Thanks for that story - I'll look up that Amazon link. I love the movie but definitely prefer the book. I'm not sure Red is a better character inherently but I'd certainly rather hang out with him than "Stalker".
Tarkovsky always brought his own perspective to things; it's been ages since I read Lem's Solaris but from what I recall Tarkovsky also packed it full of Daddy Stuff that wasn't in the book.
Not such a bad thing; hushed reverence for the source material often yields movies that are no more interesting than reading the book (the obverse of the problem where directors run rampant and screw things up completely; the two best contrasting examples of this are SF Channel Dune vs Lynch Dune).
Tarkovsky always brought his own perspective to things; it's been ages since I read Lem's Solaris but from what I recall Tarkovsky also packed it full of Daddy Stuff that wasn't in the book.
Not such a bad thing; hushed reverence for the source material often yields movies that are no more interesting than reading the book (the obverse of the problem where directors run rampant and screw things up completely; the two best contrasting examples of this are SF Channel Dune vs Lynch Dune).