Customer Reviews

Solaris (Score)

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whatever you may think of Solaris the movie (the friends I saw it with were too busy hating it to even NOTICE it had a soundtrack), the original motion picture score is an amazing, hypnotic, deeply moving musical experience unlike any other you've had at the movies. Without any recognizable song structure or hummable melody line, composer Cliff Martinez has created a distinctive, haunting sound which stays with you for months after hearing it. Imagine the music from the train ride sequence in Risky Business played marimba-style on muted steel drums, with occasional waves of sweeping, weeping violins and/or horns for accent. The musical conceit running throughout seems to be a basso ostenuto of three ascending notes played over and over with driving urgency, holding the piece together, while steel drums dance, reverberate, and tilt liltingly through, around, and beyond it like a celestial light show.

To give just a little background for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, Solaris deals with the cost of love, the abuses we heap on each other in the name of love, and the price we'd pay to restore lost loves. Solaris is the name of a planet in deep space (covered by a sentient ocean, in the book) being explored some decades in our future by a crew whose mission is to determine if the rays given off by the planet can be used as an alternate source of fuel for a seriously energy-depleted Earth. A byproduct of the anomalous energy is that it can give physical form to your deepest, most private desire. In just about every case, that desire turns out to be a love that went wrong and ended in death, a relative spurned, a wife or lover rejected or neglected, who later died. Martinez does an incredible job of embodying all the different aspects of the story - the vast emptiness of deep space, the alien-ness of the planet, the tenderness and heartache that accompany self-discovery, and most importantly the poignancy of love lost, regained, lost once more...and perhaps regained one final time.

The tracks basically use three arrangements: the steel drum sound described above, a much slower-paced, lullaby-like arrangement using an instrument which sounds like a child's music box played backwards (sounding a lot like the intro of "Prayer for the Dying" by Seal, before the guitar kicks in), and a slightly more conventional arrangement using sustained minor or even dissonant chords of horns and woodwinds, reminiscent of the more ominous tracks of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Some, like "Will She Come Back" and "Don't Blow It," will amaze you with their ability to affect you with their careful, gentle wash of notes that build to a thrumming intensity, giving physical form (as does the anomalous planet in the movie) to both sadness and hope; even though the pieces were designed for specific sequences in the movie, they are universal enough for each listener to claim them as his own, calling up memories of loss and desire to "illustrate" each one.

I wish words could do this album justice, but that is its genius - it has to be heard to even begin to be appreciated. I usually forget the soundtrack of a movie five minutes after I leave the theatre, but this one stayed with me for months, prompting me to dodge into any [local stores]I passed in search of the CD (ultimately, I could only find it here on Amazon). It's rich enough to listen to attentively, yet ambient enough to be used as background music, or even (save for the more ominous selections) music to fall asleep to. If you saw the movie and remember even slightly noting how original the music was, or - like me - were unable to get it out of your head, by all means get this CD, you won't be disappointed.

I just got my copy of this CD in the mail the other day & I have to say I find the disc spellbinding. I saw the film the day it came out (which, by the way is worth seeing & I'll be awiting the DVD release!). While watching the film, I had decided I needed to get this soundtrack.

The music is mostly orchestral, often using thick lush harmonies that remind me a lot of the sort of chords in Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians and sometimes The Desert Music, but minus the pulsating "stroble-light" effect that is so characteristic of Reich's mid-70's-late 80's style. The other peculiar thing about this music is the use of steel drums, vibraphones, gamelan and other bell-like sounds pulsing away here & there, though not as aggressively as in Reich's music.

Harmonically the music not too dissonant, and the shadings from one chord to the next are often surprising - very emotional, but in a slightly restrained way. The music is very moody, atmospheric, a kind of orchestral ambient music. What is so enjoyable about the music is not so much listening to a particular melody, chord progression or rhythm (how a westerner would normally listen to music), but the sheer presence of soundscapes. In this way it reminds me of Brian Eno's work - very additictive and listenable on a variety of levels and engagement.

SO: The disc is well worth buying if you like: (a) minimalist music (b) ambient music (c) just good background music to read by, go to sleep by, etc. It's beautiful sound-painting.

