The Color of Pomegranates - Sergei Parajanov (1968)


Wikipedia - "The Color of Pomegranates (Armenian: Նռան գույնը) is a 1969 Soviet art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. It is a poetic treatment of the life of the 18th century Armenian singer Sayat-Nova. It has appeared in some scholarly polls of the greatest films ever made. The Color of Pomegranates is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat-Nova (King of Song) that attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally. The film is presented with little dialogue using active tableaux which depict the poet's life in chapters: Childhood, Youth, Prince's Court (where he falls in love with a tsarina), The Monastery, The Dream, Old Age, The Angel of Death and Death. ... Soviet censors and Communist Party officials objected to Parajanov's stylized, poetic treatment of Sayat-Nova's life and complained that it failed to educate the public about the poet. As a result, the film's title was changed from Sayat-Nova to The Color of Pomegranates, and all references to Sayat-Nova's name were removed from the credits and chapter titles in the original Armenian release version. The noted Armenian writer Hrant Matevosyan wrote new, abstractly poetic Armenian-language chapter titles. Officials further objected to the film's abundance of religious imagery, although a great deal of religious imagery still remains in both surviving versions of the film. Initially the State Committee for Cinematography in Moscow refused to allow distribution of the film outside of Armenia. It premiered in Armenia in October 1969, with a running time of 77 minutes. ..."
Wikipedia
NY Times: In ‘The Color of Pomegranates,’ the Cinema of the Cryptic By J. Hoberman
Guardian - The Colour of Pomegranates: a chance to savour a poetic masterpiece (Video)
senses of cinema
Criterion (Video)
amazon
YouTube: The Color of Pomegranates. Trailer

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