Thanks jet, but 60 bucks for a copy in Russian with burned in
Japanese subtitles is a little rich for me. The extra CD of music
by Tomita sounds interesting and it’s good to see it has been
transferred in 16x9.

Solaris - NTSC, All Region has been released!
 

Check this thread in International Forum:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...54#post1099154

I didn't mean to start a discussion on copyrights for <i>Solaris</i>. I was just spreading the word about its release.

More info about RusCiCo
 

The company RusCiCo is in Belgium, not Russia. Some of the discs are not legal in Russia (most of Mosfilm Studio films; the warning states that it is legal only outside Russia and ex-USSR). When their web-page is done, we will be able to order discs directly from Belgium, in PAL or NTSC, Region 0. I don't know about the pricing or if it's going to be wholesale only. Right now, they are finished with Cataloge section in English and are working on Cinemasters (filmographis of major Russian actors and filmakers).

"The company RusCiCo is in Belgium, not Russia."

HUH???

...then why the f*** is their site written in Cyrillic characters?

(signed) Stunned Passer-By

I have the new NTSC Region 0 SOLARIS!
 

Ok, I just got my hands on the new RUSCICO Solaris NTSC Region 0 2 DVD set... and I've scanned through it quickly to report... that it is a beautiful 2.35 transfer (I believe anamorphic) with exceptional 5.1 surround. I have never seen this film look so pristine. There are options for subtitles not only in English but in many languages, and they appear to be quite good (don't speak Russian, but the visual quality is very good). The box itself is in Russian, however the 2 DVD's are labeled in English. There is a fold-out insert with menu instructions and DVD inclusions, but it is in Russian. The extras included (at least on the first DVD) are: FILMOGRAPHY, PHOTO ALBUM, and ARCHIVE - within these sections is a trailer for MIRROR, which looks to be an exceptional Full Frame transfer - far better than the Kino release. Also included is an interview with Tarkovsky's sister intercut with footage of Tarkovsky on various sets. I highly recommend this DVD set - if you can find it. I will watch it sometime this week and offer any other observations. BTW this in no way condones the gray market selling of copyrighted DVD's within the USA from outside territories.

Oh and I just looked at the extras on disc 2: another photo album with behind the scenes stills, an interview with Natalya Bondarchuk, an interesting short trailer or promo film on Donatas Banionis, and a trailer for Andrei Rublev, which upon first glance looks like a superior transfer compared to the Criterion edition.

[Edited by tgproductions on 05-21-01 at 04:14 PM]

1.85:1!!??? SOLARIS was shot in 'scope (2.35:1), so I do hope that this was just a typo on your part. A cropped transfer will make this release completely useless to fans of the film.

And Hendrik writes, "The company RusCiCo is in Belgium, not Russia." HUH??? ...then why the f*** is their site written in Cyrillic characters? (signed) Stunned Passer-By"

Uh, Hendrik, you are aware that Russians are allowed to live and work in other countries, aren't you? Are you equally stunned when you go to a Chinatown in the United States and see signs written in Chinese?

You're right - I corrected it above.

Phew! You had me scared for a minute there. I'm still waiting on my order to arrive and I think my heart skipped a beat when I read 1.85:1. After the letterboxing screw-up on the old Fox Lorber tape*, I was wondering if this film was cursed. Thanks for the good news!

*Fox Lorber's VHS release was transferred so that you could see the splice marks at the top of the screen between each new set-up. It was corrected for the subsequent laser disc release.

Sartana: HiViZone doesn't offer its Hong Kong DVDs in Chinese characters, and nor does CD Japan offer its goodies in Japanese characters, while Indian Blockbuster Com doesn't advertise its DVDs in Hindi or Tamil or Bengal... or if they do, they also offer their wares in English, so that simple-minded, ignorant Joes like me, who don't know from Russian or Japanese or Chinese or India-speak can order what we want...

The RUSCICO site has been up since quite a long time now, and an English translation has been promised for just as long ... so far only a couple of pages have materialized...

After all: the DVDs in RUSCICO's release program are intended first of all for *i*n*t*e*r*n*a*t*i*o*n*a*l* distribution - hence the subtitles in many languages, plus the dubs in at least one or two languages beside the original Russian...

