| The Color of Pomegranates | |
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DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Sergei Parajanov |
| Written by | Sergei Parajanov Sayat-Nova (poems) |
| Narrated by | Armen Dzhigarkhanyan |
| Starring | Sofiko Chiaureli Melkon Aleksanyan Vilen Galstyan Giorgi Gegechkori |
| Music by | Tigran Mansuryan |
| Cinematography | Suren Shakhbazyan |
| Editing by | Sergei Parajanov M. Ponomarenko Sergei Yutkevich |
| Studio | Armenfilm |
| Distributed by | Cosmos Film (France) Artkino Pictures (US) IFEX (US) |
| Release date(s) | 1968 |
| Running time | 78 mins. (Armenia) 73 mins. (USSR release) |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Armenian |
The Color of Pomegranates (Armenian: Սայաթ-Նովաg, Sayat-Nova) is a 1968 Armenian film directed by Sergei Parajanov.
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The Color of Pomegranates is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat-Nova (King of Song) that attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally. The film depicts the poet's coming of age, discovery of the female form, falling in love, entering a monastery and dying, all framed through both Sergei Parajanov's imagination and Sayat Nova's poems. Actress Sofiko Chiaureli notably plays six roles in the film, both male and female.[1]
The director had claimed his inspiration was "the Armenian illuminated miniatures. I wanted to create that inner dynamic that comes from inside the picture, the forms and the dramaturgy of colour."[2] Parajanov once made a speech in Minsk in which he asserted that the Armenian public very likely did not understand The Color of Pomegranates, but then said that people "are going to this picture as to a holiday"[3].
Filmed near St.Jonn church at Ardvi village, Lori Province, Armenia.
Filmmaker Mikhail Vartanov has said, "besides the film language suggested by Griffith and Eisenstein, the world cinema has not discovered anything revolutionarily new until the 'Color of Pomegranates,' not counting the generally unaccepted language of the 'Andalusian Dog' by Buñuel" [4]. According to Michelangelo Antonioni, "Parajanov’s Color of Pomegranates is of a stunningly perfect beauty. Parajanov, in my opinion, is one of best film directors in the world."[5]
The Color of Pomegranates was referenced in the films Peter Greenaway in Indianapolis (1997) and Erased Faces II (2006).
The Color of Pomegranates was made reference to in Madonna's Bedtime Story music video (1994). Her later work with Steven Klein in 2003 would also make reference to this film.
Clips from the movie are used in a music video for the song "God Is God" by the musical group Juno Reactor and later also by the Iranian band Kiosk.[6]
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