Solaris: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] Reviews

After Stanley Kubrick both bewildered and delighted sci-fi fans with his epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, it seems as if Andrei Tarkovsky must have wanted some pieces of that mix of conundrum and enchantment to work just as harmoniously with his 1972 film Solaris. As frequently confounding on one’s first visit to 2001 was, Solaris seems clearer on repeat trips to its far out horizons. Kubrick’s mammoth film can’t be matched in terms of its sci-fi paraphernalia (especially for its time), but Tarkovsky’s epic may have the upper hand in emotional impact. It’s not as awesome a spectacle, of course, but despite its eternally slow pace, it manages to hold one’s interest through the slower, less interesting passages.

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