Having seen the film 4 times-  this should already give a clue as to my opinion!- i must say i'm more convinced than ever that it's not only an awesome achievement but a contender for title of greatest film. From its opening with someone taking flight (even if momentarily) it's a film about Faith, the key theme in Tarkovsky's work; the trials experienced by Rublev amid all the atrocities of the period, leading to his self-imposed silence, and then the restoration of his speech in acknowledgment of the bell-ringer's simple faith.

 Some of the set pieces are astounding. The feel for seasons and weather is virtually unsurpassed (even the rain seems Tarkovskian! Whenever it rained for weeks afterwards i kept thinking of the film. He had such a way with making the mundane seem extraordinary), the colour finale is great, and the last scene of horses swishing their tails in the meadow i often recall when i see horses in the lovely fields here. A wonderful sense of freedom. That he made the film at such a young age is even more remarkable.

Mirror is possibly its equal(!), Stalker is another masterpiece, Ivan's Childhood a superb and accessible debut feature, The Sacrifice is majestic, and Nostalgia and Solaris aren't bad either. No wonder Bergman considered him the greatest.

Still, everything is a matter of taste, and i certainly don't expect its pace and length to be for everyone.

I'm grateful for this thread; it's been a pleasure just thinking about Andrei Rublev and Tarkovsky.