The Sacrifice
British Film Poster.
Directed by	Andrei Tarkovsky
Produced by	Anna-Lena Wibom
Written by	Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring	Erland Josephson Susan Fleetwood Valerie Mairesse Allan Edwall Gudrun Gisladottir Sven Wollter Filippa Franzen Tommy Kjellqvist
Music by	Johann Sebastian Bach Watazumido Shuso
Cinematography	Sven Nykvist
Editing by	Michal Leszczylowski Andrei Tarkovsky
Distributed by	Sandrew (Swedish theatrical)
Release date(s)	May 9, 1986 November, 1986
Running time	149 min
Country	Sweden / UK / France
Language	Swedish / English / French
IMDb profile

This article is about the 1986 Swedish film. For the 2005 U.S. independent film, see The Sacrifice (2005 film)

The Sacrifice (Swedish: Offret, 1986) is the final film by Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky, who died shortly after completing it. “Tarkovsky” redirects here. ... Erland Josephson (born June 15, 1923 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish actor. ... Susan Fleetwood (born September 21, 1944 in St. ... Allan Edwall (25 August 1924, Rödön, Sweden--7 February 1997, Stockholm, Sweden) was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergmans films such as Fanny and Alexander (1982). ... Sven Wollter (born January 11, 1934) is a Swedish actor. ... “Bach” redirects here. ... Rinbo Yondai by Watazumi Watazumi Doso (海童道祖) Roshi (1910 - December 14, 1992) was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. ... Sven Nykvist (born 3 December 1922 in Moheda, Kronobergs län, Sweden) is a Swedish cinematographer known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman. ... Sandrew Metronome is a Swedish-Danish film distributor and movie theatre chain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Sacrifice is an independent film by James Fessenden that was first shown at Gaylaxicon in 2005. ... // April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Gos Belinda Carlisle Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... “Tarkovsky” redirects here. ...

Synopsis

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Alexander, an aging atheist actor/psychologist/writer (Erland Josephson) with a younger actress wife, a teenage daughter, and a young son (who is referred to as "Little Man" and is mute until the last shots) experiences the opening throes of the end of the world by a nuclear holocaust. In despair the protagonist vows to God to sacrifice all he loves (what this would mean in reality is not made plain in his prayer, and provides the final surprise of the film) if only this terrible act of fate may be undone, and to this end he sleeps with a local woman whom he believes to be a witch. When he wakes up the next morning everything seems "normal", but whether Alexander dreamt the whole episode is never made explicit. Nevertheless, Alexander sets forth to give up all he loves and possesses, burning his house and being driven off to an institution. One interpretation of the plot is that Alexander chooses to be insane, so that the earlier scenes of war could be his delusions instead of reality. He thus gives up his own sanity in order to spare the world from nuclear destruction. Poignantly, the first words the little boy in the film utters, in the final shot, are: "In the beginning was the word...why is that, papa?" For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... A psychologist is an expert in psychology, the systematic investigation of the human body, including behavior, cognition, and affect. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Erland Josephson (born June 15, 1923 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish actor. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... For other uses, see Wife (disambiguation). ... An expecting couple with their daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. ... For other uses, see Son (disambiguation). ... Nuclear Holocaust is the concept of the eradication of the human race through the means of Nuclear warfare. ... A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... This article is about the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For other uses, see Reality (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Destiny (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Witchcraft. ... House at Cúcuta, Colombia A house is a building typically lived in by one or more people. ... Sanity considered as a legal term denotes that an individual is of sound mind and therefore can bear legal responsibility for his or her actions. ... For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ...

Style

The camera work is slow and contains all the hallmarks of Tarkovsky and Nykvist. The film's soundtrack includes three distinct pieces: the passionate aria Erbarme dich from Johann Sebastian Bach's Mattheus Passion, soothing Japanese flute music, and eerie traditional chants from the Swedish forests (in the old days farm girls used to call home the livestock from their forest pastures in this way). The film also contains several long closeups of Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi. “Bach” redirects here. ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... The Adoration of the Magi (2007) is an early painting by Leonardo da Vinci. ...

The film uses long takes more than Tarkovsky's previous films. The opening, post-credits shot (a tracking shot of Alexander, Little Man, and Otto talking and walking) lasts nine minutes and twenty-six seconds, and is the longest take in all of Tarkovsky's work. Shots lasting between six and eight minutes are commonplace in the film, and there are only 115 shots in the entire film. A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. ...

Most of the film takes place inside or around a house that was specially built for the production. The climactic scene at the end of the film is a long tracking shot in which Alexander burns his house and his possessions. It was done in a single, six minute, fifty second take, often misstated as Tarkovsky's longest shot. The shot was very difficult to achieve. Initially, there was only one camera used, despite Sven Nykvist's protest. While shooting the burning house, the camera jammed, ruining the footage. (This disaster is documented in documentary entitled Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and the documentary Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch.) The scene had to be reshot, requiring a quick and very costly reconstruction of the house in two weeks. This time two cameras were set up on tracks, running parallel to each other. The footage in the final version of the film is the second take, which lasts for several minutes and ends abruptly because the camera had run through an entire reel in capturing the single shot. The cast and crew broke down in tears after the take was completed. In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is the same as a dolly shot or a trucking shot--the camera is mounted on a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken. ...

Relationship with Bergman

The film reflects Tarkovsky's respect for the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. It is set in Sweden on the island of Gotland, where many of Bergman's films had been shot, and features Bergman's favourite cameraman Sven Nykvist as well as one of Bergman's most well known actors, Erland Josephson, and the scenographer Anna Asp, who had been responsible for the sumptuous interior décor of Fanny and Alexander).   (IPA: in Swedish; usually IPA: in English) (July 14, 1918 – July 30, 2007) was a Swedish film, stage, and opera director. ...   is a county, province and municipality of Sweden and the second largest island in the Baltic Sea after Zealand. ... Sven Nykvist (born 3 December 1922 in Moheda, Kronobergs län, Sweden) is a Swedish cinematographer known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman. ... Erland Josephson (born June 15, 1923 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish actor. ... Fanny and Alexander (Swedish: Fanny och Alexander) is a 1982, Academy Award-winning Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. ...

Reception

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1986. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ...

External links

• The Sacrifice at the Internet Movie Database
• The Sacrifice at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list
• DVDBeaver comparison of 5 different DVD editions of the film
• About Offret at nosthalgia.com

This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.