From: wildman@athena.mit.edu (Timothy Worsley)
Subject: Lem Films
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Reply-To: eprice@sql.sybase.com
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 11:01:41 GMT

[Note: Xposted to r.a.sf.movies because that's where I first
encountered this topic a few months ago.  Followups to r.a.m please.
Actually, I just decided to Xpost to soc.culture.polish too.  So watch
your followups.  Sorry for any annoyance I may cause...]

A few months ago, there was a small thread about movies based on
books/stories/screenplays by Stanislaw Lem.  It all stared when
someone mentioned they had seen a reference to a film of THE
INVINCIBLE.  Nobody ever came up with any more info on it, but other
films mentioned were SOLARIS, THE SILENT STAR, ROLY POLY, VICTIM OF
THE BRAIN, and THE INQUEST.  Well, I still haven't found anything
about a film of THE INVINCIBLE, but I did find a number of others!
Here's a chronological listing, info taken mainly from a reference
about Polish films I was looking through the other day.  I didn't list
VICTIM OF THE BRAIN because I can't remember what year it came out (I
did see it, my guess would be 1988), or who directed it (it's not a
Polish film, perhaps a guy from Finland?), but it might be of some
interest to people -- it has one segment that is a dramatization of
one of Lem's CYBERIAD stories, and it also features appearances by
Douglas Hoftstadter, Marvin Minsky, Daniel Dennett.

1960: THE SILENT STAR (Milczaca Gwiazda; Das Schweigende Stern). Joint
production of Poland and East Germany, based on Lem's novel THE
ASTRONAUTS (not translated into English), directed by Kurt Matzig.

1962: Professor Zazul.  Short film based on a Lem story,
(co-?)directed by Jerzy Stawicki.

1962: The Friend (orig. Przyjaciel).  Another short film based on a
Lem story, (co-?)directed by Jerzy Stawicki.

1968: ROLY POLY (orig. Przekladaniec, usually translated as "Layer
Cake"), dir. Andrzez Wajda for Polish TV.  Special Jury Award at
Sitges IFF 1969.  Assuming I'm not mistaken in equating ROLY POLY with
Przekladaniec (anyone?), Lem wrote the screenplay.

1970: SOLARIS, dir. Andrey Tarkovsky.  Anyone who wants to know about
the differences between the book and the film, email me and I'll send
you an extensive article about it I posted a few months ago (mainly
excerpts from interviews with Lem, plus some excerpts from Tarkovsky's
book Sculpting in Time).

1972: THE INVESTIGATION (orig. Sledztwo).  Made for TV, based on Lem's
novel of the same name, directed by Marek Piestrak.  I always thought
this would be an interesting book to attempt to film...  I wonder how
it turned out?

1978: PILOT PIRX TESTED (orig. Test Pilota Pirxa; Doznaye Pilota
Pirxa).  Joint production of Poland and USSR.  Marek Piestrak's first
full-length feature film, based on Lem's story "The Trial" (better
known to US readers as "The Inquest", from _Tales of Pirx the Pilot_).
Pretty bad choice of titles, if you ask me, since there is a Pirx
story called "The Test"...  Grand Prix at Trieste IF of Sci-Fi Films
1979.  Someone who posted to the original discussion in r.a.sf.movies
had actually seen this (but thought it was a 1983 film -- perhaps this
is *really* The Test, and he saw The Inquest???)

1978: THE HOSPITAL OF THE TRANSFIGURATION (orig. Szpital
Przemienienia), based on Lem's novel of the same name, directed by
Edward Zebrowski.

I still have not found any reference to a film of THE INVINCBLE.

If anyone knows anything about these films (except SOLARIS of course),
please post or email me!  More generally, does anyone have any advice
on where one might try to obtain video copies of some of these flicks
(except SOLARIS of course).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, information, advice, etc.!

Ed Price              (not Tim Worsely) "Culture is an apparatus for the
eprice@sql.sybase.com (not wildman@...)  ceaseless renaming of the true
Cambridge, MA, USA                       state of things..." (Lem)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies