SCREENING
Hard to Be a God
Ongoing
Location: Redstone Theater
Please note: This screening will take place in the Redstone Theater in DCP format. It will be presented as part of a triple-feature with two other Putin’s Russia films today—one ticket for all three films.
Dir. Aleksei German. 2013, 177 mins. DCP. In Russian with English subtitles. With Leonid Yarmolnik, Aleksandr Chutko, Yuriy Tsurilo, Evgeniy Gerchakov, Valentin Golubenko. A science-fiction film unlike any other, German’s final masterpiece saw the filmmaker take his leave of this world for the planet of Arkanar, a morass of mud, blood, and sundry other fluids mired in a perpetual medieval era, where Earth scientist Don Rumata observes as a possible renaissance is met with violent purges. Working from a novel by beloved fraternal writing duo Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (authors of the book that inspired Tarkovsky’s Stalker), the director lovingly labored over each and every detail, from battles to belches, crafting a singularly vivid hellscape. Though German’s dream project was initially conceived in the 1960s, Hard to Be a God nevertheless speaks vitally to its times, setting up an apocalyptic collision between intelligence and brute force to devastating effect.
Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for children under 3 and Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)
Ticket purchase includes same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here. For more information on membership and to join online, visit our membership page.