CriterionCast

Several Tarkovsky Films Now Available For Free Online

Sometimes, some of cinema’s most legendary filmmakers don’t quite get the chance to thrust their art into the zeitgeist as much or as many times as they, or we for that matter, really would like. One of these filmmakers happens to be Andrei Tarkovsky, and with only seven feature length films to his name, it looks like his entire filmography (or at the time of this writing, most of it) is now available online, for free to the public.

According to Open Culture, Film Annex now has five films available, including The Mirror, Stalker, Nostalghia, The Sacrifice, and Voyage in Time, available for free to stream online at their website. They had Ivan’s Childhood, Solaris and Andrei Rublev online, but apparently a right’s issue arose, and they have since been pulled down. All three films are current Criterion releases, and are also all available on Netflix, so for a low fee, you could presumably have Tarkovsky’s entire catalogue, save a few short films, which is one hell of a fantastic situation.

While Tarkovsky doesn’t get talked about as much as people like Kubrick or David Lean, he has a truly masterful canon, no matter how short it may very well be. Solaris is a brilliant film, one of sci-fi’s best, and films like Andrei Rublev, Ivan’s Childhood and The Sacrifice are truly fantastic films to boot. Overall it’s really a fantastic collection of films, for a price that is literally impossible to beat.

Source: Open Culture / Film Annex

[UPDATE 8:15am 7/19/10 – I’ve struck through the films that are no longer available through Film Annex. It is most likely rights issues. – Ryan]

Don’t forget about the Barnes and Noble 50% Off Sale, going on now through August 1st, 2010.

Joshua Brunsting

Josh is a critic, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, a wrestling nerd, a hip-hop head, a father, a cinephile and a man looking to make his stamp on the world, one word at a time.