Rating: 
Summary: Not impressed
Review: I had high hopes for this film. St. Petersburg and the Hermitage are an epic city and an unforgettable museum. Rich in history this film tries to show the life of the museum through a man trapped in the museum and forced to witness 300 years of Russian history. But what happened to the flavor? Russia is a lively culture but this film seems dull and frozen. Little attention is brought to the epic of the 1917 revolution or the 1940s siege of the city, truly epic events in the Hermitages life. Why was this not brought up more? Perhaps the films one redeemable feature is its portrait of the high class lifestyle of the tsars.Seth J. Frantzman
Rating: 
Summary: St.Petersburg 's Hermitage is the Russian Ark
Review: A visually spellbinding feat of cinematic technology by the Director, Alexsandr Sokurov brings us the "Russian Ark". This movie takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia, and brings us ninety minutes of the history of "The Hermitage Museum" told in an unusual image of the 18th and 19th centuries. The remarkable piece of this movie is that it is shot in one fluid take using High Definition video cameras. The State Hermitage is in actuality 6 buildings on the embankment of the River Neva. The most magnificent of the buildings is the Winter Palace, residence of Russian Tsars from 1754 to 1762. The Hermitage took 2 1/2 centuries to build and exemplifies pieces from the Stone Age to the 20th Century. There are over 3 million pieces of art on display from Da Vinci to Monet. Some of the most exciting times took place during the German Invasion in 1941. We are indeed fortunate that many hid the treasures within, and that the treasures were found after the war. The Hermitage is open to the public and you can find more information on their web page:
http://www.hermitage.ru/html_En/index.html 867 actors practiced for months to dance the mazurka in the ballroom, march to a military salute or watch a theatre performance. There was one take only and anything could go wrong at any time. There were years of development and preparation for the 4 hours of filming. Sokurov depended upon German HD specialists KOPP MEDIA to assist with the details of the script. How a camera would move, the distance of feet to be covered in the narrative, and the use of a steadicam. A hard disk recording system was developed that was portable and equipped with an ultra-stable battery. One shooting day with 4 hours of light was the magic number. A Marquis, a limber European in dress black is the film's guide. He is invisible to most and he leads the narrator through each room and gallery. He interacts with guests but others do not see the "ghost". The Marquis takes us from the 17th century to the present. We meet Catherine the Great, Nicholas I, and there is no explanation of what is happening or what are their roles. We are left to our imagination and the beautiful rooms and halls and galleries that are The Hermitage. The last thirty minutes are dedicated to 3 orchestras and the ballrooms and the dancing and the exquisitely dressed people of the times. We are but trespassers in this venue, but we are left to wonder the marvels of The Hermitage, and the wonder of this film. prisrob
Rating: 
Summary: Experience what you know in a brand new way
Review: I am actually rating this film from a standpoint of a Russian soul that loves Russian history and is proud of my heritage. So much has been torn apart as far as Russian history is concerned within the past 15 years, and 70 years before that, I really did not know what to expect when I sat down in the theater. Will this be popularist Hollywood type dancing through the Winter Palace with scenes of epique, Gladiator-type battles unfolding on the walls of the Palace? That is what I kind of expected - why would a movie any different from that make it to US theaters? Well, that is not what I saw. I saw a nostalgic, often out of place in time, view at what I learned for so many years. I saw director's cry for times long gone, I saw the emotion, love and understanding, of little, seemingly insignificant pictures of Russian history, flash before my eyes. I think reviewers who rated this movie as boring or without point, grossly misunderstood the idea and the goal. Throughout the movie, you see a series of little re-enactments that often ended in a pose that is similar/same to the paintings located in the Hermitage. That is where the paintings come alive. Like the whole scene with Nicolas II's family gathered around the dinner table and as the camera pans out, everyone turns and looks into the camera. I vividly remember the painting, and only then did it hit me - the meaning, the tragedy, the emotion. I understood the painting! Same thing can be said for many other scenes like that. But the most powerful scene of the movie is at the very end, everyone is leaving the ballroom, the awkwardly translated phrase "This is the flower of young Russia" and finally, the stranger saying I'm staying... I'm staying with 5 stars here ...
Rating:
Summary: The Hermitage, A microcosm of Russian History
Review: "Russian Ark" by Alexander Sokurov may be interpreted as a film based on a fairy tale structure, which presents the story of the hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, a city which was built at the same time as the palace. Both city and palace have witnessed grandiose and terrible events, while today the former winter residence of the Czars is one of the most famous museums in the world. The director, Alexander Sokurov takes the viewer along for a visit of the museum, which comes alive with the events that have marked its history in a fairy tale like manner. The viewer is taken for a ride on history, and the historical figures appear at corners and corridors of the palace inviting us to along this journey. Technically speaking the film is remearkable as it as shot entirely in one take; however, it is a film where beauty is expressed almost entirely on a visual level. I visited the Hermitage after seeing the film and could not escape viusalizing events without Sokurov's iimages interfreing. As I saw the portrait of the Persian Shah Abbas, who visited Alexander II, I also grew to appreciate tthate scene that reconstructs that event even more; indeed, it is one of the more effective ones in the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Cold and Lifeless
Review: Well, I had high expectations of Russian Ark. The technical challenge of a "film" taken in a single shot combined with the Imperialist grandeur of The Hermitage promised an intellectual and visual feast. But instead of a feast we are treated to nouvelle cuisine which is on the surface interesting but in the end, unsatisfactory. I have never seen a movie so frozen into the past as Russian Ark is. Its brief forays into the 21st century sit uncomfortablly between vignettes of Catherine the Great and Nicholas II. Brief references to the 900 day seige of Leningrad are left unexplained and inexplicable to the uninformed. This is a cold, grey and essentially humourless work. There is no emotional connection in this "film". No spark of humanity, no human warmth, no engagement. The film bares as much life as the cold unheated halls of the Winter Palace. And the corpse-like character of "The Stranger" (how droll) serves no purpose but to irritate where it could have enlightened or intrigued. The occasional comment on Russia's relationship with Europe attempts to give gravitas, but just leadens tha atmosphere even further.... And as a technical piece it leaves a bit to be desired. Perhaps it was just the print I saw, but the colours seemed washed out and drab where they could have been sensuous. Perhaps this was a problem with the digital media that the "film" was shot to . Also, the continual flaring of the camera lights on the oil paintings was irritating and showed a lack of thought, especially considering it had been rehearsed thoroughly before hand. As a technical experiment it is moderately interesting. As a "film" it is a disapointment. See "Travelling Birds" instead.
