Talk:The Color of Pomegranates

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The section of this article -- under Trivia, of all places -- which suggests some link between 2001 and Sayat Nova is so utterly fatuous and furthermore thin on evidence that I'm going to remove it. This whole article is obviously written by some rabid fan who sees in this film some mystical meaning, but that is no reason for the article to descend to what is not even personal research but emotionally motivated abracadabra. 70.81.139.35 (talk) 20:51, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

"This is film is non-narrative(the story is carried visually or even aurally)" -- what story, if it is non-narrative? --80.153.145.238 (talk) 10:52, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

It is incorrect to list the Armenian release name of the film as Սայաթ-Նովա / Sayat Nova. By the time the film was released in Armenia, the title had already been changed to Նռան գույնը / Nran guyne. You can see this on the print of the official Armenian release version available on DVD from Kino, which is often (mistakenly) referred to as the "director's cut." The film was never released under the title Sayat-Nova, because the authorities objected to how the film represented (or failed to represent) Sayat-Nova as a poet. Changing the title was one of the requirements for getting it approved for release. See my article: James Steffen, "From Sayat-Nova to The Color of Pomegranates: notes on the production and censorship of Parajanov’s film," Armenian Review (Parajanov special issue), Vol. 47, Nos. 3-4 and Vol. 48, Nos. 1-2 (2001-2002), pp. 105–147. (The volume and issue numbering is admittedly confusing, but it refers to a single issue.) Jsteffe (talk) 03:55, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

The film was not banned by the Soviets. Alexei Romanov, the chair of Goskino in Moscow, disliked the film but agreed to let Armenia release it within their republic in 1969. If the film had truly been "banned" or "shelved," Goskino would not have allowed Armenia to show it, nor would there have been published reviews of the film from that era! The so-called "director's cut," entitled "Nran guyne" (The Color of Pomegranates) is in fact the Armenian release version. The film was not shelved, and Russian critics were able to view the film upon request. Sergei Yutkevitch, who was one of the original readers of the script for Goskino in Moscow, liked the film and agreed, at the Armenfilm Studio's request, to recut it slightly to resolve the impasse between Armenia and Moscow. His version was approved for distribution in the USSR a couple years later. For more details, see the above-mentioned article that I wrote for The Armenian Review. I personally will not introduce any further changes to this article, because it would entail citing my own published work. I am of the opinion that this article is too impressionistic, poorly researched and should be scrapped altogether. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jsteffe (talk • contribs) 21:10, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Visual analysis of "The Color of Pomegranates"

Personally, I think this article (somewhat) failed to articulate the visual aspect of the film, as the entire narrative was driven by it. The author of this work really didn’t include much of what I was expecting, and I watched the film again to give my visual take on The Color of Pomegranates. The current article fails to articulate the visual dimension of The Color of Pomegranates, which is essential because Parajanov’s film is driven almost entirely by imagery rather than conventional narrative. The film’s static, painterly compositions echo Armenian illuminated manuscripts and religious iconography, with figures posed like icons rather than naturalistic characters. Color is central to its meaning: deep reds, especially through the recurring motif of the pomegranate, symbolize blood, sacrifice, and cultural identity, while whites suggest purity and blacks mark death and mourning. Everyday objects—books, textiles, wool, and ritual artifacts—are arranged with ceremonial precision, transforming domestic and religious life into mythic imagery. For example, the sequence of wool being washed and dyed in vivid red visually conveys themes of labor, sacrifice, and transformation; the image of a priest holding a lamb against a stark background evokes religious ritual and martyrdom; and the repeated close-ups of pomegranates being cut open, their seeds spilling like blood, directly tie visual symbolism to the film’s title. Human gestures are stylized and deliberate, replacing dialogue with symbolic movement, and the absence of camera motion reinforces the meditative, timeless quality of each tableau. Additionally, Parajanov’s use of symmetry and framing mirrors the structure of Armenian miniatures—each shot feels like a sacred painting frozen in time. The scene where manuscripts are laid out and water drips onto them visually expresses the fragility of cultural memory, while the tableau of women carrying clay jugs evokes both domestic ritual and timeless archetypes. In the dream sequences, surreal juxtapositions—such as a figure lying in a fetal position on a pentagram or a foot crushing grapes on an inscribed tablet—blur the boundary between sacred and subconscious imagery. Even the recurring motif of textiles drying on rooftops, dyed in the colors of the Armenian flag, transforms everyday labor into a national symbol. These examples demonstrate that The Color of Pomegranates communicates entirely through visual poetry, and any article that minimizes this dimension misrepresents the film’s essence, since its narrative is inseparable from its visual language. ~2026-30991-36 (talk) 06:44, 25 May 2026 (UTC)