Iñárritu’s Kinship With Tarkovsky As Seen In ‘The Revenant’

Mads Black — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:20:01 +0000

There’s nothing new in directors borrowing shots from or paying homage to the filmmakers that came before them. Often this shows as subtle nods of respect, sometimes as obvious inspirations and sometimes you have to wonder if borrowing turns to stealing.

In the case of Iñárritu‘s beautifully shot The Revenant and it’s obvious kinship with the work of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, I’ll choose to believe that the similarities in composition, camera movement and themes are signs of the director’s cinematic literacy, more-so than an attempt at ripping off an idol’s masterful work. Still, the side-by-side comparison by (Russian) YouTuber Misha Petrick really makes you remember that The Revenant is not all that revolutionary or alone in it’s artistry. Rather, it’s part of a rich, cinematic history that we can all benefit from knowing more about.

What do you think?

The Tarkovsky footage is from his films Stalker, Ivan’s Childhood, Mirror, Nostalghia and Andrei Rublev.

Your Moment Of Zen: The Evolution Of Film In 3 Minutes

Mads Black — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 21:57:42 +0000

Alright, film buffs. How many of these do you recognize from just a 2-second snippet?

Honestly, I thought a compilation like this would have shown just how ridiculous and detached the films of today are. But as it turns out, the lineage from the early days of film and to today, is actually pretty clear. Lots of contemporary callbacks to the film days of yore. And lots of recurring themes, obviously.

h/t Scott Ewing for putting this together

20 Questions Film » Film History

Iñárritu’s Kinship With Tarkovsky As Seen In ‘The Revenant’

Your Moment Of Zen: The Evolution Of Film In 3 Minutes