Then why the bizarre looking monster on one of Mars moons? I wouldn't spoil the surprise of what this creature looks like, but it is very obvious and a truly hairy situation. The American version of this alleged Russian science fiction gem is certainly an eye-opener. It's another one of those American International releases that actually had been made by somebody else, pull apart and recreated, making a stew that no audience probably wanted to even stick their fork in. In this case, the original creators came from Russia, and technically speaking, this film has some extremely beautiful sequences that are imaginative in scope, but covered up with American dialogue and a story that makes no sense, and most of all a conclusion that seems to go on far too long even in the film's 67 minutes running time.
Of course they changed the names of the characters, and the spaceship commander's wife is humorously named Ruth Gordon. It's too bad that American international didn't get someone with half of her talent to dub the lines because they sound so ridiculously lame, and the voices simply don't go with the characterizations. The film itself is basically a moving painting, as if someone had taken their brush, created what they thought the outer stratosphere look like and fell into it just like Mary Poppins and her charges did a few years later.
If the original story in the original film is as beautiful as the photography, then this must have been a sight to behold. It is almost an outer space version of Dante's inferno where nightmarish figures becomes beautiful (with the exception of the monster), hiding the fact that the dangers the astronauts face are immense. americanizing this was a political slap in the face to Russia at the time, but being a lowly studio like American International, I'm sure was barely even acknowledged. This is worth a one-time viewing for its visuals only, and giving true credit where the true credit was due.
Of course they changed the names of the characters, and the spaceship commander's wife is humorously named Ruth Gordon. It's too bad that American international didn't get someone with half of her talent to dub the lines because they sound so ridiculously lame, and the voices simply don't go with the characterizations. The film itself is basically a moving painting, as if someone had taken their brush, created what they thought the outer stratosphere look like and fell into it just like Mary Poppins and her charges did a few years later.
If the original story in the original film is as beautiful as the photography, then this must have been a sight to behold. It is almost an outer space version of Dante's inferno where nightmarish figures becomes beautiful (with the exception of the monster), hiding the fact that the dangers the astronauts face are immense. americanizing this was a political slap in the face to Russia at the time, but being a lowly studio like American International, I'm sure was barely even acknowledged. This is worth a one-time viewing for its visuals only, and giving true credit where the true credit was due.