The Sacrifice

Name: The Sacrifice
Genre: Drama
Released: November 5, 1986
Duration: 149 min
Rating: 85

1986

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 21 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

No score yet

tbd

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

tbd	Your Score
tbd	User Score No score yet

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

The Sacrifice (US 4K Trailer)

Now Playing: The Sacrifice (US 4K Trailer)

Movie Details & Credits

Orion Classics | Release Date: November 5, 1986 | PG

Summary: As a wealthy Swedish family celebrates the birthday of their patriarch Alexander (Erland Josephson), 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 luminousAs a wealthy Swedish family celebrates the birthday of their patriarch Alexander (Erland Josephson), 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. 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.… Expand

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: PG

Runtime: 149 min

See All Details and Credits

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Jonathan Trout

It is a difficult film - slow-paced, unashamedly theatrical and heavily laden with philosophy – yet a profoundly satifying one: a rewarding display of filmmaking mastery that forms a mystical and enigmatic coda to a legendary career. Read full review

100

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

THE SACRIFICE is about a number of things, none obvious and none remaining wholly consistent from one viewing to the next; it is a poetic vision, filled with the symbolism peculiar to Tarkovsky's imagination. It is also a visually stunning, hauntingly beautiful, brilliant piece of art. Read full review

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

It is brilliant and audacious, with one of the most extraordinary final sequences in modern cinema, and all in a manner which Hollywood in the succeeding decade would learn to call "high concept". Read full review

Empire Nick Dawson

As involving and intellectually rich as all Tarkovsky's work. Read full review

Walter Goodman

It may not be your glass of tea; it's a tall glass, through which events are seen murkily. Those who stay with it, however, may find rewards in burst after burst of beauty and even a glimmer of meaning. Read full review

Desson Thomson

Tarkovsky pulls you into a dark, foreboding nightmare and Nykvist gives that nightmare an explosive awakening. Read full review

Hal Hinson

For all its stunning, poetic imagery, it's almost impossible to sit through. Read full review

SEE ALL 21 REVIEWS

User Score

Write a Review

tbd

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

No reviews yet.