As a Ukrainian, thank you so much for mentioning that it was because Parajanov showcased the beauty of Ukraine’s culture and inspired us to feel proud of who we were, that he went to the gulag. It was a very dark time for all of us. He inspires us to this day!
The Color of Pomegranates is an astonishing work. Made a lasting impression on me and it's great to see so many people here moved by the work of this great artist.
Went there in December 2014 as part of my Paradjanov pilgrimage! Everything there was so breathtakingly sublime I started shedding tears, freaking out some of the local visitors😅
I've been haunted by his works in the past 30 years, and even went to Armenia to visit some of the sites that appeared in his films more than a decade ago. His films are definitely what you treasure for the rest of your life!
So many video essayists focus on trash Hollywood movies for easy views, it is refreshing to see one introducing us to a lesser known, yet magnificent film! I hope you do more work like this!
Or his homeland is Tbilisi, Georgia? :-) As time passes, his popularity is growing, so i won't be surprised, if even Russians begin to call him Great Russian Director.
@@xelktube Of course he was Armenian. Also, nobody can deny, that his cultural surrounding was Tbilisi. Anyway, we can all agree, that he was a great man.
We watched "Shadows of our forgotten ancestors" («Тіні забутих предків») in a literature class in high school. I remember how we were trying to analyse some images and details of this fantastic movie. It is full of traditions and rituals of the Hutsul region (western Ukraine). Our teacher was very excited and fascinated by this masterpiece. The novel "Shadows of forgotten ancestors" by Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky is amazing btw.
Growing up, I always admired his works since my grandpa was so fond of him. When I had the privilege of visiting him home/museum in Armenia, I was blown away. When visiting you get to see all the original props which art works of art on their own. It was a great experience.
As an Armenian diasporan I have seen the works of Parajanov in my youth pre internet days. It’s wonderful that Gaga has reminded me of him & now I can appreciate his artistry again in English by your analysis & commentary on Parajanov. Thanks for the upload:)
When Shadows of our Forgotten ancestors came to san francisco in 1965, the entire Bay Area Balkan dance community went multiple times to see it. The visuals & the wonderful music just hooked us all. I saw it 9 times, got a passport and went to the countries I could get into. Those were Yugoslavia and Romania, not Ukraine or Russia. I really appreciate Jeffrey's commentary as it tells me how and why this amazing genius made these wonderful films. I haven't seen any of the others, but now I know the titles so I will look for them. Thank you.
Thanks for this beautiful and informative essay, Jeffrey Stillwell. It's Parajanov's birthday today, 95 years since his birth and the world is still unaware of the wonderful cinema he had created. Greetings from Armenia, come and visit his museum to really dive into his world :)
Jeffrey Stillwell , dear! I'm so grateful to you for making a very good video about one of the legends Sergei Parajanov (Sargis Paradjanyan)Though this Armenian genius was born in Georgia, he and his great films are much beloved In Armenia.Jeffrey, you are quite right he was a unique genius and I'm proud he was Armsnian!
That's a wonderful video, Jeffrey! I am a filmmaker myself and just like u, I came across Parajanov in my early college days. It was Shadows...simply blew me away! Those were the pre-internet days and so one had to really dig deep to get more abt his films. Anyway, thanks for this brilliant piece. It will surely make newer folk want to find out about Parajanov!
Parajanov's Sayat Nova is probably cinema's most mystic film. I can't say best film ever but is in the group... Tarkovsky and Parajanov influence was mutual.
14:05 it’s a must place to visit in Armenia. The day I visited it, Krzysztof Penderecki was having an official visit. It was a beautiful experience since I could hear the stories about the art pieces Sergei was creating in the GULAG with the few elements he could find.
Glad I found this. You made a wonderful tribute to this artist. Outstanding! BTW, my wife's father (Felix Sobolov) was an acquaintance of his and a fellow film maker back in the days of the USSR.
I had only seen The Color of Pomegranates when I went to visit the Parajanov Museum in Yerevan, Armenia a few weeks ago. The museum was a building of three stories filled with his hand made art work, ranging from multimedia fixtures made of broken glass and beads, to politically themed hand-drawn art and various props from his films. You would not believe how many unique pieces this man created. It was without a doubt my favorite art museum, and I felt like it offered real insight into his brilliant mind. Looking forward to watching more of his films after this video. Thank you for this!
Now, I understand the style of Lady Gaga's 911 video--- ésotérique separate-looking scenes(but cohesive), strong implication, rich details . Very unique. Love it! And make ppl want to know more about Armenian Culture.
I started going to my local library and just picking films in obscure languages. They actually have a "Georgian" section and exactly one film on the shelf - "The Legand of Suram Fortress". I went into it completely blind, and it was very much an intense experience. I too am pretty mad that people don't know this guy, because it's just amazing and weird and wonderful art.
Just discovered your excellent programs via the one on Alejandro Jodorowsky and now this grand honoring of one of the most Magical Film Artists of all time, Sergei Parajanov! Thanks for these programs. If ever in Yerevan, the Museum that is dedicated to the extraordinary body of his genius of creative work is like a "Temple".
This is amazing that people are appreciating his work, but it’s important to mention that he’s Armenian 🇦🇲🇦🇲 and his works all have the Armenian spirit in them 🤍
One can see a movie as a visual story, a type of literature. Almost all movies are made to be seen this way. Or one can see it as a moving picture, a type of painting. Parajanov was the first and almost the only director to approach it this way. The only other director I know who did moving pictures is Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. His film "Gabbeh" is a masterpiece. It is curious that Parajanov and Makhmalbaf come from places that are not far from each other, and with a lot of common culture. Perhaps this is not a coincidence.
