Solaris: The Wrecking of a Classic
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HOLLYWOOD (Variety) – Actor George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh are planning to work together for a third time on [i]Solaris[/i], a sci-fi thriller based on a Polish novel.
[i]Solaris[/i] revolves around an astronaut sent to rescue scientists on a space station. He finds the commander dead and the two survivors driven mad by visions that soon appear to him as well. Based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem, it was first shot in 1972 as a Russian production directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
I fear the worst.
[i]Solaris[/i] was the first film I ever saw of the great Russian film director, Andrei Tarkovsky. It was so beautiful and touching. Slow-paced and thoughtful. I loved it so much that I bought it on laserdisc many years ago. Now I am trying to collect all of his movies on DVD. I saw [i]My Name Is Ivan[/i] on AMC a few months ago and I was mesmerized. The passion of Tarkovsky is almost unmatched by any other film director.
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/solaris_kiss1.jpg[/img]
And now Hollywood *shudder* is going to do a remake! [img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img] Oh God help us all! I bet they will turn it into an action movie complete with car chases and gunfights.
Has anyone else seen the original [i]Solaris[/i]? Strangely enough, I think it was Tarkovsky’s least favorite of his films.
[ 20-11-2001: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
quote:
Originally posted by Flamegrape:
I fear the worst.
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And now Hollywood *shudder* is going to do a remake! [img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img] Oh God help us all! I bet they will turn it into an action movie complete with car chases and gunfights.
I’m not as pessimistic as you are…Steven Soderbergh is a fine, and exceptionally tasteful filmmaker, and is capable of great things. While I love Tarkovsky’s film, I can’t say that I wouldn’t be interested in seeing Soderbergh’s take on the same subject.
–Aleck
I’ve never seen the original [i]Solaris[/i] movie (I can’t seem to find it anywhere) but I read the book by Stanislaw Lem and I liked it. I think there’s real potential for a movie with today’s special effects. I find it hard to imagine any movie based on that storyline being lousy, but there are quite a few past examples of literary plots changed for the worse when converted to screenplay.
At any rate, I look forward to seeing [i]Solaris[/i].
I saw Solaris years ago, though relatively slow it was beautiful and thought provoking–I’ve always been surprised that it hasn’t been shown more. Most Hollywood sci fi now is [i]all[/i] about the special effects, we seem to be afraid to give people something to think about.
Though Soderbergh is a good director, what I find curious is this need to remake what’s already been done and done well. There are so many science fiction books that could become really interesting films, why not chose one of those? Do Clooney and Soderbergh really have something more important to say about Solaris than Tarkovsky?
elmey
George Clooney? In Solaris? Hmmmm…I never thought much of him….
Oh well, I’ll probably see it anyway. I liked the origional, ‘though the ending lost me.
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Originally posted by Hypatia:
George Clooney? In Solaris? Hmmmm…I never thought much of him….Oh well, I’ll probably see it anyway. I liked the origional, ‘though the ending lost me.
As one of the characters commented in the movie, “It has some thing to do with conscience.” Kelvin felt guilty about Hari’s suicide. He decided to stay on Solaris so he could be with the replica of his dead wife. Instead, he found his father that he left behind because he felt guilty about leaving him and everyone else behind on Earth. That was how I interpreted it.
I did not actually finish reading the book, but as far as I know the ending lost Lem himself, too [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Well thing about Lem’s book is – it’s still a good, thrilling sci-fi, despite of all the thought-provokiness. Tarkovsky shot it in more surreal and symbolic manner, and I can see Soderbergh changing the pace and telling the story straight, as it is, so we can draw our own conclusions. I’d love it to be “Sex, Lies…” in space.
But – Clooney? Please…quote:
Originally posted by Newkate:
I can see Soderbergh changing the pace and telling the story straight, as it is, so we can draw our own conclusions.
I can too, but I can also see Soderbergh going in an experimental direction with it. Case in point, check out his [i]Schizopolis[/i], and, to a lesser extent, [i]Kafka[/i] for his more experimental side. Also, check out his fairly radical editing/juxtaposition of scenes in [i]The Limey[/i] with Terence Stamp.
Not a huge fan of Clooney’s, but I don’t hate him either. Loved him in [i]Out of Sight[/i] and [i]O Brother, Where Art Thou?[/i], but hated him in [i]ER[/i]. Still think his best work is in [i]Return of the Killer Tomatoes[/i]. [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]–Aleck
First [i]Ocean’s 11[/i] a minor classic starring the “Rat Pack”.
Now [i]Solaris[/i] another minor classic.What,he can’t make his own screenplays?
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Originally posted by Chrismith:
First [i]Ocean’s 11[/i] a minor classic starring the “Rat Pack”.
Now [i]Solaris[/i] another minor classic.What,he can’t make his own screenplays?
He’s not primarily a screenwriter, he’s a director. He has, however, written several of his own films: [i]Sex, Lies and Videotape, King of the Hill, Underneath[/i] and [i]Schizopolis[/i]. He has, to date, done 2 remakes: [i]Traffic[/i], which was a heavily re-written adaptation of a British mini-series, and [i]Ocean’s 11[/i]. It remains to be seen whether [i]Solaris[/i] is a remake of Tarkovsky’s film, or a second adaptation of the Lem novel. When you’re talking about literary adaptations, it’s hard to say whether a film is a remake of a previous version or just another adaptation. Is the Spencer Tracy version of [i]Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde[/i] a remake of the Frederic March version? Is the Sci Fi channel mini-series [i]Dune[/i] a remake of David Lynch’s film?
–Aleck
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