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

2 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

Official Sites:

Filmnegah.com (Persian)

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian German

Release Date:

26 September 1972 (Czechoslovakia)

Also Known As:

Solaris

Filming Locations:

Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine

Box Office

Budget:

RUR 1,000,000 (estimated)

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

In addition to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's "Hunters in the Snow", the painting that is meditated on in the library, three more of his paintings can be seen displayed there during the weightless scene: "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," "The Harvesters," and "The Gloomy Day, beginning of Spring."

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Goofs

When Kris is standing in the rain near the beginning of the film the camera tilts down to the table to show a coffee cup and various other items. The cut to the next shot of Kris shows him to have moved (which seems reasonable as a small amount of time has elapsed) but all the items on the table are now in a different configuration.

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Quotes

Boy: Hello.
Girl: How do you do?

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Alternate Versions

The surviving print of the longer first cut is kept in Russian State Film Archives - Gosfilmofond near Moscow. It is longer by some 20 minutes. 9 deleted and alternative scenes are included on Criterion Collection DVD release of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Angel's Egg (1985)

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Soundtracks

The Little Organ Book: Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ - BWV 639
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (as I. S. Bakh)

User Reviews

What a beautiful film

Shame on me for not realisng the 2002 film with George Clooney was essentially a remake of a Russian film made 30 years previously. I ought to have known, I am that sort of person.

So comes December 2009, and Film 4 show both Solaris films. I sat transfixed by the Russian film. Visually it is a thing of beauty, and it is a rare thing - a film which requires input from the viewer. This movie requires you to think for yourself...and some people find that difficult.

I enjoy a rip-snorting entertaining action movie as much as most people, but rare films like Solaris leave me feeling so much more fulfilled. There are ambiguities, not so much loose ends untied as dots which the viewer is required to connect for himself.

Try Solaris. If you find yourself twiddling your thumbs after 15 minutes then its probably not for you. If you find yourself glued to the screen then you know how I feel about this film.