ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Solaris (1972 Russian)

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies from 1970 to 2000
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17018
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2015 7:08 pm    Post subject: Solaris (1972 Russian) Reply with quote

_________________


A strange movie that inspires strange reviews; some critics praise it, claiming the special effects are comparable to "2001: A Space Odyssey" (and yet they aren't. There are precious few effects of any kind).

Some critics applaud the direction by Andrei Tarkovsky (and yet the camera lingers on minutes-long shots that serve no purpose at all: two minutes of drifting seaweed, four minutes of a highway as seen through the windshield of a moving car, etc.).

There is, however, no denying the ambitious and imaginative premise on which the plot is based.

The crew of a space station that orbits the ocean-covered planet Solaris discovers that the planet itself is a life form, and it can materialize people from the crewmen's past, allowing them to visit dead loved one, forcing them to face quilty feelings, etc. A surrealistic experience for both the characters and the audience.

Beware of a slow beginning which contains the seemingly endless and unnecessary scenes.

In 2002, George Clooney starred in a slick, big-budget remake of the "Solaris". Amazingly, it's just as dull, confusing, and boring as the original.

Go figure, huh?

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:48 pm; edited 5 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
scotpens
Starship Captain


Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 871
Location: The Left Coast

PostPosted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:01 am    Post subject: Re: Solaris (1972 Russian) Reply with quote

I saw this picture on its original U.S. release. I'm still firmly convinced that Solaris must be a Russian word for "cure for insomnia."
Bud Brewster wrote:
In 2002, George Clooney starred in a slick, big-budget remake of the "Solaris". Amazingly, it's just as dull, confusing, and boring as the original.

But it's mercifully an hour shorter.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17018
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun May 17, 2015 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

An hour shorter. Ah-ha. I suspect my favorite part would be the hour after The End, when I did something more enjoyable than endure the movie.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Krel
Guest





PostPosted: Sun May 17, 2015 3:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Solaris (1972 Russian) Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
Bud Brewster wrote:
In 2002, George Clooney starred in a slick, big-budget remake of the "Solaris". Amazingly, it's just as dull, confusing, and boring as the original.

But it's mercifully an hour shorter.

But it didn't feel, or seem to be shorter. So which is worse? A long, boring movie? Or a short, boring movie, that feels as long as the long movie?

David.
Back to top
ralfy
Mission Specialist


Joined: 23 Sep 2014
Posts: 488

PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Related:

"20 Eastern European Sci-fi Movies That Are Worth Your Time"

http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/20-eastern-european-sci-fi-movies-that-are-worth-your-time/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Maurice
Mission Specialist


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 460
Location: 3rd Rock

PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Russian cinema, especially of the time, isn't like American cinema, and while we might not think there is any purpose to some of the extended sequences, Tarkovsky clearly had an intent for everything. We might not get it or like it, but he had a reason for everything. Some of it is symbolic or visual metaphors.

Here's a pretty good analysis of the film and its visual metaphors: http://cinemasailor.com/2014/01/14/solaris-1972/

There's also this version of Solaris, done in 1968 for Soviet TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1tnAyARsmA Much less artsy.

Turn on CC and use the Settings to select the language.

_________________
* * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles


Last edited by Maurice on Mon Jun 20, 2022 3:28 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17018
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Maurice.

Anytime someone whose opinion I value tells me (in a nice way) that I've overlooked the merits of a film, I have a strong urge to give it another shot. I'll give the material you posted links for a careful look, and then I might even watch the movie again.

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17018
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

After reading comments from several websites which dealt with what the author of Solaris was trying to convey, I finally understand his basic premise.

Jonathan E. Hernandez wrote the following statement on TOR.COM concerning the central concept of Solaris.
________________________________

But can a human ever truly understand an alien? . . . By the end, you’re left asking yourself how well humans can fully understand each other, or themselves — let alone a being from another world.
________________________________

Wow . . . Confused

Personally I can full endorse this as a worthy foundation for a science fiction story. If mankind ever meets up with aliens, we're in for a rough ride when we try to talk to them. After all, even Democrats and Republicans can't manage to agree anything! Rolling Eyes

However, the way author Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris took this inarguable position and turned into a baffling mess is unfortunate. Award winning author Harry Harrisoln's novel Plague From Space presents the idea in a much better story.


_____________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:32 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Maurice
Mission Specialist


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 460
Location: 3rd Rock

PostPosted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did not find Solaris the book a baffling mess.

Also, bear in mind the book was written in Polish and something almost invariably gets lost in translation.
_________________
* * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17018
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Aha-ha. That explains the fact that the author said the movie did a poor job of presenting his book. I remember reading that he said something about how his novel was NOT about people on a space station with sexual problems. Rolling Eyes

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies from 1970 to 2000 All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group