...so I couldn't contain myself and got off my (very brief) rant - not because I harbor any ill will toward Russians, in and/or outside of Russia ... but because I was/am frustrated by this whole tantalizing Russian-movies-on-DVD business that seems to be treading water...

If I stepped on anybody's toes, I apologize herewith!...

Peace

Well, there are other English language sites that offer these discs so there's no reason to remain frustrated that Ruscico hasn't completed their English site yet. No reason to keep "treading water" as you put it. Just buy them someplace else. It doesn't look like the Ruscico site is doing online ordering anyway.

[Edited by Sartana on 05-21-01 at 05:51 PM]

Hey tgproductions, did you get Solaris from http://www.st-p.com? I didn't see any mention of region coding at all on their site, and I want to be positive I'm getting a region 0 before I order...

http://www.st-p.com and http://www.rbcmp3.com both have it.

It's Region 0, NTSC.

Sartana: I live in Europe, and ordered the R2/PAL SOLARIS two-disc set from amazon.fr.

FYI, apparently RUSCICO does indeed sell the discs - by subscription, at $20,00 each - which is one heck of a lot cheaper than the $30-plus that the American sites want...

...peace!...

. . .

Hendrik, St. Petersburg sells them for $20 as well, except for the two disc sets, which are $35. I guess I just don't understand why you're so frustrated with the lack of English on the Ruscico site, particularly since you ordered the disc from Amazon.

On the box it states <font color=blue>1.85:1</font>, but in fact it is the correct <font color=blue>2.35:1</font>. It's not the only disc with this type of a mistake. But the transfers seem to be crisp and in the proper aspect ratio. Only film from RUSCICO to stay away from because of the transfer is <b>Alladin's Magic Lamp</b>. That one is totally screwed up.

This one is going to be re-released by Image in July. The specs are the same. I don't know if they'll fix the letterboxing problem.

SOLARIS disc reviewed
 

I got SOLARIS along with BALLAD OF A SOLDIER and CRANES ARE FLYING. Awsome discs, cool extras. Pretty much, I agree with this review for SOLARIS: http://www.mhvf.net/forum/scifihorror/posts/17754.html

Re: SOLARIS disc reviewed
 

And so, how are the transfers etc. on these?

CRANES and BALLAD
 

I watched both movies over the weekend. Kind of my way to celebrate Memorial Day. The transfer is superb on both discs. The clarity is great and I didn't notice any artifacts or marks on the print. The sound wonderfully remixed in 5.1 in 3 languages - Russian, English and French. I wish they included original mono mix. Another drawback is that I couldn't choose to watch movies in Russian without any subtitles. Each disc has subtitles in 13 languages. Other extras for both discs include photo album; filmographies to crew and actors; a short chronicles about parade in the Red Square, November 7, 1941; trailers to both movies, and trailers toFATHER OF A SOLDIER, TORPEDO BOMBERS (already available) and THE DAWNS HERE ARE QUIET. CRANES ARE FLYING also include very short interview with actor Alexey Batalov and an awkward documentary about actress Tatiana Samoilova. BALLAD OF A SOLDIER has a 30-minute interview with the director Grigoriy Chukhrai.

Re: CRANES and BALLAD
 

You can. Here's what to do:
When the Menu comes up hit <font color=red>PLAY</font>,
then press Menu on your remote control and go to <font color=red>SUBTITLES</font> and select <b>No Subtitles</b>. Language Menu is going to come up, but you have to press Menu on your remote control again. The movie is going to resume without any subtitles.

I finally watched Solaris and liked it even more than the last time I saw it - maybe 15 years ago in the theater... It certainly helps to have such a great transfer as well as a superb 5.1 mix.

An interesting thing struck me: There is a parallel theme running in Solaris and (from what I gather) A.I. It would have been so much more interesting had Kubrick decided to make the movie - His answer to the Russians answer to 2001?

Hey tgproductions, I want to thank you for your post back on May 21 where you gave your first impressions of the SOLARIS transfer and extras. After watching the terrrible Fox Lorber VHS version, I was very skeptical about purchasing the Ruscico release. Your input is what led me to go ahead and buy it, and I have not been disappointed! :D

I'm glad you got it and are happy. I think it'll be worth tracking Ruscico... Interesting that Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors is not even mentioned on their site. When it was released, it was banned in the USSR. And I assume that Ruscico has the rights. But in the meantime - be on the lookout this summer/fall for STALKER.