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DrWho42

Ikaria XB 1: The first Czech science fiction film

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Wow! I'm surprised that such a good movie has never been released in Region 1... There is an American version released by American International Pictures but there are so many changes i.e. dubbing, a changed ending similar to Planet of the Apes or Planet of the Vampires, etc. that makes it sound horrible compared with the original. I stumbled upon this gem through io9's article Commie-Lounge 60s Flick Shows the Horror of Gambling, Jewelry, and Western Decadence and this scene that reeled me in:

The film is generally apolitical, except for this remarkable scene, in which the explorers enter a derelict 20th Century space craft, littered with evidence of capitalist immorality. The visuals are striking. Corpses of tuxedo-clad, gambling westerners, their bodies preserved by open vacuum. The crew killed by their own chemical hand-weapons as they fought over dwindling oxygen. The ship laden with nuclear weapons -- still active after centuries.

 

Ikarie XB 1 is an ambitious, thoughtful, intelligent film that was decades ahead of its time. It's an ultra-rare "must-see" for any serious SF fan, with high-concept elements galore: a trip to proxima centaura; time dilation; future foods, fashion, music and dance; first-contact protocols; increased longevity; artificial intelligence; bulky socialist robots.

 

It's said the screenplay was inspired by the work of Stanislaw Lem, including "The Magellanic Cloud" from 1955.

 

Source:

There was a Region 0 release awhile back (here's a great article/review on the whole process of unearthing the lost classic for the DVD transfer: DVD Savant), but sadly it seems like it's out of print now. So far I've only managed to find a torrent at Mininova, but I'll keep everyone updated if/when there's another DVD release.

 

Here's another scene by-the-way. This time of a dance on the Ikaria XB 1:

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