Der schweigende Stern (1960)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Kurt Maetzig

Writers:

Stanislaw Lem (novel)
Jan Fethke (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

31 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

You are there... on man's most incredible journey!

Plot:

(U.S. Version) A mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus...

Plot Keywords:

Venus | Spaceship | Team | Alien | Nuclear Threat

Cast

Yoko Tani	...	Die japanische Ärztin / Sumiko Ogimura MD
Oldrich Lukes	...	Amerikanischer Atomphysiker / Prof. Harringway Hawling
Ignacy Machowski	...	Polnischer Chefingenieur / Prof. Saltyk / Orloff
Julius Ongewe	...	Afrikanischer Fernsehtechniker / Talua
Michail N. Postnikow	...	Sowjetischer Astronaut / Prof. Arsenew / Prof. Durand
Kurt Rackelmann	...	Indischer Mathematiker / Prof. Sikarna
Günther Simon	...	Deutscher Pilot / Robert / Raimund Brinkmann
Tang Hua-Ta	...	Chinesische Linguistin / Dr. Tchen Yu / Lao Tsu
Lucyna Winnicka	...	Fernsehreporterin / Joan Moran (as Lucina Winnicka)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danuta Szaflarska	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

Der Planet des Todes (East Germany) (working title)
First Spaceship on Venus (USA)
Milczaca gwiazda (Poland)
Molczaci Krzydla
Planet of the Dead
Raumschiff Venus antwortet nicht (East Germany)
Silent Star
Spaceship Venus Does Not Reply

Runtime:

93 min | USA:79 min | West Germany:80 min | East Germany:95 min (short version: 94')

Country:

East Germany | Poland

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

Although it was a co-production with a Polish company, it was still the most expensive production for DEFA up to that time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Being from Another Planet (#5.5)" (1992)

Surprisingly Kubrickesque

Recently shown at the Viennale Filmfestival, this movie (one of only five East German sci-fi films) was spoken of rather than of a trashy museal antique stuffed with communist ideology. I had thought it would be about the quality of Plan 9 from Outer Space, so I was surprised to discover that First Spaceship on Venus is not at all trashy! A lot of money seems to have been invested in the design of the mysterious landscape on venus and the spacecraft. The technical effects look highly professional!

As regards ideology, one can't make out more than a slightly pathetic call for peace in the world (which is perfectly agreeable, really) and a casual remark on how well Soviet astronomy is developed. The crew of the spaceship, though, includes an American and a Japanese as well, so it is openly international.

The moment the spacecraft starts, however, the science-fiction story stands in the foreground. It was written by Stanislaw Lem and is therefore quite interesting, shocking and full of suspense - another aspect I wouldn't have expected to get in a film like that. Of course, the acting is stiff, dialogues are reduced to a necessary minimum and the romantic element in the plot is too weak to be convincing. Probably, the screenwriters have removed most of the depth of Lem's original novel. Nevertheless, the whole film manages to evoke Kubrickesque feelings at times (note that it was made before 2001: A Space Odyssey!) and serves as an interesting historical document but also as good sci-fi fun on a Sunday afternoon.