Thank you for this amazing video, I may use it in the future in my vlog, I already talked about the film in my blog and vlog and now im reaching the genius director ✨🙏
Great artists had to suffer so much until getting creative control. No surprise that Tarkovsky changed his life. Shadows and Pomegranates changed mine. He makes me break down into sobbing.
I tried to watch The color of Pommegranits, but I couldn't follow it. From this beautiful tribute to Parajanov, I learned what that film is about. It makes a big difference & I will give it another try. Shadows of Forgotten ancestors is another telling of Romeo & Julliette which makes the story clearer. I was wishing I could have seen his museum in Yerevan, but it was at that time behind the iron curtain & I couldn't get a visa. Thank you very much for this wonderful tribute to Parajanov.
Thank you for this documentary. Just before seeing it had watched 'the legend of suram fortress', and this gave me a much better understanding of its context.
We Are Aware He is Armenian but he was born in Georgia and Georgian culture had a major impact on his work. We are not trying to claim he is Georgian, but it would be wrong not to recognize the influences. He uses a lot of Georgian songs, imagery and dances in his work.
Your comment comes across as very snarky, i don't think it's outrageous to say he is Georgian-Armenian as he was born and raised in Tblisi. "just goes to show how amazing Armenians are". You're not as special as you think you are.
@@LazikLionArmenians built Tbilisi. Armenian Bagratuni family ran Georgia for some time. Armenian guy wrote the Georgian alphabet. You’ll deny it because of national pride, the issue is with you not me. Facts remain facts.
@@princevonny You've gone completely off on another tangent, no one brought anything of that stuff up. He is Armenian, born and rasied in Georgia, that makes him Georgian-Armenian, just as if an Armenian is born and raised in the USA, he is, American-Armenian, or Armenian-American. Not that hard to understand.
dedicated to Great Maestro..Sergey Parajanov -to understand you so complicated and so simple.. although you yourself did not make it clear. in many years lurking secret of monster which you yourself wanted to know in your soul languishing different forces, good and evil beautiful ugliness where there are no barriers consciousness of madness contradictions in a single feeling you are a puppeteer ,magician ,sorcerer beautiful riddle for you toy trophy and the secret of the maze of your life attracts to anyone like a magnet of passions poem by miya oberman ( 2005)
I first heard of him on Dr. James Billingsley's PBS doc, The Face of Russia (have the book too) back in 1998. I have all of maestro's American released films on DVD. His films are artworks on celluloid.
The translation from Russian to English in the last minute of this video is incorrect. The right translation of Parajanov's quote is: "Directing is a right...a right that transforms into pictures (or imagess) of sorrow, hope, love, beauty." and the second part he sais. "I often ask... What do you think, is this the truth or something that I simply made up? and everyone sais its something you made up. Then I tell them. No, this is the truth that I thought of." P.S. The poor translation doesn't do Parajanov or his fans justice. This is the correct translation and reveals the depth of this great poet and director.
Hey Jeffrey, this is a great video. Thanks for the elaborate representation of the genius Parajanov was. Could you please credit the names of the interviewees who were telling about Parajanov starting from 8:22? Thanks!
Thank you for posting this - Color of Pomegranates is one of his best movies 🎥 See: make sure you browse the Bibliography and External Links toward the end: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Parajanov
I'd love to see jeffrey's views on Tengiz Abuladze though. His point off view as a director is so special in cinematography, i really wish he wasn't so underrated.
While we appreciate this video, you should mention that he was Armenian. We are a diaspora, and many times, others will try to claim us as different nationalities. Like, if you read your comments, many want to claim him as Georgian or Russian because they want to erase Armenian culture and our diaspora. It's important to mention the heritage that someone comes from because his Armenian-ness had A LOT to do with his talent, like every country that produces great Armenian artists and thinkers.
Назвати його росiйським - найбiльша тупiсть та нахабство. У мене в Українi його називають:вiрменин, українсько-вiрменський режисер та дисидент. Народився в Сакартвелло на чию культуру теж мав зразковий вплив.
We're looking for an interview or any photo and video information with Parajanov on New York Film Festival in the 1988. He participated with his film "Ashik Kerib". Could anyone help us with it? We are filming a documentary for the 100th anniversary of Sergei Parajanov in Yerevan. We will be very grateful to you and will share with you the video archive from our side.
Relax brother, he was born and raised in Georgia, but he was from Armenian family, I think we should share love of Pharajanov equally tsavatanem, what do you think?
definitely wouldn't say so. he was born and raised in tbilisi, and tbilisi itself is very much influenced from other cultures (not only armenian, even tho its definitely there) so his work is truly tbilisian , neither georgian or armenian
@Mariyeen Acheege absolutely not. go to tbilisi and then say that sergo parajanov was not inspired by it lmao. hes literally embracing the spirit of it. and as i said Armenia has a big influence on tbilisi, but not only armenia. many other eastern countries too.
Great Video ! But what a coincidence or maybe not...in the track " Sweet Lullaby" by Deep Forest that Tarsem Singh has directed... the music is a remix of old African tunes...and Tarsem is remixing Parajanov's film shots...
