Planeta bur

It is a bit odd having a robot named John speaking monotonic Russian, but this is a pretty interesting film. I also found it interesting that a couple of English phrases were tossed in on occasion. This is not at all what I was expecting, which was something along the lines of "OUR space program is better than YOUR space program", considering the year this was made. However, there was only one passing reference to any political/ideological struggle, and that was probably thrown in to appease whatever Soviet film board that had to give its approval to this movie. I would recommend this one for any sci-fi junkies out there who like to see what other countries did with the genre.

Pavel Klushantsev, who directed more Russian SF films than he's credited with here, found himself propelled from obscurity into sudden demand by the Soviet authorities when the production of his 1958 SF debut, 'Road to the Stars' coincided with the launch of Sputnik. Although he languished in almost total obscurity in the West, his films were enormously popular in the USSR, and, as a recent documentary noted, many of his cinematic innovations were 'borrowed' 10 years later by Kubrick in '2001'.

Planet of Storms is not a great movie, but compared with most of the SF which the USA was churning up to this time, it's positively stellar. It's weakest points are its sketchy characterisations, and rather poor pacing, but hard SF luminaries like Gernsback and John Campbell would probably have admired its attention to detail, and relative lack of sensationalism. The film actually begins with the disclaimer "Venus may well be entirely different to this" (or somesuch), and what follows is a serious attempt to depict a Venusian expedition - marred perhaps by the odd dinosaur, but surprisingly free of Soviet chest-thumping.

Planet of Storms won't blow your mind, but you'll find yourself being charmed by the ingenious photography, sets, creatures, etc. There's also a straight out hilarious scene where the Robot gets rained on, and goes off his head. While his two human companions are lying on the ground, dangerously ill from fever, he's babbling on about building a concrete highway to reach the other half of the expedition, who are are about 20 miles away. Contacting him via radio, they are somewhat alarmed to hear him tell them "According to quotes from the Smith corporation, the cost of building a highway to the Sirius is 37 million dollars". I don't know if this was a dig at capitalism, but it cracked me up anyway.

Now - some bloke wanted a translation of the lyrics to the song. These are courtesy of SBS TV Australia (translated by Elena Mikrailik and Brendan Doyle)

(first version)

Planet of Storms, we thank you for your lessons / We enjoyed our stay, but now we must be gone / Our ship awaits; our way is clear and straight / Our hearts are calling, "home, home home" / Yes, home, dear Comrades //

It's time to calculate the points of bearing / It's time to place our courage at the helm / She waits for us, the planet of our birth / Our dear home; our one and only Earth / Yes, Earth / Earth, dear Comrades //



(end of movie version)

Planet of Storms, we'll see you soon, don't worry / And in your harbour, our ships will gladly berth / For not in vain are we the sons of Earth / For not in vain are we the sons of Earth / Earth, dear Comrades

I saw this in my childhood and took years to track it down again since I saw it under one of its two confusing Roger Corman english-language re-edits [Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet with Basil Rathbone added, and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, with mermaids scenes directed by Peter Bogdonavich.] Finally able to track down the original Russian version recently, I was able to fully appreciate the ambitious scope and production values. The forest is truly primeval in its detailed beauty, Robot John both heroic and sad in his dedication, and the ending poetic and lyrical. Non-U.S. science fiction films are doubly exotic, and this one is classic fare.

Not bad, not incredible like "Forbidden Planet" and not as colourful and tragic as "This Island Earth" and it is certainly not "Solaris". But we must give 60s Eastern bloc science fiction its due. None of it is bad. All of it respects the intelligence of the viewers and each manages to create effective atmospheres. The music and background sound were good. The robot and the "supercar" are dated but very good for the time. Naming the robot "John" is a bit of a dig at the West (one could just as easily see Westerners naming a robot Ivan or Igor). The robot is given a Western name while the crew are all self actualized socialist men except for the woman cosmonaut who is given the traditional role of minding the mothership and lamenting over the fate of the men who are off exploring the planet. If that and the song are the social commentary then it could have been much worse.

The russian language version is rare, but well worth seeing. If you're really curious, you can see the American version which was retitled "Voyage to the prehistoric planet" and released in 1966. Back in the early 1960s, when this film was made, the Soviets had focused thier space program on Venus. In fact, they were the first to send probes into the atmosphere, land successfully, and return pictures from the surface. It's no wonder they were inspired to produce an extravagant adventure, based on the promise of thier exploration. The story is basic and straight forward, about an expedition to the planet Venus, but the science is flawed. They encounter oceans, flooding rains, and animal life. When this film was produced, we were just beginning to discover the truth about Venus. A surface temperature at the melting point of lead. A poisinous atmospere, with crushing pressure hundreds of times as heavy as ours. No water, or oxygen, and sulfuric acid in the clouds. If you're lucky enough to run across this film, forget all that, suspend you disbelief, and enjoy this rare classic gem.