Released in 2002 Russian Ark drew astonished praise for its technique shot with a Steadicam in one ninetysixminute take it presented a dazzling whirl of movement as it followed the Marquis de Custine as he wandered through the vast Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and through three hundred years of Russian history. This companion to Russian Ark addresses all key aspects of the film beginning with a comprehensive synopsis an indepth analysis and an account of the production history. Birgit Beumers goes on from there to discuss the work that went into the nowlegendary Steadicam shot which required two thousand actors and three orchestras and she also offers an account of the films critical and public reception showing how it helped to establish director Aleksandr Sokurov as perhaps the leading filmmaker in Russia today. A list of all books in the series is here on the series page KinoSputnik