The main purpose of a film score is to further communicate themes portrayed on the screen. With the sound and vision of the cinema experience being inextricably intertwined, the experience is somehow lessened - one without the other.

Over the years, Cliff Martinez has been responsible for scoring the many films of Steven Soderbergh and gained a reputation for producing works as powerful as they are unconventional. Of the score to Solaris, Soderbergh offers, "I relied on it not only to unify the film emotionally, but to import actual narrative information." On this soundtrack, Martinez explores an area where orchestral sound, third world instrumentation, ambient music and science fiction themes all converge. The result is engaging, insular music - equally valid with or without the visual element of Solaris the film.

The spellbinding sound and score for Solaris heightens the film's intimacy and helps portray the intensity and isolation played out by the characters of the film's plot. Here, Martinez uses a traditional orchestra (strings, horns, winds, vocalists) in a unique way.

The horns' slow swells of volume and brightness sustaining beneath the string section's shifting harmonic contrasts are reminiscent of the spiritual movement in modern classical music. By adding steel drum rhythms and cyclical gamelon tones, Martinez creates a score with a strong personality and presence. It's like a character from the film, as alien and unseen as the force affecting the hapless crew of this psychological drama.

The score to Solairis provides an impressive range of moods; from the welcome embrace of a lost love to the void, vast distances between stars. The track "Hi Energy Proton Accelerator", with its contrast, disonance, cacophony and ultimate resolution, beautifully demonstrates the orchestra's emotional coloristic range. "Will She Come Back" offers tenderness and a soothing space for those haunted by loss, while "Wear Your Seat Belt" combines the energetic rhythms of the steel drum with the orchestra's brilliant animations.

The soundtrack to Solaris serves its purpose well by adding substantial depth and a palpable atmosphere to the film it was designed to accompany. Cerebral yet emotional, at times warm and inviting, at others frigid and empty; these compositions easily stand apart from the film as an interesting and accomplished album of acoustic ambient spacemusic.

As soon as the movie ended, I wanted this soundtrack. Beautiful, haunting, etc., etc., this is now my favorite ambient music CD. It is not normal orchestral music, and has an unusual percussive sound.

I first became aware of Cliff Martinez after I saw the film Traffic. I purchased the Traffic soundtrack the same day I saw the film. Same goes for Solaris. The music is haunting, gripping, and helps convey the emotion seen on the screen. Like Traffic, just listening to the music brings back vivid memories of the film.

Martinez does something here that I truely enjoy, but hear very little of; fusing electronic soundscapes with a live orchestra. Nothing beats the incredibly lush sounding fusion of organic and electronic instrumentation.

If you enjoyed the soundtrack to Traffic, you will be very satisfied with this release. Both are similar in that they are beatless ambient masterworks done by a composer at the top of his game. The only difference this time around is the backing of a full orchestra, which only serves to expand on the already lush soundscapes heard in Traffic.

This is one of 2002's best film scores... and like the score to Traffic, it comes highly recommended.

The movie may have not been a masterpiece, but this soundtrack certainly was, for me! I immediately noticed its perfect fit for the movie, futuristic, but futuristic only in the electronic sense - it maintains a sense of warmth and relevance to the human spirit. I found the music to be ethereal and sad, but tinged with hopefulness. Perhaps the only way to describe the music is that it is beautiful and delicate, just like Solaris and the characters portrayed in the movie...

Let me start by saying I'm a fan of both the U.S. version of Solaris and the original Russian film of the same name... for different reasons, as they are very different films. What they have in common, besides some basic plot elements, is an ethereal quality that gently invites the audience to ask questions, of the film, of themselves, rather than making a statement of its own. Both versions of the film are, at least in part, about our relationships, not with each other, but with our comprehension of each other. The Russian film is long, aloof, beautiful and nearly silent. In many ways it's a better film, but what it lacks in emotional accessibility, the U.S. version more than makes up for.

The score for Solaris, like both films, approaches silence in that it never hits you over the head with a theme or catchy melody, but instead washes over and around you like a fragrance or a mood. It somehow manages to be lush and delicate at the same time. In the context of the film, it perfectly conveys the emotional thread, like cinematography for the heart. Others have said it's like another character, and I'd have to agree.

