The Sacrifice
Sign in to save1986 film by Andrei Tarkovsky
Film · TMDB
7.7Alexander, a journalist, philosopher and retired actor, celebrates a birthday with friends and family when it is announced that nuclear war has begun.
Released: 1986-05-09149 minDir: Andrei TarkovskyDrama
Cast
- Erland Josephson as Alexander
- Susan Fleetwood as Adelaide
- Allan Edwall as Otto
- Guðrún Gísladóttir as Maria
- Sven Wollter as Victor
- Valérie Mairesse as Julia
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
Ratings · OMDb
IMDb
7.9/10
34,672 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
88%
Metacritic
85/100
- Rated
- PG
- Awards
- Won 1 BAFTA Award9 wins & 3 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Swedish
- Offret
- Directed by
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Written by
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Produced by
- Anna-Lena Wibom
- Starring
- Erland Josephson , Susan Fleetwood , Allan Edwall , Guðrún S. Gísladóttir, Sven Wollter , Valérie Mairesse , Filippa Franzen, Tommy Kjellqvist
- Cinematography
- Sven Nykvist
- Edited by
- Andrei Tarkovsky, Michal Leszczylowski
- Music by
- Johann Sebastian Bach , Watazumido-Shuso
- Distributed by
- Sandrew
- Release dates
- 9 May 1986 ( 1986-05-09 ) (Sweden) 14 May 1986 ( 1986-05-14 ) (France) 9 January 1987 ( 1987-01-09 ) (London)
- Running time
- 142 minutes
- Countries
- Sweden United Kingdom France
Key dates
- Published
- November 1986
via Wikidata · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Part of
- Vatican's list of films
- Genre
- drama film
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Original language
- French
- Main subject
- sacrifice
- Director
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Screenwriter
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Cast member
- Birgit Carlstén
Article
The Sacrifice (Swedish: Offret) is a 1986 drama film written and directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Starring Erland Josephson, the film was produced by the Swedish Film Institute. Many of the crew were alumni of Ingmar Bergman's films, including cinematographer Sven Nykvist. The Sacrifice centers on a middle-aged intellectual who attempts to bargain with God to stop an impending nuclear holocaust. The film combines pagan and Christian religious themes; Tarkovsky called it a "parable".
The Sacrifice was Tarkovsky's third film as a Soviet expatriate, after Nostalghia and the documentary Voyage in Time, and he died shortly after its completion. He was diagnosed with cancer after filming concluded, and by 1986, was unable to attend its presentation at the Cannes Film Festival due to his illness. Like 1972's Solaris by Tarkovsky, The Sacrifice also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes.