Audio Video News

DVD: Solaris—20th Century Fox
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
"This isn't your father's science fiction," says James Cameron, who produced this dream-like adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's 1961 novel and who's suddenly showing up more frequently on commentary tracks. He's right. There are no aliens in makeup. There's not even a proffered explanation of the strange happenings on a space station orbiting the pulsing, gaseous world Solaris. It's left for viewers to decide whether the planet's ability to create, in corporeal form, loved ones from a person's past, including the suicidal wife of investigating psychiatrist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney), is a blessing or a curse.

Don't look for a hint from director Steven Soderbergh's camera choices. Like HAL 9000 in this film's stylistic predecessor 2001: A Space Odyssey, Soderbergh's camera is as impassive an observer as a ship's flight recorder, marked by long, lingering (almost voyeuristic) shots. The director joins Cameron in the highly informative commentary track, which sheds some light on the open-for-interpretation story. The pair is also featured in the two short, moderately interesting making-ofs, including an HBO documentary, that comprise the bulk of this disc's extras package.

The DVD's 2.35:1 anamorphic picture adroitly balances the orbiting space station's stark, sterile interiors with the churning clouds of Solaris and the warm, brown hues of Kelvin's Earth-bound flashbacks. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is breathtaking, as the ethereal, bass-rich musical score becomes a character in itself.

While Solaris might not be for all tastes, there's no arguing the achievement on the screen.—Gary Frisch

DVD: Giant—Warner Brothers
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
Set against the unforgiving Texas plains, 1956's Giant is one sweeping epic of a family drama that follows the troubled marriage of Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) and cattle rancher Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson), which is ultimately complicated further by former ranch hand Jett Rink (James Dean).

Spanning three generations of the Benedict family, the nearly three-hour story receives top-notch treatment on the two-disc DVD special edition. The 1.66:1 nonanamorphic picture presents both the Northeastern countryside's vibrant greens and the Reata Ranch's shades of brown with pleasing detail. However, some scenes appear to be in need of color correction, which (as you learn in the audio commentary) is due to the nature of the film stock that director George Stevens chose for the movie. As for the audio, the Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack conveys the subtlety of Dimitri Tiomkin's score as expertly as it presents the film's abundant dialogue.

Close attention was also paid to the extras. Stevens' son, screenwriter Ivan Moffat, and film critic Stephen Farber provide a detail-packed commentary track that delves into every aspect of the production, while a second disc is devoted to behind-the-scenes and historical footage, documentaries, and production stills.—Christy Grosz