. It would be interesting to know if any footage from the original director is retained in the finished version. Visually, one might make a case for this considering how starkly different the filming is between Ivan's pre-War and during-War childhood are. The colors, the lighting, even to the point of looking colorized and somewhat artificial, make a very vivid contrast with the plain, stark black and white of the military encampment's interiors, or the gorgeous austerity of the birch trees. All the same, the contrast could still simply be Tarkovsky pointing out the differences of pre-War, and post-War childhood.
  
  Throughout, there are numerous striking shots (the falling bucket, reverse shots filmed in water, the filming in the birch trees, a severe up angle on Ivan as he walks, and especially the particularly compelling final crane shot, where Ivan overtakes his sister and runs along the edge of the ocean), the acting is excellent, and the story is striking enough that it still deserves to be heard.
  
  This is not Tarkovsky's "Mirror" or "Stalker" (both of which I cannot recommend enough), but neither should it be. Serious film viewers should certainly be familiar with all of Tarkovsky's work, and it would no doubt be interesting to start here, with his first film. Definitely worth viewing.
  
  
• Children of war
  By A220FJEQNGMSRN on 2007-08-23
  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.
  
  Criterion's DVD includes good interviews with star Nikolai Burlyaev and cinematographer Vadim Yusov but doesn't include the Russian WW2 newsreel footage on the Russico/Artificial Eye PAL DVD.
  
  
  
• sheer poetry
  By AHPCWHAKOVZXS on 2008-11-09
  Ivan's Childhood is sheer poetry. A young boy spends his childhood in the wasteland and dark days of War, meanwhile haunted by his memories of a time of peace and love with his mother. Tarkovsky's inventive editing and imaginative camerawork makes the film feel like a dream and the photography captures images that fill the frame with art! This is a rare cinematic experience!
  
  
• Poetic and profound; a superb example of artistic achievement...
  By ANCOMAI0I7LVG on 2009-04-21
  Few films are able to capture the thin line that runs between a child's innocence and an adult's corruption quite like `Ivanovo Detstvo'. With rich visual detail and carefully established characters, `Ivanovo Detstvo' is a marvelously crafted film that attacks a very mature subject with the delicacy needed to carry the air of a child's perspective.
  
  I just recently (as in a few minutes ago) reviewed `El Espiritu de la Colmena' (The Spirit of the Beehive) and made the comment that both this film and that one are similar in structure and meaning. After I published that review I realized that I didn't expound upon that as much as I needed to, and thus wanted to write this one in order to do just that. Some who have seen both films may imidiatly find my statement false, claiming that `Ivanovo Detstvo' is clearly about revenge while `El Espiritu de la Colmena' is far from a revenge tale, and in that respect you are correct; but my statement was not made to insinuate that at all. What I meant by the comparison was that both films are about a child's perception of an adult's world. In `El Espiritu de la Colmena' you have a young girl trying to understand her surroundings and resorting to a fairy tale like masking in order to find solace. Here you have a young man who is so ravaged by his violent past that he is forced to thrust himself into a world he doesn't understand in order to find some sort of closure. Like `El Espiritu de la Colmena', the contrast between reality and fantasy is prevalent and poignant within `Ivanovo Detstvo'.
  
  I just wanted to get that off my chest.
  
  This film tells the tragic story of young Ivan, a twelve-year-old orphan who has vowed to avenge his murdered family by working as a spy against the German's during World War II. Because of his small size and his controlled demeanor he has been able to cross enemy lines undetected and thus been allowed to remain in the front lines, but his age and his background have caused some to suggest he needs to be taken out of the danger zone and placed in military school. This does not mesh well with Ivan's idea or vengeance.
  
  Famed director Andrei Tarkovsky made his directorial debut (of a full length feature) with this masterpiece and set the tone for his future work. The film is littered with startling and profound imagery that make a lasting impact and speak volumes to the viewer. From the haunting (barren homes and the well) to the shocking (empty nooses and guillotines) to the monumental (planes protruding from sandy shores and apples shared over a joyride) to the beautiful and heartwarming (the suspended kiss over the ravine and the carefree run down the beach), `Ivanovo Detstvo' is as impressive visually as it is emotionally. Tarkovsky knew how to mold a devastatingly real film without overdoing it.
  
