Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( April 4 , 1932 - December 29 , 1986 ) was a Soviet film director , writer and opera director . Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( April 4 , 1932 â `` December 29 , 1986 ) was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker , writer , film editor , film theorist and opera director , widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century .