8 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Ground control has been receiving mysterious transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is dispatched to investigate, he experiences the same strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his consciousness.
Starring: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy, Nikolay GrinkoDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 85% |
Mystery | 15% |
Romance | 13% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Russian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with film scholars Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie; interviews with actress Natalya Bondarchuk, cinematographer Vadim Yusov, production designer Mikhail Romadin, and composer Eduard Artemyev; deleted and Alternate scenes; and more. The disc also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet containing Phillip Lopate's essay "Inner Space" and Akira Kurosawa's "Tarkovsky and Solaris". In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
What happened here?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm low-contrast print made from the original negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Telecine supervisor: Lee Kline.
Telecine colorist: Joe Gawler/The Tape House, New York."
There are various inherited limitations with the high-definition transfer Criterion have struck for their Blu-ray release of Solaris. First, there are numerous extremely light color pulsations that are present throughout the entire film - the variety of reds, greens, yellows, and blacks appear to be the most sensitive colors. Naturally, this instability at times affects clarity levels. Second, contrast also has a tendency to fluctuate. As a result, certain scenes look softer than others. During some of the darker footage, light noise is also easy to spot. Despite these limitations, however, detail is mostly good, and certainly substantially improved when one compares this Blu-ray release of Solaris to Criterion's DVD release of the film. The footage from the station, in particular, looks surprisingly good, boasting improved clarity and a stronger, more convincing color-scheme. Various noise corrections have been performed, but light grain is visible throughout the entire film. Finally, even though Criterion have performed a thorough cleanup, small flecks, dirt, and scratches are occasionally easy to spot. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" BLu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Russian LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack positive. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using Audio Cube's integrated workstation."
Generally speaking, the Russian LPCM 1.0 track gives the audio a much needed depth, which has clearly been missing on previous releases of the film. However, there are various - again, obviously inherited - small balance issues. For example, portions of the dialog would occasionally stick out, while some of the background effects from time to time are somewhat subdued. Still, the dialog is relatively crisp and certainly very easy to follow.
Arguably one of the greatest and most influential science fiction films ever made, Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris does not need to be promoted or recommended; it simply belongs in any serious film library. Now, I only hope that Criterion will also manage to produce Blu-ray releases of the Russian director's Ivan's Childhood and Andrei Rublev. (Don't forget that in June Kino Video will release on Blu-ray The Sacrifice).
Сталкер
1979
Андрей Рублёв / Andrey Rublev
1966
Ива́ново де́тство / Ivanovo detstvo
1962
Offret / Restored
1986
Трудно быть Богом
2013
1960
Trois couleurs: Rouge
1994
Зеркало / Zerkalo
1975
L'année dernière à Marienbad
1961
1962
Trois couleurs: Blanc
1994
一一
2000
Smultronstället
1957
1965
2003
重慶森林 / Chung Hing sam lam / First Printing DigiPak with Slipcover
1994
Welt am Draht
1973
First Printing DigiPak with Slipcover
1976
1983
La double vie de Véronique
1991