In the near future, a friendly exploratory mission to Earth from the planet Zenturia crashes on Mars's moon Phobos, and cosmonauts from the USSR are sent to the difficult and dangerous rescue. Although this film was never shown in the USA in its entirety, producer Roger Corman adapted the plot premise for his 1966 sci-fi-horror opus, QUEEN OF BLOOD, and utilized some of its special effects in that film.
Toward Meeting a Dream, A Dream Come True, Mechte Navstrechu, Begegnung im All, Au-devant du rêve, Encuentro en el espacio, 奔向梦想
USSR
USSR
Now here is something completely different from me. In the past I used to discuss very obscure films… now, those moments are few and far between. On YouTube a subtitled copy has been saved in a list for literally years; the sudden urge to see this Soviet sci-fi with less than 200 ratings struck me. I’ve seen some others (not just the ones directed by Tarkovsky) that happened to have footage used for a series of Corman genre efforts, along with the wacky 70’s “kids travel in space” films Moscow-Cassiopeia/Teens in the Universe.
I’ll give examples at the end but for Encounter, some shots and the main plot point were borrowed for 1966’s Queen of Blood, which extrapolated that into…
Russian scifipropaganda about mankinds first encounter with an alien race is filled to the brim with stoic speeches and songs (yes. Plural) about humanity and a narrator that is there to explain everything to us with what I guess is a state controlled script. It is both interesting and boringly droning but everything is forgotten as soon as you realize that the special effects and the set designs are better than anything that the US put out in the same area. This is some gorgeous looking shit and the sequence where the kosmonauts travel to the moon is quite frankly awesome. It's no wonder that Curtis Harrington and Samuel Z Arkoff used the footage for Queen of blood.
I've been watching a few science fiction films made by the Soviet Union of late, and Encounter in Space is a lot more approachable than most of them. Indeed, it might sound bizarre at first, but this is similar in tone to a lot of the stuff Disney were producing and building at the time; there's that same mid-century modernist flair, that same optimism about the future and technology, and while there is human drama, all the characters are professional and pleasant to one another. Think of this story as being set in socialist Epcot (without the national socialist associations of the real one). Whereas usually in Soviet SF movies everything is worn and run down, and unsmiling characters work…
Who cares about characters and plot when the special effects look this cool? Okay, I do but listen…
Well, this is delightful.
The old Soviet Union had a long tradition of Science Fiction, this is an excellent example.
The visuals are sensational, only a handful of western SF films had any amount of the ambition and quality on display here. With the full power of the state behind them, they could really go wild.
Where it falls down a bit is the clumsy character moments, slow pacing and musical (!) sections. It's just over one hour and really drags at times.
Despite everything I found this charming and optimistic.
Viewed on YouTube.
Film #95 of 2019.
Some cosy Soviet sci-fi with a great ethereal atmosphere, heartfelt emotional moments, awesome effects and a wonderful sense of optimism.
The story was a bit choppy at times (for instance, we go directly from them deciding to go to Mars to them already on the way to Mars), but it was still a very nice way to spend my morning.
April Sci-Fi 2024 Challenge - 1st Film 60s
Great soundtrack. The set designs and sounds are very good for its time. The story seems a bit underdeveloped; the film is quite short. There is a strong peaceful message that everyone seems to interpret as propaganda, but ultimately, that's just the message the film wanted to share. An American film of the period is just as much propaganda as a Soviet film of the time.
There are some wonderful moments that bring to mind romantic Italian films of the 60s. Specially towards the beginning, before the main song is heard and some other moments where the romance between two of the cosmonauts is retaken. The song, the romance, and the sets alone are enough to watch this film.
The Starship from a far unknown planet — you’ve overcome long distances, for what?
Russian cosmonauts hurry to Mars where an alien spaceship fell on its way to Earth, but find the ship empty of life. While without any fleshed out writing or particularly good acting, this movie surprises with some shockingly good and fun space effects for 1963. It felt like an extra long Star Trek TOS episode, which is always good for a vintage sci fi film, and the set designs looked the same too. Would love to see Russia remake this one, giving the aliens a lot more story and meaning.
When I was young, I was fascinated by Mars. I remember thinking that there were aliens which inhabited it, which this film reminded me of. In fact, during my time with it, I thought to myself, "This takes me back to when I was a kid." Not that I was overwhelmed with nostalgia, but I can't complain about having my memory jogged as it kept me interested. It was just what I needed.
As for the film, it is very Russian, but not to the point of excess. You have your political bits as well as concerns about technology, so there's a little more going on than space travel. It's a post-Sputnik narrative that illustrates how advanced Russia was at…
Aliens with unknown motives, who are apparently trying to reach earth, crash land on Mars and a group of cosmonauts attempt a rescue. The solid story idea, upbeat universal brotherhood message, moving ending and impressive set designs are the highlights. On the downside, the pacing is sluggish, we never do learn much about the aliens and the patriotic songs are obviously way out of place. Overall, a decent example of Russian space travel sci-fi that's a lot more believable than Planeta Bur but not nearly as fun.
Yup. The Soviets had it going ON. This movie (alternately MECHTE NAVSTRECHU or A DREAM COME TRUE) doesn't have much interest in establishing any characters, but the story idea is interesting enough (aliens trying to visit Earth crash-land on Mars so we head out there to meet them), and really the whole thing is just a World's Fair of speculative space travel design anyway, so who fuckin' cares. The result is hokey as fuck but fun to watch, and you sort of wish they still made movies like this.
Possibly the most improbable film, mostly because their food has labels like "Food for gods and cosmonauts".
