The Ascent Blu-ray - Boris Plotnikov

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Voskhozhdenie" or "The Ascent")

Directed by Larisa Shepitko
Soviet Union 1977

The crowning triumph of a career cut tragically short, Larisa Shepitko’s final film won the Golden Bear at the 1977 Berlin Film Festival and went on to be hailed as one of the finest works of late Soviet cinema. In the darkest days of World War II, two partisans set out for supplies to sustain their beleaguered outfit, braving the blizzard-swept landscape of Nazi-occupied Belarus. When they fall into the hands of German forces and come face-to-face with death, each must choose between martyrdom and betrayal, in a spiritual ordeal that lifts the film’s earthy drama to the plane of religious allegory. With stark, visceral cinematography that pits blinding white snow against pitch-black despair, The Ascent finds poetry and transcendence in the harrowing trials of war.

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During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), two Soviet partisans go to a Belarusian village in search of food. After taking a farm animal from the collaborationist headman (Sergei Yakovlev), they head back to their unit, but are spotted by a German patrol. After a protracted gunfight in the snow in which one of the Germans is killed, the two men get away, but Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) is shot in the leg. Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) has to take him to the nearest shelter, the home of Demchikha (Lyudmila Polyakova), the mother of three young children. However, they are discovered and captured.

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Theatrical Release: September 15th, 1977 (Toronto Film Festival)

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Review: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Criterion Spine #1063 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:49:36.987
Video	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,674,823,702 bytes Feature: 27,934,427,136 bytes Video Bitrate: 30.11 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio Russian 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,674,823,702 bytes Feature: 27,934,427,136 bytes Video Bitrate: 30.11 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • New selected-scene commentary featuring film scholar Daniel Bird (33:08) • New video introduction by Anton Klimov, son of director Larisa Shepitko and filmmaker Elem Klimov (17:38) • New interview with actor Lyudmila Polyakova (22:18) The Homeland of Electricity, a 1967 short film by Shepitko (38:50) Larisa, a 1980 short film tribute to his late wife by Klimov (20:47) • Two documentaries from 2012 about Shepitko’s life, work, and relationship with Klimov (Islands - 39:56 / 39:04) • Program from 1999 featuring an interview with Shepitko (52:10) • PLUS: An essay by poet Fanny Howe Blu-ray Release Date: January 26th, 2021 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 13

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (December 2020): Criterion have transferred Larisa Shepitko's The Ascent to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration". The digital image and sound restoration was by Mosfilm Cinema Concern in 2018. Restored by Viktor Tamazin, Diana Kolomeytseva, Irina Agafonova, Igor Valiyev, Vladimir Solodovnikov, Aleksey Senkovsky, and Evgenia Verlochev. Restoration producer Karen Shakhnazaprov. It looks amazing in 1080P, a huge advancement from Criterion's own Eclipse - Series 11 - SD transfer from 2008 (see samples below.) The tightness of the HD presentation is highly evident in the film's many close-ups. Contrast is beautifully layered and the overall visuals are stunning.

NOTE: We have added 48 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Russian language. There is a musical score credited to Alfred Schnittke (some of his compositions were used in Scorsese's Shutter Island), sounding ominous and moody - very impacting in the uncompressed rendering. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers many new supplements. There was only a one-page of liner notes on their Eclipse - Series 11 boxset. On the Blu-ray is a new 1/2 hour selected-scene commentary featuring film scholar Daniel Bird created for the Criterion Collection in 2020, film scholar Bird compares several scenes from The Ascent with their counterparts in Vasil Bykov's 1970 novella Sotnikov, which inspired Larisa Shepitko's film, and examines the way the film makes use of Alfred Schnittke's score. There is a new 17-minute video introduction by journalist Anton Klimov, son of director Larisa Shepitko and filmmaker Elem Klimov recorded for the Criterion Collection in September 2020, Klimov talks about the singular vision of his mother, director Larisa Shepitko, for The Ascent, and the devotion to her work of his father, filmmaker Elem Klimov. We get a new 22-minute interview with actor Lyudmila Polyakova who discusses the production of The Ascent and director Larisa Shepitko's impact on her career. The Homeland of Electricity, is a 39-minute 1967 short film by Shepitko - an adaptation of a story by Andrei Platonov, this short film by Larisa Shepitko was created as part of a 1967 omnibus film entitled Beginning of an Unknown Era, commissioned to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution. Soviet authorities deemed the depiction of the early Bolsheviks in Shepitko's entry too critical, and it was shelved upon completion. With the help of Shepitko's widower, Elem Klimov, the film was finally screened in 1987. "Larisa" is a 20-minute, 1980, short film tribute to his late wife by Klimov made a year after the death of his wife in 1979. Using footage from her films, including the last image she ever recorded, as well as voice recordings and photos, Klimov's film is a loving tribute to his wife's life and work. There are two documentaries from 2012 about Shepitko’s life, work, and relationship with Klimov. "Islands" focuses on the career of Larisa Shepitko and it was broadcast on the Russian (the television channel 'Kultura' and features interviews with the director's sister Emilia Tutina and son, Anton Klimov.) "More Than Love" explores the relationship between filmmakers Larisa Shepitko and Elem Klimov was also broadcast on 'Kultura' and features interviews with Klimov's brother, the writer German Klimov, and screenwriter Natalya Ryazantseva. Both run 39-minutes each. There is a 1999 program featuring an interview with Shepitko entitled "A Talk With Larisa" running 52-minutes. This likewise broadcast on the Russian television channel 'Kultura', and features an introduction by filmmaker Elem Klimov and film critic Irina Rubanova prefacing an interview with director Larisa Shepitko that was recorded just after the 1978 Berlin International Film Festival. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by poet Fanny Howe.

Praise for Larisa Shepitko's The Ascent is always stratospheric - an emotionally draining film experience encompassing the beauty of Andrei Tarkovsky - frequently poetic and steeped in religious symbolism - a harrowing masterwork. Considered one of the greatest war films ever made The Ascent gets a stellar 4K-restoration on Blu-ray thanks to Criterion. The package is overflowing with supplements including valuable interviews and insights on Larisa Shepitko including Daniel Bird's selected-scene commentary. Our highest recommendation!