Solaris – Criterion [DVD] (1972) *LIKE NEW*

In loyalty to the novel’s complex and slow-paced narrative, Tarkovsky wanted to bring a new emotional and intellectual depth to the genre, viewing most of western science fiction as shallow. The ideas which Tarkovsky tried to express in this film are further developed in Stalker (1979).

The critically successful Solaris features Natalya Bondarchuk (Hari), Donatas Banionis (Kris Kelvin), Jüri Järvet (Dr. Snaut), Vladislav Dvorzhetsky (Henri Berton), Nikolai Grinko (Kris Kelvin’s Father), Olga Barnet(Kris Kelvin’s Mother), Anatoli Solonitsyn (Dr. Sartorius), and Sos Sargsyan (Dr. Gibarian); the music is by Johann Sebastian Bach and Eduard Artemyev. At the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, it won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, the FIPRESCI prize and was nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film is often cited as one of the greatest science fiction films in the history of cinema.