1336 Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

[domino harvey]

A towering achievement of world cinema, Sergei Parajanov’s modernist landmark fuses folkloric traditions, animistic mysticism, and hallucinatory visual invention. Adapted from a 1911 novella by Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors follows Ivanko (Ivan Mykolaichuk), a young Hutsul peasant who experiences both the depths of grief and glimmers of hope as he attempts to move beyond his first love, Marichka (an ethereal Larysa Kadochnykova). Steeped in the earthy atmosphere of the Carpathian Mountains, and featuring kinetic, radiantly colorful cinematography by Yuri Illienko and a collagelike experimental soundtrack, Parajanov’s film is a singularly mythopoeic work of art.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
New audio commentary featuring historian Joshua First
New introduction by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project founder Martin Scorsese
New interview with actor Larysa Kadochnykova
The Lilac Wind of Paradjanov (2025), a feature documentary by Ali Khamraev
Shadowsur (2026), an experimental short film by Martiros Vartanov about director Sergei Parajanov’s son
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic Carmen Gray

New cover by Jason Hardy

[denti alligator]

Very glad this is a UHD. An upgrade of Colour of Pomegranates would have been a nice pairing...

[ryannichols7]

a 4K, a scholarly commentary, and a feature length documentary. dream release is finally a reality!!

Very glad this is a UHD. An upgrade of Colour of Pomegranates would have been a nice pairing...

Second Sight should be doing that at least

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

[ryannichols7]

Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

I agree on this though. kinda really takes away from a film that has no shortage of images to make a great cover of

[criterionsnob]

It was probably meant for one of the WCP Blu-ray boxes, but they decided to give it a 4K bump.

[Finch]

Would it be included in the B&N November sale if the sale starts before the release date?

[denti alligator]

Would it be included in the B&N November sale if the sale starts before the release date?

I believe so, yes.

[Finch]

Thank you denti!

[DeprongMori]

Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

I kind of wish they had leaned stronger into the WCP branding for the stand-alones from the beginning. It would probably help sales of the box sets.

[What A Disgrace]

Yes, I think they're starting to do this branding now because it just seems like a good idea.

[DimitriL]

Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Unless they've decided to start simply releasing WCP titles individually instead of box sets, which theoretically might get titles out quicker.

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Unless they've decided to start simply releasing WCP titles individually instead of box sets, which theoretically might get titles out quicker.

Hopefully this is the case for Stranger and the Fog which is one of the best films I’ve seen in my life. Shame Otrar didn’t get the 4K treatment.

[DRW.mov]

Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Unless they've decided to start simply releasing WCP titles individually instead of box sets, which theoretically might get titles out quicker.

They've released plenty standalone WCF films/restorations on their own so far (A Brighter Summer Day, Black Girl, Cloud-Capped Star, etc) this is just the first time a release like that is branded on the cover

[AxeYou]

I saw this 4K restoration in a theater last year. What a revelation that was. I didn’t understand a lot of it of course, so I’ll be more than happy to give it a repeat viewing or two.

Also happy to report that the signature Ritrovata yellow tint that overpowered The Color of Pomegranates is very much toned down here. There were still slight traces of a house signature, but overall it did not affect my enjoyment.

The Lilac Wind of Paradjanov (2025), a feature documentary by Ali Khamraev

Didn’t expect this extra! I caught a Khamraev retrospective at Asia Society NY last year too, and it had some of the best hidden gems I’ve seen. Khamraev was present for Q&As at every screening and it was just a blast. The guy was full of energy, full of jokes and anecdotes. I would highly recommend seeking his work out. And now that Criterion has a connection to Khamraev, I hope they consider acquiring and restoring his works.

Below is the blurb I posted at the time to the member suggestion thread on Radiance’s Discord channel:

I caught a few of Uzbek/USSR director, Ali Khamraev’s rarely screened works at Asia Society in NY.

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/easter ... i-khamraev

Fascinating stuff. I Remember You (1985) is a standout for me. “A Proustian memory piece par excellence, Khramaev's autobiographical reverie follows the inner and outer journeys of a man named Kim as he cares for his ailing mother and honors her request to make a pilgrimage to his father's grave. Episodes of life in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand intermingle with tender visions of old age and surreal imagistic flourishes, blending past, present and fantasy with indistinguishable ease. From behind his lens, the director calls the action as he remembers it.”

