During the course of a man or woman’s life there are certain films which will forever be burnt into our consciousness, films which are not necessarily the greatest works of art or fiction, which are not necessarily the most entertaining or spectacular examples of spectacle; but films which boast a quality which evades conventional description, a quality which transcends the critical, eludes the analytical; a quality which affects us deeply and how we view every film from here onwards.

For the 100th episode of Left Field Cinema, a special extended examination of Andrei Tarkovsky's greatest masterwork, the 1975 feature film, Mirror. A miracle of a film by the fact of its very existence, a film which may well change the way you perceive the physical boundaries of cinema, a paradoxically personal yet universal film that will haunt you for years to come. Mirror is here examined in relation to my own memories of the film and my memories of cinema in general.

1972, and the first of two cinematic adaptations of the novel Solaris by Polish author Stanislaw Lem was first released. This was Tarkovsky’s third film, it is the most widely known of all his works and in fact is the one most cinephiles watch first out of his seven features.

The first adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel, produced in 1972, it was Tarkovsky's third feature film and his first attempt at directing an anti-science fiction film.

Continuing the exploration of the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, this episode examines his second feature film as director, the frustrating but impressive historical epic about Russia's greatest iconographer.

Continuing Left Field Cinema’s exploration of the work of Russia’s greatest film maker: we start with a quote from the director’s film making book Sculpting in Time:

For those unfamiliar with the works of Andrei Tarkovsky it might be a pleasant surprise to learn that his feature film debut is actually an excellent starting point as it is easily one of his most accessible films, and one which keeps its feet grounded in reality to a greater extent than his later works.

The first in a series of episodes which will examine all seven Tarkovsky feature films, beginning here with his debut - the Russian war film Ivan's Childhood.