Concise, but objectively portrayed biography of a great Russian film director. Based on literary and visual documents recently published in Russia and author's long-term research on Russian cinema and culture,this book presents little known facts and aspects of Tarkovsky's life and his creation. Reading this book you can follow, how social, cultural and political situations in the Soviet Union from the 1930s to 1980s had influenced on him, how his belief in Film Art had been formed and what kind of difficulties he had to face in making films and so on. Here is a life of not only a cinematographic genius, but also of a flesh and blood human, who didn't fear his Destiny. This is an English supplemented and Revised edition of the same title published in Japanese on April 4, 2011. The Japanese first edition was selected by Association of Libraries in Japan as one of the books appropriate for archive in public libraries. Table of Content PREFACE TO ENGLISH EDITION PREFACE TO ENGLISH REVISED EDITION INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING Preparatory Period for Creation Awaking to The Beauty of Music Confusion to The Future Film School and First Marriage CHAPTER II: TO THE FILM INDUSTRY "Thaw" And Awareness of The Mission Sudden Glory As One of "The 1960s" "Collaborators" The Itinerancy of "Andrei Rublev" CHAPTER III: ART AND LIFE The Passion of Andrei I The Passion of Andrei I I "The Era of Stagnation" And Prosperity of Film Industry "Solaris" and Peripeteia of Life Intersection of Refrection and Creation Awareness as an Intelligentsia and Isolation CHAPTER IV: DISILLUSIONMENT AND RELEASE "The Zone is Life" Russians in Italy Reason for Asylum Release by Faith AFTERWORD REFERENCES