Khamraev was present for some very spirited Q&As. He isn’t well-known outside of the Soviet Union, but he mentioned Antonioni heaping praises upon his films when visiting Uzbekistan (with him being the host), finding his “genius” cinematographer through Kira Muratova’s recommendation, and Tarkovsky encouraging him to shoot I Remember You.

The 35mm release prints screened were in decent condition and housed at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam these days. I tried to ask him about where the OCNs are and whether he planned to restore them. Unfortunately, the overworked translator missed that part of my question.

Would be great if Radiance could rescue these gems from obscurity. I imagine at least one of these, The Seventh Bullet (1971), would have a broad appeal and sell well given proper marketing, with it being an “Ostern” (a Western set in the East). Khamraev also mentioned that a few of his earlier works that didn’t screen this time also featured a lot of action.

(Btw, Asia Society filmed all of the Q&As, which are really some of the best I’ve attended because he was just so full of energy and loved to ramble on over his anecdotes working in the Soviet Union. I imagine these would make excellent and very entertaining extra features.)

[TechnicolorAcid]

I saw this 4K restoration in a theater last year. What a revelation that was. I didn’t understand a lot of it of course, so I’ll be more than happy to give it a repeat viewing or two.

Also happy to report that the signature Ritrovata yellow tint that overpowered The Color of Pomegranates is very much toned down here. There were still slight traces of a house signature, but overall it did not affect my enjoyment.

The Lilac Wind of Paradjanov (2025), a feature documentary by Ali Khamraev

Didn’t expect this extra! I caught a Khamraev retrospective at Asia Society NY last year too, and it had some of the best hidden gems I’ve seen. Khamraev was present for Q&As at every screening and it was just a blast. The guy was full of energy, full of jokes and anecdotes. I would highly recommend seeking his work out. And now that Criterion has a connection to Khamraev, I hope they consider acquiring and restoring his works.

Below is the blurb I posted at the time to the member suggestion thread on Radiance’s Discord channel:

I caught a few of Uzbek/USSR director, Ali Khamraev’s rarely screened works at Asia Society in NY.

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/easter ... i-khamraev

Fascinating stuff. I Remember You (1985) is a standout for me. “A Proustian memory piece par excellence, Khramaev's autobiographical reverie follows the inner and outer journeys of a man named Kim as he cares for his ailing mother and honors her request to make a pilgrimage to his father's grave. Episodes of life in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand intermingle with tender visions of old age and surreal imagistic flourishes, blending past, present and fantasy with indistinguishable ease. From behind his lens, the director calls the action as he remembers it.”

Khamraev was present for some very spirited Q&As. He isn’t well-known outside of the Soviet Union, but he mentioned Antonioni heaping praises upon his films when visiting Uzbekistan (with him being the host), finding his “genius” cinematographer through Kira Muratova’s recommendation, and Tarkovsky encouraging him to shoot I Remember You.

The 35mm release prints screened were in decent condition and housed at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam these days. I tried to ask him about where the OCNs are and whether he planned to restore them. Unfortunately, the overworked translator missed that part of my question.

Would be great if Radiance could rescue these gems from obscurity. I imagine at least one of these, The Seventh Bullet (1971), would have a broad appeal and sell well given proper marketing, with it being an “Ostern” (a Western set in the East). Khamraev also mentioned that a few of his earlier works that didn’t screen this time also featured a lot of action.

(Btw, Asia Society filmed all of the Q&As, which are really some of the best I’ve attended because he was just so full of energy and loved to ramble on over his anecdotes working in the Soviet Union. I imagine these would make excellent and very entertaining extra features.)

FYI, but if you didn’t already know this, Mondo Macabro is actually releasing Khamraev’s Bo Ba Bu on Blu-Ray and I know at least one label that has stated they’re interested in releasing The Seventh Bullet at some point

[AxeYou]

I had completely missed this news. Thank you, TechnicolorAcid!