Sacrifice (1986) (Blu-ray)

The Sacrifice is Andrei Tarkovsky’s (Stalke) final masterpiece, a haunting vision of a world threatened with nuclear annihilation. As a wealthy Swedish family celebrates the birthday of their patriarch Alexander (Erland Josephson, Cries and Whispers), news of the outbreak of World War III reaches their remote Baltic island — and the happy mood turns to horror. The family descends into a state of psychological devastation, brilliantly evoked by Tarkovsky’s arresting palette of luminous greys washing over the bleak landscape around their home. (The film’s masterful cinematography is by Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergman’s longtime collaborator). For Alexander, a philosopher troubled about man’s lack of spirituality, the prospect of certain extinction compels the ultimate sacrifice, and he enters into a Faustian bargain with God to save his loved ones from the fear which grips them. The director’s last film, made as he was dying of cancer, The Sacrifice is a profoundly moving and redemptive tragedy. 2023 4K SDR Restoration carried out by the Swedish Film Institute from the original 35mm camera negative. Audio mix restored from magnetic tape. Audio Commentary by Layla Alexander-Garrett, Tarkovsky’s translator on the set of The Sacrifice | Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (1988, a documentary on the making of The Sacrifice) | Interview with Michał Leszczyłowski (editor of The Sacrifice and director of Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky) | Trailers