#andrey × gancharov

[ebenelephant]

wow, a lot of people seem to have a lot to say about goncharov rn and let me say - I find that so great

I grew up on this film, just like my parents grew up on it (dad was 4 when it came out, and I remember that we used to have a vhs of it tucked in next to the michael caine films) but I was always so sad when none of my friends knew what I was talking about when I refered to it. I even remember one time when I was about 10 or 11 watching it with my best friend (and ik that we were way out of the age range and I probably shouldn't have, so dont bitch abt it in my replies or anything) because I really wanted to share one of my all time favourite films with her, but she wasnt all that impressed! I dont think i spoke to her for days after that, I'm not even kidding.

Anyway all this to say that this new resurgence has inspired me to rewatch for the first time in a while, and let me just say that I am in mo way disappointed, and in fact i feel so lucky to be able to critically look at this film like I couldnt a few years ago.

So firstly, the cinematography? Stunning. The acting? Impeccable, raw, barely an imperfection. The direction? *chefs kiss* Scorsese and JWHJ 0715 getting the recognition for this film they deserve, especially JWHJ 0715. Like, technically speaking (and I'm no film expert, but I've been seeing a lot of pros agree lately) Goncharov is a great film

But the emotional beats omg I'm obsessed. The sort of bittersweet taste that Katya leaves you with? The way you kind of want to wrap Sonia in bubble wrap and protect her at all costs? The hopeless grief and relief mixed in with the end of the film and Goncharov's death at Andrey's hands? The way that Joe seems so, like, almost comical and out of place at first, only to devolve to a point where it's just so poignant and melancholy to even think about laughing at him? God!

and the fucking queer subtext! I am in awe. I am in shock.i am so weirdly proud of my fave directing duo for being brave enough to make a film like this in the early 70s? bc let's not kid ourselves, no way way any of that *gesturing broadly to apple scenes, three way brunch scene, bridge scene, dance scene, cigarette scene, goncharov death scene* was unintentional

also, Katya Joe and Andrey were definitly some sort of queer awakening for me

sorry I know I'm rambling a bit I just have a lot of feelings! might make a more academic analysis, but for now just gonna leave it at this

[honeyedheartss]

“why don’t you be quiet for a little while, eh? you’ve got the whole night”

Gancharov (1973)

[click for quality]

[batsbians]

Andrey might’ve betrayed Goncharov but you can literally see how much it hurt him. I don’t wanna hear anyone say Andrey wasn’t in love and didn’t regret hurting him

[nietzsches-tits]

“I fear you up close, and I love you away; your leaving spells me, your seeking compels me – I suffer, but suffer gladly for you any day!”

- Gancharov (1973)

[danwylds]

why do u think katya is a lesbian ... acting as if she and andrey and gancharov didnt share the best moments on screen god

did we even watch the same movie what the fuck

[wereoz]

me: why did andrey betray gancharov???

me: well actually throughout the entire film we knew he had to and there was always a theme of “time running out” so we could assume it was coming eventually, and if you’re thinking emotionally how he could do it, we know andrey was trapped and this was the only way he could succeed or it would upset the order of things, raise suspicions and ultimately get him killed, and realising gancharov wasn’t in it with him/reliable, he knew he had to kill him. and if gancharov was in his place, he’d do it too

me: … but WHY

[origamiblacksmith]

Goncharov: The Red Edit predates Schindler's List by 5 years and I'm tired of the claims that it's a derivative piece of stunt editing. The exclusive use of red explores Color Theory, and, if I may be so bold, Color Perception. By which I mean not only the emotions and esoteric concepts ascribed to colors, but also the myths,l egends, stories, and sayings that inform those emotions and concepts.

The Red Edit renders the world of Goncharov in black and white, linking it even closer to noir films of the early 20th century, with red being recolored where it was present before, with two notable exceptions.

This, to me, highlights the commonalities between the two sides, as the Italian and Russian flags both feature prominently. The viciously brutal and cathartically gory action scenes, (Often mistaken for a Hammer Horror pastiche, but is more likely a response to and exaggeration of the gore present in Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971)) take on a different, more melancholy tone, specifically when compared and contrasted to Katya's pining and romantic scenes.

So before we can discuss the ways in which the actions scenes are reframed, we must discuss the first notable exception to the use of red in the film. Katya's pining and romantic scenes are tinted rose-pink, a clear play on the phrase rose-colored glasses. They are not uniformly pink, merely the red that Gancharov or Andrey are wearing is instead pink, including the blood on their clothes when they first fight over her and Goncharov leaves Andrey for dead with a bullet in his chest.

(Sidebar, totally lost it the first time I saw this and Andrey came back, the explanation of his heart being on the right side of his chest, and the confessional scene with the priest where he admits Goncharov stole his heart anyways, *chef's kiss*)

Goncharov actually introduces pink to the film first, the blood of his enemies as he storms through the Russian safehouse for Katya is initially confusing, as we've seen blood as red previously in the film, but is contextualized by Katya's use of pink to mean that Goncharov loves something about this violence.

Through out both Goncharov and Katya's development, the pink darkens to red as they grow and shed their naivete and selfishness, coming to empathize with their enemies.

Lastly, the use of the color red is altered in one other specific context, and is often mistaken as homophobic. When Andrey and Goncharov finally kiss, the strand of saliva that lingers between their lips on the close up is red. While the creator (a gay Korean-Italian man whose gows by the name Amedeo Amadeus) has stated in interviews that it was meant to symbolize the Red String of Fate and the concept of Jung, not blood.

Given that the scene is, in it's original context, explicitly homosexual; deliberately shown and framed to not be an attempt a CPR, it is unrealistically tender, and passionate but not fetishistic, it's somewhat suprising that anyone would mistake this as a censorship edit.

However, the creator stated that this was actually meant to symbolize the acceptance of a marriage proposal, which was his interpretation of Goncharov's last line, spoken to Andrey but unheard by the audience.

Before I can recommend the Red Edit, however, I must recommend those at risk for seizures instead watch the Re:Red Edit, as the original Red Edit my cause episodes bc of the way it was made.

When Goncharov released in 1973, it was in color, and the Red Edit achieved its black and white capture by handcranking a film camera aimed at a theater screen displaying the color movie. despite the creator's best efforts, there is an unavoidable flickering at times, as the hand crank desyncs from the projection.

In conclusion, no matter how you watch it, the Red Edit is astonishing peice of critique, a display of technical skill, and an artwork in it's own right that deserves better than to be derided as a derivative of 'that one Schindler's List scene'.