Tarkovsky designed his long, sweeping takes to induce a state of poetic hypnosis. On a TV, laptop, or phone, this trance is easily broken by push notifications, low resolution, or the compression algorithms of streaming bitrates. Democratization of Art: Conversely, streaming has rescued The Mirror

For the serious cinephile, the Criterion Channel remains the gold standard for streaming classic and arthouse cinema. They are the primary custodians of Tarkovsky’s legacy in the West.

You will finally understand why generations of filmmakers—from Terrence Malick to Alejandro Iñárritu—have been chasing Tarkovsky’s shadow for 50 years.