  The acting is superb all the way around, with a few standouts. Nikolay Burlyaev is outstanding as young Ivan, capturing this young boys every clouded motive. Yevgeni Zharikov is also very effective as the young lieutenant unsure of his feelings regarding Ivan's military service. To me though, the films major standout is Valentin Zubkov. He manages to make Captain Kholin a beautiful patchwork of human emotions. His paternal feelings towards Ivan, his loyalty to country that often clouds that paternal affection and his personal desire to leave it all behind for greener pastures are all prevent and brought to the forefront thanks to Zubkov's rich and powerful performance.
  
  Clearly one of the best films of the 60's and, quite frankly, one of the best films of all time; `Ivanovo Detstvo' is as timeless as they come and remains a must see for anyone remotely interested in cinema.
  
  
• My least favorite Tarkovsky, but still a highly emotional experience
  By A2DEB4K5G9X21C on 2010-01-07
  On an idyllic summer day, a 12 year old boy named Ivan (Nikolai Burlyayev) ventures into the woods and spots a cuckoo. He begins to levitate above the forest, rejoins his mother (Irma Raush Tarkovskaya), and begins to share his discovery. Then the peaceful reunion between mother and son is truncated by Ivan's rude awakening to the sound of mortar firing. Suddenly, it is evening, and a hungry, weary Ivan awakens in the attic of an empty windmill. Like the opening scene of Andrei Rublev, the surreal episode proves to be an intangible dream. Resuming his reconnaissance mission, Ivan then crosses a treacherous swamp amidst enemy fire. Unable to rendezvous with his contact, Corporal Katasonych (Stepan Krylov), Ivan arrives at an alternate Russian bunker, where his credentials are immediately questioned by the ranking officer, Lieutenant Galtsev (Yevgeni Zharikov). Despite his skepticism, Galtsev calls Ivan's superior, Colonel Gryaznov (Nikolai Grinko), who confirms his identity, dispatches Captain Kholin (Valentin Zubkov) to bring him back to headquarters. Gryaznov has taken an interest in the welfare of the young orphan, and has decided to enroll him in a military academy, reasoning that war has no place for children. Ivan refuses to leave, and argues that his age and stealth make him an ideal scout for their missions. Unable to persuade his superiors, Ivan runs away from the barracks, only to find a ravaged, desolate wasteland outside its walls. With nowhere left to turn, he returns with his superiors back to camp. However, despite the officers' reluctance, Ivan is enlisted for a final mission as they prepare for another covert operation.
  
  Andrei Tarkovsky presents an austere, bleak and haunting portrait of lost innocence in Ivan's Childhood. Tarkovsky uses sharp, contrasting scenes of light and darkness to visually delineate between the idealization of a normal life and its seeming elusiveness in the hopelessness of war: the brightness of the sunshine during Ivan's dream sequences and Kholin's courtship of the nurse, Masha (Valentina Malyavina) at a birch forest provide a jarring transition from the dark trenches, murky swamps, and poorly lit barracks of the battlefield. Nevertheless, within the daylight sequences, Tarkovsky continues to reinforce a pervasive sense of entrapment and helplessness: the spider web on the opening shot; Ivan bathing in the well; Kholin's stolen kiss from Masha while straddling a trench. What emerges is an ominous and incongruent coexistence of nature and frontiers, humanity and cruelty, youth and nihilism - a reflection of the austere and unnatural landscape of war.
  
  
• Ivan's Childhood
  By A829MQB4JIOBJ on 2008-08-17
  Ivan's Childhood is Tarkovsky's first main film, and his most conventional. It takes place during WW2 in Russia. We follow 12 year old Ivan who is a scout for the military. His dark everyday reality is contrasted with his dreams which are light and joyful. The film contains images and themes that are typical of Tarkovsky, like the sometimes diffuse border between dream and reality. Also, the landscape is not a typical war scene but rather more dreamlike.
  The transfer of the DVD is excellent and the details of some images are incredible. Also, the introduction by Vida Johnson is really worth listening to.
  
