Solaris

( 11 )

Overview

Based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem, Solaris centers on widowed psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donata Banionis), who is sent to a space station orbiting a water-dominated planet called Solaris to investigate the mysterious death of a doctor, as well as the mental problems plaguing the dwindling number of cosmonauts on the station. Finding the remaining crew to be behaving oddly and aloof, Kelvin is more than surprised when he meets his seven-years-dead wife Khari (Natalya Bondarchuk) on the station. It quickly becomes ...
See more details below
DVD (Wide Screen / B&W)
$29.00
BN.com price
(Save 3%)$29.99 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (DVD)
  • All (15) from $17.40   
  • New (13) from $22.34   
  • Used (2) from $17.40   

More About This Product

Overview

Based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem, Solaris centers on widowed psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donata Banionis), who is sent to a space station orbiting a water-dominated planet called Solaris to investigate the mysterious death of a doctor, as well as the mental problems plaguing the dwindling number of cosmonauts on the station. Finding the remaining crew to be behaving oddly and aloof, Kelvin is more than surprised when he meets his seven-years-dead wife Khari (Natalya Bondarchuk) on the station. It quickly becomes apparent that Solaris possesses something that brings out repressed memories and obsessions within the cosmonauts on the space station, leaving Kelvin to question his perception of reality. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, Solaris was remade by Steven Soderbergh in 2002.
Read More Show Less

Special Features

Disc 1; Audio Commentary by Andrei Tarkovsky Scholars Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie; ; Disc Two; ; Nine Deleted and Alternate Scenes; Video Interviews with Actress Natalya Bondarchuk, Cinematographer Vadim Yusov, Art Director Mikhail Romadin, and Composer Eduard Artemyev; ; Excerpt from a Documentary about Stanislaw Lem, the Author of the Film's source novel; ; Plus: a Booklet featuring an Essay by Critic Phillip Lopate and an Appreciation by Director Akira Kurosawa
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird
The great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky is the guide on a sci-fi journey into the psyche in Solaris, a profoundly spiritual adaptation of a novel by seminal science fiction author Stanislaw Lem. The story of a psychologist Donatas Banionis who's sent to a space station above the planet Solaris to investigate reports of bizarre phenomena, Solaris strays far from the standard sci-fi template, using minimal special effects and eschewing technical jargon. Instead, the film revolves around a strange encounter with the mysterious power of Solaris' ocean, which manifests itself upon the psychologist's arrival as a loved one from his past -- perhaps hallucination, perhaps not. But scientific explanations are beside the point; what matters to Tarkovsky are the emotional and spiritual ramifications of a "Contact" that ultimately has the same sort of archetypal resonance as the monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey a film to which Solaris is often compared. As one would expect from Tarkovsky, the texture of Solaris is exquisite, with brilliant cinematography, a haunting, ghostlike score from Eduard Artemyev, and Bach organ music underlying some truly eloquent metaphysical musings. In the end, Solaris is a masterpiece that espouses a search for truth beyond science and a meditation on our fear of the unknown.
All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola
Conceived partly as the anti-2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972) weaves a hypnotic fable about love, humanity, and memory out of its science fiction premise. Reinstating the detritus of everyday existence absent from 2001's future vision, Tarkovsky's tracking shots and long takes reveal the space station's claustrophobia and decay; the beautiful early images of nature further underline the ugly, dehumanizing effects of technology. Shifts between color and black-and-white, an enticingly old-fashioned space station library, and the evocatively ambiguous ending interweave past and present, as pragmatist Kelvin's re-acquaintance with his dead wife, Khari, suggests the dramatic stakes of trying to erase the past . Regardless of the political message that could be inferred regarding the Soviet bureaucracy, Solaris was the rare Tarkovsky film that avoided extensive mandated edits and received a relatively normal U.S.S.R. release; it was, however, cut by 35 minutes by the American distributor in 1976. Restored to its original length in 1990, Solaris has garnered more and more fans for its cerebral yet rapturous inquiry into what it means to be human.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/24/2011
  • UPC: 715515083614
  • Original Release: 1972

    • Rating:

  • Source: Criterion
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Wide Screen / B&W
  • Language: Russian
  • Time: 2:46:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 13,227

