Solaris (1972)

A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky (as Andrey Tarkovskiy)

Writers:

Stanislaw Lem (novel) (as Stanislav Lem), Fridrikh Gorenshteyn (screenplay) (as F. Gorenshteyn)

Stars:

Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalya Bondarchuk	...	Khari
Donatas Banionis	...	Kris Kelvin, psikholog
Jüri Järvet	...	Doktor Snaut, kibernetik (as Yuri Yarvet)
Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy	...	Anri Berton, pilot
Nikolay Grinko	...	Nik Kelvin, otets Krisa Kelvina
Anatoliy Solonitsyn	...	Doktor Sartorius, astrobiolog
Olga Barnet	...	Mat Krisa Kelvina (as O. Barnet)
Vitalik Kerdimun	...	Syn Anri Bertona (as V. Kerdimun)
Olga Kizilova	...	Gostya doktora Gribaryana (as O. Kizilova)
Tatyana Malykh	...	Plemyannitsa Krisa Kelvina (as T. Malykh)
Aleksandr Misharin	...	Shanakhan, predsedatel komissii Anri Bertona (as A. Misharin)
Bagrat Oganesyan	...	Professor Tarkhe (as B. Oganesyan)
Tamara Ogorodnikova	...	Anna, tetka Krisa Kelvina (as T. Ogorodnikova)
Sos Sargsyan	...	Doktor Gribaryan, fiziolog (as S. Sarkisyan)
Yulian Semyonov	...	Predsedatel nauchnoy konferentsii (as Yu. Semyonov)

Storyline

The Solaris mission has established a base on a planet that appears to host some kind of intelligence, but the details are hazy and very secret. After the mysterious demise of one of the three scientists on the base, the main character is sent out to replace him. He finds the station run-down and the two remaining scientists cold and secretive. When he also encounters his wife who has been dead for ten years, he begins to appreciate the baffling nature of the alien intelligence.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | space station | ocean | hallucination | apparition | 

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Taglines:

Let us take you with us to Solaris, planet of mystery, embodiment of man's latent conflict with the unknown. Man, face to face with his conscience, and with his past.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian German

Release Date:

26 September 1972 (Czechoslovakia)

Also Known As:

Solaris

Filming Locations:

Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine

Box Office

Budget:

RUR1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,537, 15 September 2002

Gross USA:

$22,168

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$140,617

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm, Chetvyortoe Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min 115 min (unapproved cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (Eastman Double-X Negative Film) Color (Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is over an hour longer than the remake, Steven Soderbergh's Solaris (2002).

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Goofs

In the weightless scene, in addition to the candle flames behaving as if they were in Earth's gravity, Hari's dress and hair fall downwards, rather than floating upward.

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Quotes

Kris Kelvin: What does it matter when you're worth more to me than any science could ever be?

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Alternate Versions

There are numerous differences between the Criterion Collection DVD and the DVD released by the Russian Cinema Council (RUSCICO) On the RUSCICO DVD The scene where Berton is driving on the highway in downtown Tokyo included a B&W shot which slowly and seamlessly fades into full color. This shot is entirely in color on the Criterion Collection DVD. The RUSCICO DVD ends part one right after Kris launches the rocket with Hari in it off the station. The Criterion Collection DVD ends part one right before the launch scene. There are also small changes in the subtitles most notably in the opening credits. The RUSCICO DVD translates a notation about Bach's Choral prelude being used in the film. On the Criterion Collection DVD this notation is not given subtitles. The RUSCICO DVD has an optional partially dubbed English language track. It includes English audio for dialog not subtitled in either version. There are also some minor changes in the audio itself the Criterion Collection DVD removes some of the sound reverberation for a few scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in Criminal Minds: Sense Memory (2011)

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Soundtracks

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II: Prelude and Fugue in F minor - BWV 881
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (as I. S. Bakh)

User Reviews

One of the best

This has to be one of the best science fiction movies ever produced. Not because it's filled with gee-whiz gizmos or creepy aliens (it isn't) but because it actually gives you something to think about besides "I wonder how much they spent on *that* shot". When I was a kid, I used to love reading sci-fi because it stimulated my imagination, but as I grew up (especially once "Star Wars" came out), I found that it was harder and harder to find anything remotely resembling imagination or mystery in the genre.

Well, this movie has restored my faith in what is possible to achieve under the guise of "sci-fi" (obviously, it's older than "Star Wars", but I didn't see it until years later, when I had basically written off the whole idea of science fiction movies). I saw it 10-15 years ago when it was re-released in the USA and liked it then, but seeing it again recently has convinced me that this is an all-time classic. As I said, it actually stimulates thought (rare enough in most sci-fi movies), but on top of that, it has a real and profound emotional impact that's far beyond what you find in most "dramas", let alone "kid stuff" like sci-fi. If this movie is intended to be an "answer" to "2001" (I'm not convinced that it is), the main contrast is that "Solaris" concerns itself with real human emotions, whereas the most interesting character in "2001" is the computer.

For those who complain that it's boring, just go see something else. You'll obviously never get it. If the opening shot of water and plant life didn't tip you off to the fact that this movie is intentionally paced a little bit more deliberately than, say, "Buckaroo Banzai", then you should go out and try to get some sort of clue before watching this movie. It's not boring... it's SLOW. It's *meant* to be slow. Some of the scenes exist solely to set a mood, not to advance the plot. If you can't handle that, then this isn't the movie or you. But if you're able to sit still for 3 hours without squirming, and if you're able to enjoy a movie without having every idea spelled out in giant neon letters, then you just might like "Solaris", and find that it haunts you for years to come.