Runtime ............ 73mins        Frame Rate ...... 23.976fps
Video Format ......... XviD        Audio Language ... Armenian
Video Resolution .. 640x480        Audio Format ...... AC3 2ch
Video Bitrate .... 2428kbps        Audio Bitrate ..... 256kbps
Source................. DVD        Subtitles ........ En/Ru/Jp

Comments about the movie versions.

This rip has been made from the Japanese DVD, which offers tremendous advantages over the American Kino Video release in terms of image quality. The caveat, however, is that the version of the movie presented here may be not quite as close to Paradjanov's personal vision.

It is well known that Paradjanov was creating his art under unfavorable political and social circumstances of the totalitarian communism in Soviet Union. His affiliations with ethnic traditions and the religious motives of his works were sharply at odds with the unitarism and aggressive atheism of the government. This conflict has caused the existence of several distinct variants of the movie.

The version presented in the Kino Video release (which boasts to be the "director's cut", even though it appears to be debatable) is the one that has been screened in Armenia and has not been approved for a country-wide distribution by the authorities. The movie has been re-edited in an attempt to make it more suitable to the Moscow's official tastes (even though I doubt it has been widely shown even after that), and it is this re-edited version that has made it to the Japanese DVD. The better preservation of the print is probably correlated with the degree of governmental approval.

Below, I have summarized some of the differences between the two versions. Whereas I believe that a true admirer of Paradjanov's artistic legacy should certainly watch the both existing versions of the movie, the Japanese release is probably better suited for the first viewing since the higher image quality is more likely to help the viewer to immerse him- of herself in the unique visual world of the film. It is nevertheless good to keep in mind some of the important differences between the two versions (I'll refer to them as the Soviet and the Armenian version, for obvious reasons):

1) The Soviet version is about 5 minutes shorter. I haven't noticed any pivotal scenes having been cut out. One section that I dearly miss, however, is the low-key interlude where an old woman holding two roosters relates a story of how she went to a bathhouse in Tiflis with her husband, and what a nice bath they had, and how they wanted to buy some grilled meat afterwards, and then they heard that a troubadour came to town, but when they checked it out, he turned out to be not a troubadour, but a cobbler...

2) The original Armenian intertitles with the poems by Sayat Nova have been replaced by (rather mediocre) Russian translations. Where possible, I have retained the English translations of the original poems from the Kino Video DVD in the subtitles. In some cases they do not agree well with the Russian texts appearing on the screen. Yet, I believe they are likely to be more faithful to Paradjanov's intentions. Please keep in mind that the final intertitles glorifying the immortality of a poet DO NOT appear in the Armenian version.

3) The voiceover reciting from the Book of Genesis that accompanies the opening thunderstorm scene in the Armenian version has been censored by the Soviet authorities. I've taken the liberty of restoring it by pasting a snippet (~1 minute) from the Kino Video release soundtrack over the soundtrack of the Japanese DVD. May it be seen as my little belated revenge over the Soviet authorities!

I wish you an inspired viewing :)  This movie is certainly one of a kind. Please keep an eye out for Sofiko Chiaureli. She plays more roles in this film than you would be able to guess at the first sight. Long live the memory of Sergo Paradjanov!