Ivan's Childhood [The Criterion Collection] - Blu-ray

Andrei Tarkovsky directs this Soviet drama based on the short story 'Ivan' by Vladimir Bogomolov. During the Second World War, 12-year-old Ivan (Nikolai Burlyaev) is orphaned after his family are killed by the Nazis. He later joins a partisan group who use his diminutive stature and agility to gather intelligence. Worried about his safety, his commanders take Ivan away from the front line but the boy, hell-bent on getting revenge for his parents' murder, insists on being given more dangerous assignments, with tragic consequences.

Synopsis

THE VISUALLY STUNNING FIRST MASTERPIECE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SOLARIS

The debut feature by the great ANDREI TARKOVSKY (Andrei Rublev), Ivan's Childhood is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy's war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky's film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children.

Special Edition Features

• High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Appreciation of filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and Ivan's Childhood featuring Vida T. Johnson, co-author of The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue
• Interviews with cinematographer Vadim Yusov and actor Nikolai Burlyaev
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Dina Iordanova; "Between Two Films," Tarkovsky's essay on Ivan's Childhood; and "Ivan's Willow," a poem by the director's father, Arseny Tarkovsky