Ikarie XB 1 (1963)

It would seem that the sci-fi titles produced behind the Iron Curtain during the early 1960s were all heavy on space travel, light on monsters, so Americans such as Roger Corman often purchased the rights to add new footage to rectify the situation ("Battle Beyond the Sun," "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet," "Planet of Blood," "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women). American International often picked up foreign titles to use in their TV packages, so most often viewers would only catch these films on the small screen. This 1963 Czech film is quite interesting, several well drawn characterizations, a virtual prototype for the forthcoming STAR TREK, only with a 15 year mission, destined for the 'Green Planet.' The tacked on US ending, lambasted as it's been over the years, proved to be influential at the time, as shown by 1968's "Planet of the Apes." Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater aired this film on two occasions, Nov 25 1967 (followed by second feature "The Tingler") and Aug 1 1970 (followed by second feature "Voodoo Man"). Other Eastern European titles broadcast include "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne," "First Spaceship on Venus," and "The Amphibian Man."

Interesting Czech film with very high production values – a sort of cross between 'Solaris' and '2001: A Space Odyssey' with a big dash of 'Things To Come' all made in black and white. It's interesting and surprisingly fairly accurate compared with what came before and after (it's ahead of it's time) While there are scientific inaccuracies - it's pretty authentic stuff – I liked the explanation of the time dilation effect on this journey to Alpha Centauri and the fact that their families back on Earth would age while they would not. The crew are beset by various problems on the way (mainly the effects of a hidden black star and consequent radiation). The set design in this film really stands out being quite futuristic (it's sort of 'Things To Come' meets 'Metropolis' in outer space). There's some odd unintentional distortion effects on the extreme ends of the widescreen film frame which is a shame (it could be related to the type of lens used or some kind of distortion caused by an anamorphic squeeze). The film is quite gripping but just as it is getting really interesting the film ends at the point they arrive at their destination. You don't even get to see a glimpse of the new world (unlike say in the film 'When Worlds Collide'). This film must have influenced the production design of 2001 a few years later. The exterior special effect sequences in this film are far less effective and are kept mercifully to a minimum. I thought the control panels and video screens shown were well ahead of their time. Pretty good stuff.

Jindrich Polák directs "Icarus XB1". Set in the 22nd century, the film sees a spaceship with a crew of 40 journeying to Alpha Centauri in the hopes of finding extra terrestrial life. The first half of the film plays like a futuristic documentary, we the audience dispassionately observing life on board the ship. And so we watch the astronaut's day to day activities – showering, socialising, dancing, dressing, birthday parties, exercising – and even a pregnancy subplot in which one crew-member gives birth.The second half of the film shifts gears entirely. Here, a deserted satellite is found drifting in space. An expedition is mounted, the strange vessel is boarded and attempts are made to discover what happened on board. This portion of the film plays like Ridley Scott's "Alien", filled with spooky corridors, corpses, high-beam flashlights knifing through shadows, dark tunnels and smoke filled rooms.To say anymore about the plot would be to spoil the fun. Suffice to say that the film ends with an encounter with a black hole, an event which has adverse physical and psychological effects on the ship's crew.For scifi buffs, the film is interesting in the way it constantly seems to be shifting gears. The first part of the film is pure "Star Trek". Czechoslovakia's first science fiction film, "Icarus XB1" embodies a kind of romantic view of socialism, everyone happily working together (the cast, like "Star Trek" , is remarkably multi-ethnic, with British, Russian, Czech, America, French and Scandinavian crewmen). The second part of the film, in which a derelict satellite is found, is, of course, resemblant of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", while the investigation of the derelict recalls Ridley Scott's "Alien". Then there's a giant robot which resembles Robby the Robot from "Forbidden Planet", the film's title which recalls "Rocketship XM" and several sequences which conjure up the look of Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". The film even manages to fit in a subplot in which a crazy crewman goes on a murderous rampage, akin to the atrocious ending of Danny Boyle's "Sunshine", which, incidentally, was also about a ship called the "Icarus".7.9/10 – Very atmospheric and ahead of its time. The film was released in the US as "Voyage to the End of the Universe". This version was heavily cut (all the smoking, cerebral, pregnancy, birthing and death scenes were removed), sequences reorganised and re-dubbed such that the film played like a pulpy action movie. Worth one viewing.

I just saw a gorgeous, widescreen, subtitled print of "Ikarie XB 1", also known as "Voyage To The End of the Universe", at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. The print, restored by the Czech studio that originally released it, is in black and white, and was obviously shot that way. Its complete running time is listed in the program notes as 84 minutes, though it may have been a few minutes longer. (I should have checked my watch). Like several others who've commented on this, I first saw this movie as a kid when AIP released a dubbed version in the 60s. Its definitely not a kiddie movie, and is still quite impressive for its effects and production design, as well as its intelligent story.