Based on the life of a 15th century icon painter, Andrei Rublev is comprised of seven episodes following Rublev through the political and social upheavals of medieval Russia. The film was commissioned by the government in order to celebrate Rublev's anniversary. Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovskii wrote the scenario, which was originally titled “The Passion according to Andrei” and Tarskovskii used the fact that it did not record much about the painter's life by making a biographical film projected with his own philosophical and theological vision of an artist. Rublev in the film is not portrayed as a saint at the peak of his art, but as an incredibly human monk, who takes a route of sufferings wandering at the bottom of life to reach the truth of art. When the original version (205 min) was presented in 1966, the audience applauded, but as the government's committee demanded a number of cuts which director refused and thus the film was banned until 1971. The director had to wait for seven years for his next film. DVD contains extras including an interview with Tarkovsky and film commentaries.