Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece is considered by many critics to be the most important Russian film of the last 20 years. Written by Andrei Mikhalkov-Kontchalovsky (The First Teacher, A Nest of Gentlefolk, etc.), Andrei Rublev is that very rare hybrid: a vast and brilliant spectacle that is also totally personal, expressing the feelings of an artist in conflict with his society. Based on the life of fifteenth-century Russian monk and icon painter Andrei Rublev, the film follows his experiences in a Russia ravaged by Tartar invaders, vividly recreated in all its violence.
The film was banned for years, and then released in a version cut by 40 minutes. It has now been restored to its original, full length by Columbia Pictures and Corinth Films.