The Color of Pomegranates

Rating:
Summary: YOU deserve better than this!
Review: The Color of Pomegranates is one of the most beautiful films ever made, but Kino Video's now legendary poor DVD transfers mean that all of the colours merge into a slushy brown. there is heavy pixellation, too, another sign that the transfer was hurried and done cheaply. It is almost immoral that they should have the rights to release this film but it seems that they are not capable of taking this responsibility seriously. I love DVDs, but this makes me want to cry - not because I wasted my money (which I did) but because a work of art has been treated so badly. The VHS copy I own is of much higher quality. Do yourself a favour, save yourself some money and buy the VHS version. If you love this film, then write to [e-mail] to complain - not that you will get a response.

Rating:
Summary: A truly extraordinary film.
Review: This really is an absolutely extraordinary film, all the more so when one considers the conditions under which Sergei Paradjanov made it. While it is true to say that the pace of the film is slow and its plot inscrutable there is no denying the absolute genius and vision of its director. It is hard to compare this film to any other but for me I would quote what Stanley Kubrick once said when asked to explain the meaning of 2001: A Space Odyssey to a film critic - "Sometimes the truth of a thing is not so much in the think of it, but in the feel of it". This is how I would approach a film like The Color of Pomegranates for the first time, do not attempt to understand or extract meaning from it straight away but let the film's amazing visual dynamism sink into your sub-consciousness and marvel at the sheer audacity of the director's non-conventional approach to film making. It is such a terrible shame that this amazing artist (for Sergei Paradjanov was not just a film-maker) was harassed and imprisoned on false charges by the Soviet authorities for much of his adult life and denied the ability bring more of his unique visions to life but perhaps such hardships made him utilise his artistic gifts all the more when confronted by such oppression.

Anybody who enjoys this film should also seek out his other films that are widely available for viewing, namely Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964), The Legend of Suram Fortress (1984) and Ashik Kerib (1988) for we are lucky to have these few masterpieces of his.

I have only viewed this film on Kino's DVD version so I cannot compare it with any other versions. However, this is the version of the film Paradjanov intended for us to see and in my opinion is preferable even if the print might not be as good a print as the version that was cut/censored and which Paradjanov disowned. It is fortunate that an original print was recovered at all and is now available for us to see. Hopefully a version will be issued someday that will restore the quality of the original print.

As for the argument to the literal translation of the title in the previous reviews I had thought that the original title of the film was "Sayat Nova" and that the title was changed to "The Color of Pomegranate(s)" when the film was cut/censored and that somehow this is the title that has stuck. Either way I have no problems calling the film by either title.

This film is a work of art and should be on permanent viewing in an art gallery. It might not be for everybody but you won't know unless you give it a chance.