Andrei Tarkovski's Solaris (1972) is science fiction catapulting a love story to a space fantasy on death and rebirth. It got the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes. It is slow and long (almost 3 hours), but does manage to hold one's interest. I found it less interesting than Tarkovski's Andrey Rublyov. I did not see Soderberg's version so I can't compare.

(Not to be confused with Dream of the Red Chamber which I reviewed a while back. Both do feature chamber maids.)

Beau Geste and Lives of a Bengal Lancer.

I saw those movies on a double bill in the spring of 1950 at the Carrol Theater in Brooklyn. I have seen them since, but I remember that day vividly. I was with my older brother and a friend of ours. We were in NYC because of the 1950 Winnipeg flood. After the movie we were discussing which one we liked better. My brother (5 years older) liked Lives of A Bengal Lancer the better. I like Beau Geste the better.

Both terrific.

I got the Eclipse Series Lubitsch Musicals box set for Christmas. Four musicals, The Love Parade (1929), Mote Carlo (1930), The Smiling Lieutenant (1931), and One Hour With You (1932).

I got home last night around 9 pm. I just finished the last of them. Will review soon, but for now want to say they are hilarious in the best Lubitsch tradition (and much better than Ninotchka, which I happen to think is overrated). Each one is successively shorter than the next, as Lubtisch perfects his timing. It's also interesting to watch the move from pure Ruratania fantasy to a contemporary moderne setting. Every one is a classic and deserves to be seen.

YESSSSSSS!
'Cause I love Monte Carlo. Heck, I love them all ("See Sylvania First!").

The only thing I'd say - these were really meant to be seen on a big screen. They're wonderful movies anywhere, but that was the original vision that Lubitsch worked out.