First Spaceship on Venus (1960)
"Der schweigende Stern" (original title)

When an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.

Director:

Kurt Maetzig

Writers:

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

Stars:

Yoko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Yoko Tani	...	Die japanische Ärztin / Sumiko Ogimura MD
Oldrich Lukes	...	Amerikanischer Atomphysiker / Prof. Harringway Hawling
Ignacy Machowski	...	Polnischer Chefingenieur / Prof. Saltyk / Prof. Durand
Julius Ongewe	...	Afrikanischer Fernsehtechniker / Talua
Michail N. Postnikow	...	Sowjetischer Astronaut / Prof. Arsenew / Prof. Orloff
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:
Horst Schäfer	...	Wissenschaftler
Danuta Szaflarska	...	(voice)

Storyline

(U.S. Version) A mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus. A rocket expedition to Venus is launched to discover the origin of the spool and the race that created it.

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Plot Keywords:

team | spaceship | alien | astronaut | artifact | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

East Germany Poland

Language:

German

Release Date:

31 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Silent Star

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

VEB DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Künstlerische Arbeitsgruppe ''Roter Kreis'', Film Polski

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 95 min (short)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the 1962 USA release version, on the film soundtrack, in a scene in the control room of the Kosmostrator rocket, we hear a music track titled "In Outer Space" from Destination Moon by Leith Stevens, and later in the movie, in the scenes of eerie destruction of the Venusian city, we hear a music track titled "Metaluna Catastrophe" from This Island Earth by Herman Stein. Both of these uses of music were uncredited and unlicensed, and unauthorized by the copyright holders.

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Goofs

The narrator mentions that one of the crew has created a special food formula for the crew to be able to consume and digest in zero gravity, yet everyone is walking around as if on planet Earth.

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Connections

Featured in Galaxina (1980)

User Reviews

Interesting cold war sci-fi flick

The amazing imaginative fiction author Stanislaw Lem wrote this visually stunning East German space exploration film with a dated but still thoughtful message. The Sets of Der Schweigende Stern are detailed and beautiful - giving the film an amazingly alien feel. The cinematography varies from excellent to mediocre, and the visual effects are cleverly done - relying on actual props and set devices as opposed to split screen and blue or green screen trick photography. Lem's plot is poignant and well-paced, but, unfortunately, most of the acting in this film is a bit difficult to watch. Finally, the overuse of voice-over narration in the early part of the film detracts from its otherwise good artistic and technical merit.

The story begins with the discovery that, in 1908, an extraterrestrial space vehicle crash landed on earth. An electronic recording from the ship is recovered and linguists set about trying to decode its message. An international team of scientists, astronauts and engineers who are scheduled to undertake a manned flight to Mars are then diverted to Venus to make contact with the Venusians. On the way, they decipher the electronic "cosmic document" and learn that the Venusians were planning to attack the earth using nuclear warheads. To venture further in the plot would involve spoilers.

This is a film full of mysteries, and a film of its time - near the height if the cold war. A powerful point concerning the proliferation of nuclear arms is well made in this film, though it is perhaps the only truly predictable aspect of the plot. Lem's plot heavy brand of highly imaginative science fiction is very dense reading and often carries similar ethical messages, but rarely translates well into visual media. This is a worthy effort, maintaining the slightly wild and surreal feel of Lem's aesthetics and yet driving forward the film's plot at an entertaining pace.

Recommended for Lem fans, serious sci-fi film fans, and those interested in the connection between film and the social history of ideas. Unfortunately for Der Schweigende Stern, the average movie fan won't be able to handle this one.