# Moscow Elegy

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{{Infobox film
| name           = Moscow Elegy
| image          = Moscow elegy DVD.jpg
| caption        = ''Moscow Elegy'' DVD cover
| director       = [Alexander Sokurov](/source/Alexander_Sokurov)
| narrator       = Alexander Sokurov
| writer         = Alexander Sokurov
| editing        = [Lyudmila Feiginova](/source/Lyudmila_Feiginova)<br/>[Tatyana Belousova](/source/Tatyana_Belousova)<br/>[Alexandra Zhikhareva](/source/Alexandra_Zhikhareva)<br/>[Leda Semenova](/source/Leda_Semenova)<br/>[Lida Volkova](/source/Lida_Volkova)
| country        = Soviet Union
| cinematography = [Alexander Burov](/source/Aleksandr_Burov_(cinematographer))<br/>[Alexei Naydenov](/source/Alexei_Naydenov_(cinematographer))
| starring       = [Andrei Tarkovsky](/source/Andrei_Tarkovsky)<br>[Tonino Guerra](/source/Tonino_Guerra)
| released       = {{Film date|1988}}
| runtime        = 88 minutes
| language       = Russian
}}
'''''Moscow Elegy''''' ({{langx|ru|Московская элегия}}) is a 1988 documentary film directed by [Alexander Sokurov](/source/Alexander_Sokurov), about the later life and death of Soviet Russian filmmaker [Andrei Tarkovsky](/source/Andrei_Tarkovsky). The film was originally intended to mark Tarkovsky's 50th birthday in 1982, which would have been before his death in 1986. Controversy with Soviet authorities about the film's style and content led to significant delays in the production.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sokurov |first=Alexander |title=Moscow Elegy |url=http://sokurov.spb.ru/island_en/documetaries/moskovskaya_elegiya/mnp_mel.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102105112/http://sokurov.spb.ru/island_en/documetaries/moskovskaya_elegiya/mnp_mel.html |archive-date=2007-01-02 |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=The Island of Sokurov}}</ref>

==Production==
The film consists mostly of Sokurov's narration over [stock footage](/source/stock_footage) from Tarkovsky's films ''[The Mirror](/source/The_Mirror_(1975_film))'', ''[Nostalghia](/source/Nostalghia)'', ''[Voyage in Time](/source/Voyage_in_Time)'', and ''[The Sacrifice](/source/The_Sacrifice_(1986_film))'', as well as footage of Tarkovsky shot during production for ''The Sacrifice''. Some footage was supplied by [Chris Marker](/source/Chris_Marker).<ref name="dvdnotes">Sokurov, Alexander, ''Editor's Notes'' in DVD release of ''Moscow Elegy'', Ideale Entertainment, 2006</ref> Sokurov also shot footage of various houses and apartments where Tarkovsky had lived. With the exception of some of the archival footage, the film is entirely in [black and white](/source/black_and_white). Sokurov and the crew had scheduled a total of 12 days for the entire production.<ref name="dvdnotes"/>

==Reception==
The film was first screened at [Dom Kino](/source/Dom_Kino) in [Moscow](/source/Moscow) in 1987 on Tarkovsky's birthday, and many Russian filmmakers and actors (for example [Alexander Kaidanovsky](/source/Alexander_Kaidanovsky)) strongly disliked it.<ref name="dvdnotes"/>

==Similar documentaries==
Several other documentaries about Andrei Tarkovsky have been produced. Most notable are ''[Voyage in Time](/source/Voyage_in_Time)'' by [Tonino Guerra](/source/Tonino_Guerra) and [Andrei Tarkovsky](/source/Andrei_Tarkovsky) himself, ''[One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich](/source/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Andrei_Arsenevich)'' by [Chris Marker](/source/Chris_Marker), ''The Recall'' by Tarkovsky's son Andrei Jr., and ''Regi Andrej Tarkovskij'' by Michal Leszczylowski, the editor of Tarkovsky's ''The Sacrifice''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=[ Nostalghia.com {{!}} The Documentaries ] |url=http://www.nostalghia.com/TheDocumentaries/Documentaries.html |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=www.nostalghia.com}}</ref> Tarkovsky has also been featured in numerous documentaries about the history of cinema or the craft and art of filmmaking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/~tstronds/nostalghia.com/TheDocumentaries/Documentaries.html|title=Significant Documentaries|last=Trondsen|first=Trond S.|author2=Jan Bielawski|publisher=Nostalghia.com – An Andrei Tarkovsky Information Site|accessdate=2008-09-01}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0093572}}

{{Alexander Sokurov}}
{{Andrei Tarkovsky}}

Category:1988 films
Category:1988 black-and-white films
Category:Works about Andrei Tarkovsky
Category:Documentary films about film directors and producers
Category:Films directed by Alexander Sokurov
Category:1988 Soviet films
Category:1988 Russian-language films
Category:Russian-language documentary films
Category:Soviet black-and-white films
Category:Soviet documentary films
Category:1988 documentary films

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moscow Elegy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Elegy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Elegy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.