Soviet motion-picture director whose films won acclaim in the West though they were censored by Soviet authorities at home.

The son of a prominent Russian poet, Tarkovsky studied filmmaking at the All-Union State Cinematography Institute and graduated in 1960. His diploma work, Katok i skripka (1960; The Steamroller and the Violin), won a prize at the New York Film Festival, and his first full-length feature film, Ivanovo detstvo (1962; Ivan's Childhood), about the experiences of an orphaned boy on the Russian Front during World War II, established his international reputation. His next film, Andrey Rublyov (1965), the story of a medieval Russian icon painter, was acclaimed as a masterpiece for its vivid evocation of the Middle Ages. His subsequent films included Solyaris (1971; Solaris), Zerkalo (1975; A Mirror), and Stalker (1979).

Tarkovsky's films were notable for their striking visual images, their symbolic, visionary tone, and their paucity of conventional plot and dramatic structure. Several of his films were barred from domestic distribution by the Soviet authorities, and in 1984 Tarkovsky decided to remain in the West after having filmed Nostalghia (1983; Nostalgia) in Italy. His last motion picture, also made in western Europe, was The Sacrifice (1986).