Solyaris (1972)

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky

Writers:

Stanislaw Lem (novel)
Fridrikh Gorenshtein (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 March 1972 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Solaris mission has established a base on a planet that appears to host some kind of intelligence...

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Psychologist | Ocean | Space Station | Hallucination

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Natalya Bondarchuk	...	Hari
Donatas Banionis	...	Kris Kelvin
Jüri Järvet	...	Dr. Snaut
Vladislav Dvorzhetsky	...	Henri Berton
Nikolai Grinko	...	Kelvin's Father
Anatoli Solonitsyn	...	Dr. Sartorius
Sos Sargsyan	...	Dr. Gibarian (as S. Sarkisyan)
Olga Barnet	...	Kelvin's Mother (as O. Barnet)
Tamara Ogorodnikova	...	Aunt Anna
Georgi Tejkh	...	Prof. Messenger (as G. Tejkh)
Yulian Semyonov	...	Chairman at Scientific Conference (as Yu. Semyonov)
Olga Kizilova	...	Gibarian's Guest (as O. Kizilova)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vitalik Kerdimun		(as V. Kerdimun)
Tatyana Malykh
Aleksandr Misharin		(as A. Misharin)
Bagrat Oganesyan		(as B. Oganesyan)
V. Statsinsky
Valentina Sumenova		(as V. Sumenova)

Directed by
Andrei Tarkovsky

Writing credits
Stanislaw Lem		(novel "Solaris")
Fridrikh Gorenshtein		(screenplay) &
Andrei Tarkovsky		(screenplay)

Produced by
Viacheslav Tarasov	....	producer

Original Music by
Eduard Artemyev

Cinematography by
Vadim Yusov

Film Editing by
Lyudmila Feiginova
Nina Marcus

Production Design by
Mikhail Romadin

Costume Design by
Yelena Fomina		(as Nelli Fomina)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
A. Ides	....	assistant director
Yuri Kushneryov	....	assistant director
Larisa Tarkovskaya	....	assistant director
Maria Chugunova	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Special Effects by
A. Klimenko	....	special effects artist
V. Sevostyanov	....	special effects camera

Camera and Electrical Department
Vadim Murashko	....	photographer (as V. Murashko)
Yuri Nevsky	....	assistant camera
E. Paramanov	....	chief lighting technician
Yevgeni Shvedov	....	camera operator (as Ye. Shvedov)

Music Department
Raisa Lukina	....	music editor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Creative Unit of Writers & Cinema Workers
• Mosfilm
• Unit Four

Distributors

• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (1972) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Magna (1976) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Sci-Fi Pictures Inc./Magna Distribution Corp. (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Contemporary Films (1990) (UK) (all media)
• Fox Lorber (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Artificial Eye (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• RUSCICO (2004) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Seagull Films (2006-2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• General Video (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (Argentina) (video)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sovexportfilm (Argentina)
• Taipan Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Mosfilm F/X Unit

Also Known As:

Solaris (UK) (USA)
Солярис (Soviet Union: Russian title)

Runtime:

165 min | Italy:115 min (first release)

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

German | Russian

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (Sovcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 | USA:TV-G (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | South Korea:15 | UK:A (original rating) | Hong Kong:I | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Akasaka, Minato, Japan

Company:

Creative Unit of Writers & Cinema Workers

Trivia:

Two character's names vary a great deal in the different versions of this story. The female character is known as "Rhea" in the novel, "Hari/Khari" in the subtitles and Russian dialogue, "Carrie" in the English dubbing, and "Rheya" in Steven Soderbergh's remake. The Doctor is known as "Snow" in the English translation of the novel and Soderbergh version, "Snaut" in the subtitles and Russian dialogue, and "Stroud/Strowd" in the English dub.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Kris Kelvin: You love that which you can lose, yourself, a woman, a country.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tempo di viaggio (1983) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ

A gem of sci-fi & much more...

Haven't seen any other Tarkofsky. I hear that this is the film he is least fond of. I intend to see more of him.

As some other reviewer said, I had the feeling through the first one hour or so that some scenes went on for too long, or seemed a bit unnecessary and that it was too slow for the message to clearly be presented. But after a while, the slow pacing DID have a positive impact on the context of the film and on the "dialogue" between the film and the viewer. Anyway, after its plain & simple beginning, when the "action" is taken to the space station things get more and more interesting. No spoon-feeding here, as well. If you want all the mysteries in a film to be solved and explained, then you might not wanna see this, because the film is up to the viewer to think and dive in deep. Anyway, it ended up satisfying and leaving one in thoughts.

I am so glad I got to see this fabulous thoughtful movie. It's full of nice visuals and context. A recommendation to all who are fed up with Hollywood crap - but even Hollywood geeks could find many in this, if they can tolerate with the slow pace...