Barnes & Noble

In this underappreciated remake, director Steven Soderbergh breathes new life into author Stanislaw Lem's metaphysical sci-fi tale. George Clooney is Chris Kelvin, a psychologist sent to investigate strange happenings aboard the space station Prometheus, which orbits the oceanic planet Solaris. Once aboard, Kelvin finds two of the four crew members dead and the two survivors in psychological shock, and he soon discovers the cause: "visitors," inhuman manifestations inhabiting various recesses of the Prometheus crew's memories. Kelvin's own visitor appears in the form of his deceased wife (Natascha McElhone), and it is here that Soderbergh's contemplative film truly whirls into the realm of the mind-bending. Less science fiction and more existential relationship drama, Solaris appears to take its cues less from Lem's original story than from Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 film adaptation -- not to mention some heavy references to 2001: A Space Odyssey. And while it is less languorous and intense than Tarkovsky's film, Soderbergh's beautifully shot picture retains both the intellectual ambition and poetry of the original. Clooney maintains his ranking as the director's best-used star; his trademark sideways charm is well balanced with a tight-lipped quality reminiscent of Tarkovsky's leading man, Donatas Banionis. (That Clooney bears a passing resemblance to Banionis helps, too.) Though coolly received at the box office -- and understandably so, as this is no Matrix -- Solaris manages to respect and recall its source material while achieving its own unique dignity. Tony Nigro

All Movie Guide

A therapist travels to a distant space station to treat a group of astronauts traumatized by mysterious entities -- and ends up having to deal with an entity of his own -- in this second film version of Stanislaw Lem's philosophical sci-fi novel. Solaris stars George Clooney as Chris Kelvin, a psychologist still mourning the loss of his wife Rheya (Natascha McElhone) when he's implored by a colleague named Gibarian (Ulrich Tukur) to investigate the increasingly weird goings-on at the Prometheus space station. By the time Kelvin gets there, Gibarian has committed suicide, leaving only the cryptic, babbling Snow (Jeremy Davies) and the paranoid, guarded Gordon (Viola Davis), both of whom are holed up in their respective rooms. As Kelvin interrogates the skeleton crew, he learns that they've had unwanted "visitors," apparitions of long-dead friends, family, and loved ones who are apparently being generated by the interstellar energy source Solaris. The doctor is dubious of their claims until one night he, too, is greeted by his wife Rheya (Natascha McElhone), whose death still torments him. At first skeptical of the new Rheya, Kelvin gradually becomes obsessed with her -- and with the guilt that he feels over their troubled marriage -- to the point where the others begin to fear for his sanity. Produced by James Cameron, Solaris represented director Steven Soderbergh's first screenplay credit since the independently financed Schizopolis in 1996. Michael Hastings

Rolling Stone

1/2
Clooney brings raw intensity to his role; his scenes with McElhone are rooted in a fierce romantic yearning. Peter Travers

Chicago Sun-Times

1/2
The Soderbergh version is like the same story freed from the weight of Tarkovsky's solemnity. And it evokes one of the rarest of movie emotions, ironic regret. Roger Ebert

Product Details

• UPC: 024543079835
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:39:00
• Sales Rank: 28,968

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Solaris / Cast Away
• Solaris / One Fine Day
• George Clooney Celebrity Pack

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