Russian Cinema (Фильмs в Россия) Соларис и Russian Ark

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

I don't know where else to post Russian culture questions… If they are inapproriate, I'll stop. Also, if anyone knows of a better place to post them (on LJ) that would be greatly appreciated. On with my question:

I've heard that the George Clooney movie Solaris was based on a Russian film with the same name—Соларис?—and I'm looking for information about the movie. When was it made? Who are some of the stars? Did it get good reviews? If anyone here has seen it, what did you think?

Also, has anyone seen Russian Ark?

One last question: what's the plural of Фильм?

Comments

[oh-yum.livejournal.com]

Try a community called.

russia_love

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[oblomov-jerusal.livejournal.com]

The movie you are asking about is called Солярис, it is by Andrey Tarkovski (Андрей Тарковский). The plural of фильм is фильмы.

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! How would you say Russian films? Or, Russian cinéma?

[oblomov-jerusal.livejournal.com]

русские фильмы; русское кино, or, in a very formal style, русский кинематограф.

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[langwidere.livejournal.com]

I actually watched Солярис a few days ago. I had seen the George Clooney version earlier... hmm. I wrote a little "review" on both of them at the time. I'll paste it for you. ;)

"I saw the recent remake with George Clooney when it was out in theatres. I liked it quite a bit, actually. (But like we've already established, I'm a sucker for love and science.) I wanted to see the original Russian version for a while since I'm taking Russian Language classes, but hadn't gotten around to it until this summer. I rented it from NetFlix and popped it in one night. I liked it as well. And actually found it to raise more compelling questions concerning human existence, while at the same time leaving a lot less closure somehow and having too much extra stuff going on in the background. (Or maybe I just couldn't fully grasp all of it.) Either way, the first thing that really struck me was how eerie the resemblances between the main male character and the main female character in both versions were. It was fascinating. I think I might have to check out the written story at some point."

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Glad to hear that you liked it—and that it's available on NetFlix!

[bobthedog.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed "Solyaris." It was the Russian answer to "2001" and I think both are true sci-fi classics. Tarkovsky's work in general was excellent. I recommend you give it a viewing and you should always look up any movie you're curious about at IMDb. Here's Solyaris: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0069293

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

I've just recently been turned onto IMDb, and I'm not in the habit of using it just yet so thanks for the reminder.

[irkin.livejournal.com]

I watched both films. In both I liked very much the actors' performance but didn't like much the directing and hence the whole film. I think both films are pretty far from the original story of Stanislaw Lem (I like it very much) and therefore they lose much. In Tarkovsky's Solaris the "message" is quite the opposite to the Lem's. And in the Sorderberg's Solaris the plot is horrible and incoherent and has little to do with the Lem's, though the "message" is much closer than Tarkovsky's..

=) I hope you can understand what I wrote =)

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[corriel.livejournal.com]

I loved Солярис. The US Solaris is a good remake, but I prefer the Soviet one I'd seen before. It's a must see in my humble opinion, especially if u're into Russian stuff.

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Great! I'm excited about seeing it.

[kibirov.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, I have seen Russian Ark!!! :) About a month ago. Very interesting movie by Sokurov... What do you want to know about this movie?

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Basically I just want to know whether it's good or not. I've heard good and bad things about it.

[kibirov.livejournal.com]

I think the best way is to see this movie :) And I completely agree with ninaczarina, I can not describe this movie better... even in Russian ;)

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

Cool, thank you. I hope to see it soon!

[ninaczarina.livejournal.com]

I saw the Russian Ark as well - a disjointed but stunning walk through various events and periods in Russian history. It seemed that it wouldn't make much sense to anyone who wasn't already familiar with the history; events aren't so much explained as just referred to. It's beautifully done though, it's shot in the Hermitage, the costumes are A1, and amazingly, the entire film was made in a single take. I'd recommend it!

Re:

[ugly-boy.livejournal.com]

The single shot thing is what makes the film most notable. I've heard of people who didn't even like it but thought that it was impressive.