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Natalya Bondarchuk Harey, Khari
Jüri Järvet Snaut, Snauth
Donatas Banionis Kris, Kris Kelvin
Anatoli Solonitsin Sartorius
Vladislav Dvorzhetsky Burton
Nikolai Grinko Father
Sos Sarkisyan Gibarian
Tamara Ogorodnikova , Aunt Anna
Technical Credits
Andrei Tarkovsky Director, Screenwriter
Eduard Artemyev Score Composer
Fridrikh Gorenshtein Screenwriter
Mikhail Romadin Art Director
Vadim Yusov Cinematographer
Read More Show Less

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Solaris: The Film
1. Opening Credits [3:09]
2. Part One [8:14]
3. Berton's Interrogation [6:31]
4. A Floating Object [3:05]
5. The Scientists' Debate [5:13]
6. Family Relations [2:23]
7. The Truth [4:48]
8. City of the Future [4:54]
9. Bonfire [4:48]
10. Liftoff [2:26]
11. Solaris [6:08]
12. Gibarian's Message [5:47]
13. Sartorius [6:52]
14. Snaut [7:36]
15. Kris's Visitor [7:15]
16. Part Two [2:57]
17. Contact [4:56]
18. Hari II [:00]
19. "The Door Opens the Other Way" [3:40]
20. Sartorius's Laboratory [3:53]
21. Home Movie [4:16]
22. An Encephalogram [5:27]
23. Hari's Story [5:11]
24. The Library [5:39]
25. The Hunters in the Snow [12:55]
26. Thirty Seconds of Weightlessness [3:33]
27. Liquid Oxygen [2:26]
28. "I'm Afraid" [7:22]
29. Kris's Wounds [5:32]
30. Letter from Hari [6:13]
31. The Meaning of Life [3:37]
32. The House [3:49]
1. Tarkovsky's Collaborators [3:09]
2. Donatas Banionis [8:14]
3. The Soviet Film Bureaucracy [6:31]
4. The Issue of Special Effects [3:05]
5. Narrative Consistency [5:13]
6. Tarkovsky and His Parents [2:23]
7. Moral Knowledge [4:48]
8. Russian and Western Audiences [4:54]
9. Clues [4:48]
10. Stanislaw Lem's Novel [2:26]
11. Yuri Yarvet [6:08]
12. The Sets: Kris's and Gibarian's Rooms [5:47]
13. Sculpted Time [6:52]
14. Sos Sarkisian [7:36]
15. Elliptical Shorthand [7:15]
16. Kris's Reasons [2:57]
17. How Could Hari Know? [4:56]
18. "Islands of Memory" [:00]
19. The Ocean's Motives [3:40]
20. Hari's Humanity [3:53]
21. A Dysfunctional Family [4:16]
22. Color and Texture [5:27]
23. Natalya Bondarchuk [5:11]
24. Western Culture [5:39]
25. Bach and Breughel [12:55]
26. Levitation as Motif [3:33]
27. Hari's Writing [2:26]
28. Solaris as Science Fiction [7:22]
29. Ambiguity [5:32]
30. Film Stocks [6:13]
31. Big Issues [3:37]
32. Questions and Possible Answers [3:49]
Read More Show Less

Menu

Disc #1 -- Solaris: The Film
   Play The Movie
   Chapters
      Color Bars
   Commentary
      Commentary: On/Off
      Index
         Color Bars
   Subtitles
      Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off
Disc #2 -- Solaris: The Supplements
   Deleted And Alternate Scenes
      Index
         Opening Text
         Berton's Flight
         Kris's Takeoff from Earth
         Something to Eat
         Beginning of Part Two
         Kris and Hari's Meal
         Kris's Delirium/The Mirror Room
         Mother
         Further Philosophy
   Natalya Bondarchuk
      Play
   Vadim Yusov
      Play
   Mikhail Romadin
      Play
   Eduard Artemyev
      Play
   Stanislaw Lem
      Play
   Subtitles
      Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 11 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(9)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 11 Customer Reviews

  • Posted November 12, 2012

    Masterpiece. Wish they'd put out STALKER.

    Masterpiece. Wish they'd put out STALKER.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 15, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 22, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 14, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 24, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 14, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 8, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 22, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 19, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 23, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 1, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 11 Customer Reviews