  
• Remarkable First Feature
  By A3OJ012QPTGMLR on 2008-06-11
  Is it possible to seperate this from the master's mature work, in some way? Certainly the context of its making is important; it is student work. But what student work! And to think that Andrei follows it. Whew! The story is fairly standard fare, a somewhat romaticising of the boy soldier, his heroism, his salutory patriotism. I believe it's the same lad who claims to have the secret of the bell-making in the majestic final stanza of,'Andrei Rubelov'. The murky claustrophia of the river and swamp, the echoing of white-truncked forests; birch, spruce?(all alien experience for this desert dweller!), these become familiar bits of the Tarkovsky lexion. Konchlovsky uses them too, in his epic, 'Siberiade'. But then they were co-students at the Moscow film school. Finally, I have this as part of the complete set of Tarkovsky's films; a gift from my eldest daughter. . The quality is great. The subtitling is as good as I've seen. And they're unexpurgated versions eg. the archival war footage of Nazi material was news to me. There's next to no information of who made this box set or where it came from, other than it's from China. You'll also find in the pack, 'The Steamroller and the Violin', a colour work also from student days, 1960. It has academic interest for me, but shouldn't be reviewed with the expectations he set in his great, mature work.
  
  
• A stunning first feature
  By A3KBUNC8R8CHIM on 2008-05-08
  This is probably Andrei Tarkovsky's most accessible film. It's a solid feature debut that ranks with Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows." Like Truffaut's masterpiece, "Ivan's Childhood" (a.k.a. "My Name Is Ivan") is a devastating view of troubled childhood and one of those movies you never forget. I'm delighted that Criterion has rescued this classic from home video oblivion and given it the first class treatment it richly deserves.
  
  
• One of the Best. Movies. Ever.
  By A2FLJS6VMYXLPA on 2010-02-27
  I am a relatively new fan of Tarkovsky, but I have been catching up in the last couple of years. I have seen all I can get my hands on, at least twice. He has replaced Bergman, or perhaps I should say he is alongside Bergman, as my favorite director. I am a film lover, and I had NO idea film could do, what Tarkovsky makes it do. Astounding. It's art, to the tenth power! Highly enjoyable. "Moving Art."
  
  Ivan's Childhood is his first feature film. I viewed it last, so I could see the budding motifs that Tarkovsky would perfect later in his career. Yet, this film is stunning on its own merits. I have NEVER seen a better performance from a child actor. EVER.
  
  I highly recommend that film lovers discover Tarkovsky's movies! Perhaps it is best to start with this one, as it is most narrative-driven. But, please, watch them ALL. Most are available on NetFlix too.
  
  Once you understand what Tarkovsky is doing, there is no better reward than viewing any of his films.
  
  
  
• masterpieces
  By A2RDFYEIH1MNXF on 2010-02-23
  some of the best criterion releases in the market
  one of the most beautiful movie ever made
  if you like good movies, about special things and have a huge heart( and a sizable wallet)
  buy this you wont regret it...
  
  
• A devastating look at the impact of war - a remarkable debut film by one of the greatest filmmakers
  By AGVWTYW0ULXHT on 2010-01-27
  Andrei Tarkovsky wrote of making this film, his first full-length feature, that he had to prove to himself whether he had it in him to be a filmmaker. He certainly did. It is a masterful film, shot in richly textured black and white, and Criterion's transfer is stunningly crisp and nuanced. Tarkovsky's innovations here can be seen in his approach to memory and dreams, his affinity for the elements of water and earth and fire, the sense of longing for a lost innocence that drives Ivan. At the same time, in many ways this film fits neatly into the period in Russia, during which a new openness to Western culture allowed young Russian filmmakers to innovate and explore new styles of film making, and also to bring a greater degree of realism to subject matters such as war. While the film is not critical of Russian conduct during World War II, it depicts clearly the horrors of war through its impact on a child, who should be experiencing childhood but is instead forced by circumstance, desperation and force of will to expose himself to danger. What is so touching about the film is the way the hardened young Ivan, who refuses to be coddled, nevertheless embraces and kisses the neck of his commanding officer, the closest thing he has to a father, and the next moment refuses to be sent to a school and threatens to run away as would a child. Highly recommended, both as an accessible introduction to one of the greatest filmmakers, as a striking and important statement on war, and as a beautiful example of the possibilities of cinema.
  
  

• Andrei Rublev (Criterion Collection Spine #34)
• Stalker: A Film by Andrei Tarkovsky
• The Mirror
• Solaris - Criterion Collection
• The Sacrifice