The Color of Pomegranates,[a] originally known as Sayat-Nova, is a 1969 Soviet Armenian art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov.
[4][5][6][7] 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.
[9] According to Frank Williams, Parajanov's film celebrates the survival of Armenian culture in face of oppression and persecution: "There are specific images that are highly charged—blood-red juice spilling from a cut pomegranate into a cloth and forming a stain in the shape of the boundaries of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia; dyers lifting hanks of wool out of vats in the colours of the national flag, and so on".
[10] Parajanov said his inspiration was "the Armenian illuminated miniature," and that he "wanted to create that inner dynamic that comes from inside the picture, the forms and the dramaturgy of colour.
Rather than adhering to a traditional narrative structure, he opts for a series of visually captivating and carefully composed tableaux vivants to capture the essence of the poet Sayat-Nova's life and creations.
Feldman notes that the cinematic tableau vivant, marked by Parajanov's personal incarceration, draws upon the convergence of painting, sculpture, and theatrical arts.
Feldman further argues that the director's fascination with flatness, texture, and surface, as well as his exploration of the animation of everyday inanimate objects as artistic subjects, is rooted in his time in prison.
[15] Each scene in the film is meticulously crafted to mirror a living painting or photograph, with actors strategically posed in visually arresting ways.
[16] Soviet censors and Communist Party officials objected to Parajanov's stylized, poetic treatment of Sayat-Nova's life, and complained that it failed to educate the public about the poet.
"[23] Film critic Gilbert Adair argued that "although in both style and content it gives us the impression, somehow, of predating the invention of the cinema, no historian of the medium who ignores The Color of Pomegranates can ever be taken seriously.
[26][27] The US premiere took place on 20 September 2014 at The Academy at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and was introduced by Martiros Vartanov.
The restoration was completed by Scorsese's Film Foundation in conjunction with Cineteca di Bologna, and was described by critic and Toronto festival programmer James Quandt as "a cinematic Holy Grail".
[32] Madonna's 1995 music video Bedtime Story restages some content from the movie (such as the scene of a young child lying in a fetal position on a pentagram on the floor while an adult covers it with a blanket, and another where a naked foot crushes a bunch of grapes lying on an inscribed tablet), among other artistic inspiration depicting dreams and surrealist artwork in the video.