By itself, this score is exquisite. I tried going to sleep to it and found that it kept me up, made me want to cry and then laugh a little and cry a bit more. It made me want to tell my family how much I cherish them, it made me want to wake to a beautiful new day and it made me want to stay in and say nothing for hours on end. It made me want to slow down just enough to cherish the breath in my lungs and the slight breeze moving across my skin.

It fills all of the space in a room while still making it feel spacious. If silence is golden, this score is quite nearly that.

I can recall seeing Solaris for the first time and being totally taken away by the film. The directing, editing, acting, set design, story, philosophy and psychology of the motion picture. However, none of this would be relevant if it were for the soundtrack of the movie, for it was the glue behind Soderbergh's vision.

Cliff Martinez brings ambient music to a whole new level with the selections from this soundtrack. The music is spacey, aloof, haunting and beautiful all at the same time. I have been able to listen to this music strictly as background or foreground. I can't recall how many times I put this CD on in the background while I typed papers during grad school.

I have purchased other soundtracks by Cliff Martinez, Narc and Wicker Park. Those are also great CDs and if one likes the music from Solaris, then they should consider those CDs as well. However regardless of how good both those CDs are, Solaris is still by far my favorite.

I know there are many mixed reviews about Solaris (2002), but I loved it. I also own the original film and the original soundtrack. Both of them are wonderful and worth owning. As for the Cliff Martinez soundtrack, one can enjoy it regardless if they have seen the film, love it or hate it. These feelings take nothing away from the music. A must have for anyone who loves melodies of a remitting tapestry.

In James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist, the protagonist defines great art as not being kinetic--not being meant to make you feel in a particular way, but resonate with the ambiguity that is inextricable from life. Cliff Martinez's score exemplifies that for me. Listening to this score over and over I have been moved in a way that few other things have been able to move me. I heard the music before watching the movie and--suprise, suprise--when I finally saw the movie, I found that I knew what the relationships were already about through listening to the music. For me, this is the essence of beauty.
But 'a music fan' is right--there is some built in distortion, but it won't prevent you from being incredibly moved.
Also, don't use this music for relaxation. Its so much more than that.

The main purpose of the film score is to further communicate themes portrayed on the screen. With the sound and vision of the cinema experience being inextricably intertwined, the experience is somehow lessened - one without the other. Over the years, Cliff Martinez has been responsible for scoring the many films of Steven Soderbergh and gained a reputation for producing works as powerful as they are unconventional. Of the score to Solaris, Soderbergh offers, "I relied on it not only to unify the film emotionally, but to import actual narrative information." On this soundtrack, Martinez explores an area where orchestral sound, third world instrumentation, ambient music and science fiction themes all converge. The result is engaging, insular music - equally valid with or without the visual element of Solaris the film.

The spellbinding sound and score for Solaris heightens the film's intimacy and helps portray the intensity and isolation played out by the characters of the film's plot. Here, Martinez uses a traditional orchestra (strings, horns, winds, vocalists) in a unique way. The horns' slow swells of volume and brightness sustaining beneath the string section's shifting harmonic contrasts are reminiscent of the spiritual movement in modern classical music. By adding steel drum rhythms and cyclical gamelon tones, Martinez creates a score with a strong personality and presence. It's like a character from the film, as alien and unseen as the force affecting the hapless crew of this psychological drama.

The score to Solairis provides an impressive range of moods; from the welcome embrace of a lost love to the void, vast distances between stars. The track "Hi Energy Proton Accelerator", with its contrast, disonance, cacophony and ultimate resolution, beautifully demonstrates the orchestra's emotional coloristic range. "Will She Come Back" offers tenderness and a soothing space for those haunted by loss, while "Wear Your Seat Belt" combines the energetic rhythms of the steel drum with the orchestra's brilliant animations.

The soundtrack to Solaris serves its purpose well by adding substantial depth and a palpable atmosphere to the film it was designed to accompany. Cerebral yet emotional, at times warm and inviting, at others frigid and empty; these compositions easily stand apart from the film as an interesting and accomplished album of acoustic ambient spacemusic.