Rating:
Summary: An invitation to the Winter Palace
Review: The most remarkable thing about RUSSIAN ARK is that it was filmed with a Steadicam in one unbroken take ninety-plus minutes long utilizing a couple thousand precisely cued and magnificently costumed actors. This was necessitated by the fact that the location, the Hermitage Museum (the former Winter Palace) in St. Petersburg, Russia, was available for only one day. But where did they rehearse? And most important, did Hermitage staff allow the actors to bring munchies inside? As the film opens, an invisible individual (let's call him "The Visitor"), through whose eyes the viewer takes this journey and whose voice is that of Director Alexander Sokurov, is admitted to the snowbound Winter Palace with a group of uniformed czarist army officers and their dates arriving for a gala event. The Visitor soon leaves the revelers behind and joins "The Marquis" (Sergey Dreiden), a Frenchman that serves as the guide for most of the movie. As The Visitor and The Marquis go from room to room, they and the viewer are either in the present, surrounded by modernly dressed tourists, or in some century past, fleetingly meeting such historical figures as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicholas II. Ghosts, perhaps? RUSSIAN ARK is primarily a magnificent visual introduction to the Winter Palace of the czars, and one most likely to be useful to one who hasn't experienced the place firsthand. This fact, and the cinematic achievement represented by the skillfully choreographed action photographed in the single take, would otherwise cause me to award 5 stars - except for the dialogue (Russian with English subtitles). The majority of the words spoken by The Visitor, The Marquis, and those they encounter convey little of import or relevance. Indeed, what emanates from the preoccupied Marquis isn't usually much better than distracted mumbles. For those acquainted with Russian history, one of the most poignant scenes is when The Visitor and The Marquis encounter Nicholas II's young daughters - to be brutally murdered by the Reds within a couple of years - breezily skipping along the palace corridors. And the climax of the film is the last thirty minutes or so as the viewer mingles among the elegant, pre-Revolution crowd dancing in a glittering ballroom, and then exits with the throng down a spectacular gold and white grand staircase and out through a long interior promenade. Needless to say, RUSSIAN ARK has no plot in the conventional sense. Had the various scenes been shot separately, they'd be nothing more than a series of unrelated vignettes of marginal interest. RUSSIAN ARK is a film only possible after the implosion of the USSR. It's a peek at a grandiose and "decadent" way of life now gone from Russia - and Europe - for many decades. If you can't make it to Peter's city on the Baltic, then I recommend this film.
Rating:
Summary: L' Arche Russe
Review: I watched Sorkurov's film for the first time last night and thought it brilliant. It was fascinating how though a 90 minute film of a canversation in the Hermitage seemed rather boring I was pleasantly suprised. I found it very interesting how the film came together at the very end. I didn't really comprehend it until I saw the sea. I them understood that Sokurov meant the Hermitage to be the whoel of Russian culture since the czars. Absolutely fascinating, one of the better films I have seen in a while.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I've never considered myself a big fan of art, nor of foreign films for that matter. Never the less, I loved this film, kept me interested and the flow of the movie seemed perfect. I would imagine that historians and artists would appreciate the film much more. The visuals were astounding, the music brilliant.
I watched the HDTV version of this movie, so I cannot comment on the DVD features or quality. After watching, I wanted to plan a trip to Russia.
Rating:
Summary: boring
Review: boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring
Rating:
Summary: Utterly gorgeous. Magnificent. Otherworldly.
Review: Russian Ark is a true work of genius. According to the capitalist canon, government involvement is the kiss of death for art. But this film is a work of art on a level no American movie has ever achieved (yes, I include Citizen Kane) and it could not have been made without the involvement of the Russian government. (Thousands of actors garbed in gorgeous and intricate costumes.) Like all true art, this film is a powerful catalyst to becoming more deeply absorbed in the human journey. We flit back and forth between centuries of Russian history, bourn on by two protagonists who may be spirits from other times, who are inexplicable moving through the Hermitage as part of their journey. The Hermitage, a museum now, a Czarist palace before, is the one constant throughout those turbulent centuries. The single take technique is more than an amazing logistics achievement. It contributes powerfully to the movie?s strong spiritual feel. Everything changes as we move through time, except for the uninterrupted viewer, who is the immortal soul. The most sublime part of the movie is at the end. Then we understand we have not been watching a movie, but having a compressed experience of the beauty and pathos of life itself. And did I mention, I really liked this movie?
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