Dark Nights Over Neo-Tokyo A Life in the Shadows Among Generations: Film Noir and Cyberpunk – A Comparison using a Cyberpunk Film Canon

Cyberpunk and film noir have never been explicitly compared before. Therefore, the most thrilling part of this research is to enter virgin soil with the basic question: Does cyberpunk contain clearly recognizable elements of film noir? This complex question leads to a detailed examination: Firstly, the definitions of film noir and cyberpunk used in this work are presented. Secondly, a cyberpunk film canon including the most important films must be developed to enter this sub genre. Finally, the film canon is compared with defining elements of film noir. The results give conclusions as to the importance of the revolutionary character of film noir depending on the strength of influence on the authors and directors of cyberpunk. But can cyberpunk be described as: Film Noir + Science Fiction? In order to check the truth behind that thesis, you will undergo a little time travel from the 1940s through Los Angeles in 2019 until the dark age in which machines misuse us humans as batteries. Put on your trodes and dive into the gloomy world of cyberpunk.

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Released in 1972, Solaris is Andrei Tarkovsky’s third feature and his most far-reaching examination of human perceptions and failings. It’s often compared to Kubrick’s 2001, but although both bring a metaphysical dimension to bear on space exploration, Solaris has a claustrophobic intensity which grips the attention over spans of typically Tarkovskian stasis. Donatas Banionis is sympathetic as the cosmonaut sent to investigate disappearances on the space station orbiting the planet Solaris, only to be confronted by his past in the guise of his dead wife, magnetically portrayed by Natalya Bondarchuk. The ending is either a revelation or a conceit, depending on your viewpoint.

On the DVD: Solaris reproduces impressively on DVD in widescreen–which is really essential here–and Eduard Artemiev’s ambient score comes over with pristine clarity. There are over-dubs in English and French, plus subtitles in 12 languages. An extensive stills gallery, detailed filmographies for cast and crew, and comprehensive biographies of Tarkovsky and author Stanislaw Lem are valuable extras, as are the interviews with Bondarchuk and Tarkovsky’s sister and an amusing 1970s promo-film for Banionis. It would have been better had the film been presented complete on one disc, instead of stretched over two. Even so, the overall package does justice to a powerful and disturbing masterpiece. –Richard Whitehouse

Solaris – Criterion Collection

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