Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

philipr09 It is unusual to watch a science fiction movie from the early 1960s without wanting to laugh yourself silly, but this little number not only looks the part (albeit in a 60s style -think original Star Trek series production values), it also bridges two distinct styles within the genre. On the one hand, there is the earlier, declamatory style of traditional alien-busting 'Golden Age' sci-fi; on the other the later, more confessional storytelling characterised by '2001: A Space Odyssey' or 'Solaris' through to 'Alien' and 'District 9'. In the latter sort, there is a much darker, dubious foundation; man is usually more a part of the problem than the solution. Arguably, this linking of styles was also achieved quite nicely in 'Forbidden Planet', but excellent as it was, that movie still had us rooting for the 'Cowboys' versus the 'Indians' (despite the 'Indians' being a product of one man's insecure ego), and fell back on that already tired old staple of the misunderstood scientist with a glamorous daughter! For me, the stunning thing about 'Ikarie XB 1' is the astonishingly precocious direction and editing. It is sharp, dynamic and typical of very much later offerings. At a trim 1 hour 23 minutes, it manages to do a great deal. It is true that much of the 'exterior' work is pretty clunky, but that doesn't detract too much from the whole. Also, I'm afraid I did find one thing to laugh myself silly at: the trashing of poor old Patrick, the ageing robot, would have fit right into an episode of 'The Simpsons'! ("Patrick -RETREAT!!"...CLUNK! CRASH! Oh dear, too late!) All this and the discovery of a diabolical weapon called 'Tigger Fun' - what's not to like?This movie can be viewed in entirety, with English subs, on YouTube.Finally, whilst writing this, I have learned (belatedly) of the death in January this year of Anne Francis, who played Altaira in 'Forbidden Planet'. I am sure my sadness at her passing will be shared by many.

CatTales *some spoilers* One of those early sci-fi flicks full of nice touches and effects that still influence the genre today, from Star Trek to Minority Report. While the plot is about a lengthy trip to another solar system, a main complication is about a health problem that deranges one of the crew(later borrowed for classic Star Trek's "Naked Time" and more blatantly used in Trek's Next Gen "Naked Now" episode). Their view screen projects images larger-than-life (still used in movies today to look "cool"). While the ship models aren't too convincing, there's one scene when a mini-ship is docking and suddenly an astronaut waves hello from inside! It's a slightly off-kilter matte effect but a nice effort. The highlight of the film starts in the ballroom, with futuristic music and dancing, which is interrupted by an alarm (an encounter with a derelict ship). Then we watch as the astronauts investigate, their boots that light up with each slow-motion step, unknowingly performing a dance of death. It's a sequence worth watching a few times. No doubt the climax of the scene was a contemporary message about the dangers of nuclear weapons. The derelict ship also foreshadows what will happen to the crew of the ship. There's alot of good-natured humor in the film, similar to the other Russian classic "Planet of Storms." The final scene isn't too surprising, but it's better than no surprise at all (and was apparently borrowed 2 years later for the same final scene in the Italian "Planet of Vampires"). A nice little flick, which is in public domain so it's often sold by "independent distributors" on Ebay.

pro_crustes This is for sf-film completists. It seems to fill a gap between the late-50's style of sf movie and the forever-after effects of Star Trek and Kubrick's "2001." The only version you're likely to see is the American International release. The Encyclopedia of SF says the original film is in color, but AI's print is B&W, probably to save costs on the number of prints they may have made from a film I suspect they got for little money in the first place.The story is about a big "community" sized spaceship making a long journey to "the green planet." Another reviewer said the ship was faster than light, but a couple of references to time-dilation effects in the dialog make it more likely that the ship was a near-lightspeed model. This has an influence on the spooky atmosphere that pervades the whole film, making the crew/community highly insular, as they realize they are cut off completely from the lives they have left behind.The sfx are slightly better than Dr. Who episodes of similar vintage, with a couple of really good spacesuits and an unusual design for the ship itself. There's also a very, very neat shot of the ship in orbit around its destination that is a dead ringer for a similar moment in "Alien," and quite effective (in both films), in a way that most movies about spaceships seem to forego.Still, the story rambles and seems kind of shallow. The sets and sfx aren't bad, but don't make up for the weak script. I recommend this for true lovers of the form (as I am), because you just wouldn't want to be left wondering what might have been going on in sf films, even east European ones, in the early '60s. Here's your answer.

mpopham This is an intriguing Czech science fiction film from the early 60's. It's pretty much unknown in the U.S (American - International Pictures dubbed it into English and released it as "Voyage to the End of the Universe" in 1964; it's been seen here only rarely since then).The movie depicts a group of space travelers on a seemingly endless journey to a new planet. They encounter many traps and dangers along the way (including a derelict spacecraft and a mysterious nebula) but the greatest conflict seems to be psychological: namely, the titanic ambition of a 15-year, trans-galactic voyage pitted against the fragility of the human mind and the relative insignificance of human lives.The interior sets are lavish -- certainly on a par with "Forbidden Planet" and perhaps even "2001". The level of detail in the spaceship interiors is admirable, and the same can be said for the smartly designed spacesuits."Ikarie XB 1" stumbles badly, though, when it comes to the exterior effects work. The spacecraft models are too small to provide much detail, and seem to be propelled through space by dark-colored string. As a result the transitions between interior and exterior shots are somewhat jarring.All the same, this movie is a very interesting example of mid-century science fiction. It deserves a much wider audience, and it is to be hoped that a restored, subtitled print will one day make the rounds in American art houses. Cross your fingers.