Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/03/30

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Subject: Solaris (was Re: [Leica] Stanislaw Lem)
From: shino at panix.com (Rei Shinozuka)
Date: Thu Mar 30 06:42:41 2006
References: <00cb01c652ae$f84beb70$2f01a8c0@xyw> <442B9A8D.1020606@summaventures.com>

I don't see how Soderbergh's version could be termed "a disaster."
He managed to create a beautiful, ethereal adaptation of Lem's work, 
simultaneously paying homage to Kubrick's 2001.  However, I can well 
see how the film may not appeal to everyone.  A
rationalist, in the mold of the protagonist Kelvin, will likely not 
find satisfaction here.

I haven't seen Tartakovsky's in some time (though i have the Criterion
on DVD waiting to be re-watched), so it's hard for me to compare 
the two directly, even in my own mind.  

In a February 2003 interview, Lem himself spoke about both films, 
expressing more sympathy for Soderbergh's version.  Considering 
the manner in which Lem has typically characterized American tastes
and sensibilities, his reply to question 6 is high praise indeed.


  5. I dont know if its true, but I read that you didnt like Tarkovskys
  "Solaris" when it was released. Is that right? Why didnt you like it
  (or why did you like it)? Since then, did you change your mind?

  I definitely did not like Tarkovsky's Solaris.  Tarkovsky and I
  differed deeply in our perception of the novel.  While I thought that
  the book's ending suggested that Kelvin expected to find something
  astonishing in the universe, Tarkovsky tried to create a vision of an
  unpleasant cosmos which was followed by the conclusion that one should
  immediately return to Mother-Earth.  We were like a pair of harnessed
  horses each of them pulling the cart in the opposite direction.

  6. What about the Soderbergh's film? What are the good and the bad
  points of the movie?

  Although I admit that "Soderberghs vision" is not devoid of ambition,
  taste  and climate, I am not delighted with the prominence of love.
  Solaris may be perceived as a river basin - and Soderbergh chose only
  one of its tributaries.  The main problem seems the fact that even
  such a tragic-romantic adaptation seems too demanding for mass
  audience fed with Hollywood pap.  If in the future someone else dared
  a faithful adaptation, I am afraid the effects would be understood
  only by a tiny audience.

  
http://www.lem.pl/english/interview/interview.htm


On Mar30 09:45, Peter Dzwig wrote:
> Yes, though really for Solaris. The book is amazing, the Soviet film, when 
> it first appeared was a landmark in SF films and inspired many. The 
> Hollywood film was, I am afraid, a complete disaster by comparison.
> 
> Peter Dzwig
> 
> A. Lal wrote:
> 
> >Just heard that Stanislaw Lem, one of the great science fiction writers 
> >of all time passed away yesterday. Any fans of his on this list?
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >Leica Users Group.
> >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> >
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

-- 
Rei Shinozuka shino@panix.com
Ridgewood, New Jersey


Replies: Reply from pdzwig at summaventures.com (Peter Dzwig) (Solaris (was Re: [Leica] Stanislaw Lem))
In reply to: Message from alal at duke.poly.edu (A. Lal) ([Leica] Stanislaw Lem)
Message from pdzwig at summaventures.com (Peter Dzwig) ([Leica] Stanislaw Lem)