سولاریس

BFI Film Classics

by Mark Bould, قاسم مومنی (Translator)

سولاریس اقتباسی است از رمان علمی-تخیلی مشهوری به همین نام، نوشتۀ استانیسلاو لم، و همچون دیگر فیلم‌های تارکوفسکی اثری است دربارۀ رنج و اندوه تنهایی. یکی از معدود شاهکارهای سینمای علمی-تخیلی اروپا که پیش از آنکه به لحاظ بصری وامدار جلوه‌های ویژۀ فنی هالیوودی باشد، متأثر از سنتِ نقاشی اروپایی و به‌خصوص آثار بروگل است.
سولاریس جایزه ویژۀ هیئتِ داوران از جشنوارۀ کن سال ۱۹۷۲ را به دست‌آورد و سه دهه بعد استیون سودربرگ با ادای دینی آشکار به فیلم تارکوفسکی، اقتباس تازه‌‌ای از رمان را با بازی جرج کلونی ساخت.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2014

Reviews

[Alexander Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very practically useful breakdown of the somewhat ambiguous and ethereal events of Solaris with some interesting allusions to influences post and pre the film being made.

Unfortunately the author at times is a bit too pretentious and cynical to make this a consistently enjoyable read, but worthwhile nonetheless for fans of the film.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

No punches are pulled in this BFI Classic…Spielberg takes some punches, Soderbergh gets a kicking and even the main man Andrei Tarkovsky doesn’t come out unbruised. But the film…oh, what a special film it is…harder to find than a video nasty when it came out, despite winning the Jury prize at Cannes and being nominated for the Palm D’or itself.

There’s a lot of depth in this edition of the ever wonderful series of BFI books, covering Tarkovsky himself, the concept of the genre of Science Fiction, and whether this is a sf film or not, the source book by Stanislaw Lem and other versions (not just the Clooney remake) and much more besides, all crammed into less than 100 pages…and then there’s the final statement – a consideration that I had never considered before, despite it being a logical step forward…could it be….could it?

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not as compelling as some of the books in the BFI Film Classics, this is still a solid read about the late, great Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 sci-fi epic, Solaris. Bould walks us through some of the production history – I wish we got more of this, though what is there is interesting – and motivations behind the making of the movie. Some of his analyses are less captivating than others, but I will grant him an "A" for effort. For someone like me who hasn't seen the film in a while, this slim volume is a useful guide through the plot and structure. I liked some of his comparisons of Tarkovsky's work with that of other filmmakers. Overall, I would recommend, with the caveat that Bould's arguments can occasionally devolve into the pedestrian and obvious.

[Goran Lowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. The author obviously cares more about science fiction (literature) than he does Tarkovsky. He has a lot of knowledge regarding cinema/literature/speculative fiction and uses this to put Tarkovsky & his works, especially Solaris, into the "science fiction" context. If you're a fan of Tarkovsky and you're a fan of speculative fiction (like I am), a great read!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Offers some fine insights on the film and Tarkovsky but doesn’t fully cohere as a thesis. Not an easy subject, to be sure, since the film is so thematically elusive. I liked his contrast with “2001” and thought that might have been explored further. But I could have done without discussion of the Soderbergh/Clooney version.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and fun read. Dr. Bould deftly shared his thoughts, ideas, and insights into the movie and the book without going too far, which I can imagine would have been tempting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am eager to pull out my Blu-Ray again, watch again, read the book again, then read the novel again, which has been a repeating cycle in my life. :-)

[Kyra Boisseree · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean it was okay, but I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't assigned, and even if it was assigned, I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't assigned for the only scifi class I'm ever going to take. It was just boring. The only thing I got from it was more reason to hate Tarkovsky and Stanislaw Lem.

[Andrew Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on Andrei Tarkovsky that I've read. That Bould is more a fan of scifi than Tarkovsky really helps in this case. Not that Bould doesn't care for Solaris; he just doesn't care for Tarkovsky acting above the genre or the source material. (Tarkovsky's personal beliefs don't endear Bould to him, either.) Bould gives equal attention to Tarkovsky's poetics and Lem's novel so don't expect him to short change one at the expense of the other. The material on Cold War scifi literature is especially interesting and adds a context that I hadn't known previously. Bould treats the film more in terms of genre than high art which ends up revealing more about the film than some other more auteur-driven accounts have offered. I can't say I've learned as much about the film as I had before now when reading other books, listening to commentary tracks, or watching Solaris for myself. A great book on scifi cinema as well as Tarkovsky that fan of either must read.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers both the Russian version of the film Solaris and the US version I haven't seen. The Russian version is an incredible film even though the Director didn't like it. Mark Bould's book opens up all sorts of new angles on the film and its Russian references. I strongly recommend seeing the Russian film first and I guess I now should watch the US version.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stuff on sf as a genre and Tarkovsky as a misogynist. The most successful BFI books are the ones that don't feel the need to describe the film shot by shot. There is the film itself for that.