The Color of Pomegranates
A breathtaking fusion of poetry, ethnography, and cinema, Sergei Parajanov’s masterwork overflows with unforgettable images and sounds. In a series of tableaux that blend the tactile with the abstract, The Color of Pomegranates revives the splendors of Armenian culture through the story of the eighteenth-century troubadour Sayat-Nova, charting his intellectual, artistic, and spiritual growth through iconographic compositions rather than traditional narrative. The film’s tapestry of folklore and metaphor departed from the realism that dominated the Soviet cinema of its era, leading authorities to block its distribution, with rare underground screenings presenting it in a restructured form. This edition features the cut closest to Parajanov’s original vision, in a restoration that brings new life to one of cinema’s most enigmatic meditations on art and beauty.
The Color of Pomegranates was restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Cineteca di Bologna, in association with the National Cinema Centre of Armenia and Gosfilmofond of Russia, and funded by the Material World Charitable Foundation.
Special Features
- New 4K digital restoration, undertaken by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary featuring critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns
- The Color of Armenian Land, a rarely seen 1969 documentary by Mikhail Vartanov featuring footage of director Sergei Parajanov at work
- New video essay on the film’s symbols and references, featuring scholar James Steffen
- New interview with Steffen on the production of the film
- Documentaries from 1977 and 2003 on Armenian poet Sayat-Nova and Parajanov
- The Last Film, a 2015 experimental short documentary by Martiros M. Vartanov
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film scholar Ian Christie
New cover by Anthony Gerace
Special Features
- New 4K digital restoration, undertaken by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary featuring critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns
- The Color of Armenian Land, a rarely seen 1969 documentary by Mikhail Vartanov featuring footage of director Sergei Parajanov at work
- New video essay on the film’s symbols and references, featuring scholar James Steffen
- New interview with Steffen on the production of the film
- Documentaries from 1977 and 2003 on Armenian poet Sayat-Nova and Parajanov
- The Last Film, a 2015 experimental short documentary by Martiros M. Vartanov
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film scholar Ian Christie
New cover by Anthony Gerace
Cast
- Sofiko Chiaureli
- The poet as a young man, the poet’s love, the nun in white lace, the angel of ascension, the mimes
- Melkon Alekian
- The poet as a child
- Vilen Galustian
- The poet as a monk
- Georgi Gegechkori
- The poet as an old man
- Hovhannes Minasian
- The prince
- Spartak Baghashvili
- The poet’s father
- Medea Japaridze
- The poet’s mother
Credits
- Director
- Sergei Parajanov
- Director of photography
- Suren Shahbazyan
- Production design
- Stepan Andranikyan
- Set decoration
- Mikael Arakelyan
- Music
- Tigran Mansurian
- Film editing
- Marfa Ponomarenko
- First assistant director
- Arshavir Samvelyan
- Second assistant director
- Romen Zhamharyan
- Sound operator
- Yuri Sayadyan
- Camera operator
- Martun Shahbazyan
- Costume design
- Elena Akhvlediani
- Costume design
- Iosif Karalyan
- Costume design
- Jasmine Sarabyan
- Makeup
- Poghos Aschyan
- Makeup
- Vladimir Asatryan
- Visual effects
- L. Karamyan
- Visual effects
- Hovhannes Hovhannisyan
- Choreographer
- Sergei Parajanov
- Architectural consultant
- Victor Jorbenadze
- Jewelry designer
- A. Asaturov
- Production manager
- Alexander Melik-Sargsyan
A scene from The Color of Pomegranates
