Terrore nello spazio (1965)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Mario Bava (original version)
Alberto Bevilacqua (original version)
(more)

Release Date:

27 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

This was the day the universe trembled before the demon forces of the killer planet!

Plot:

In the near future the two spaceships Argos and Galliot are sent to investigate the mysterious planet Aura...

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Alien | Escape | Living Dead | Reverse Footage

Cast

Barry Sullivan	...	Capt. Mark Markary
Norma Bengell	...	Sanya
Ángel Aranda	...	Wess
Evi Marandi	...	Tiona
Stelio Candelli	...	Brad / Mud
Franco Andrei	...	Bert / Garr
Fernando Villena	...	Dr. Karan
Mario Morales	...	Eldon
Ivan Rassimov	...	Carter / Dervy
Federico Boido	...	Keir (as Rico Boido)
Alberto Cevenini	...	Toby Markary / Wan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Massimo Righi	...	Capt. Sallas / Nordeg (uncredited)

Directed by
Mario Bava

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Mario Bava		original version
Alberto Bevilacqua		original version
Callisto Cosulich		original version
Louis M. Heyward		English language version
Ib Melchior		English language version
Renato Pestriniero		story "One Night of 21 Hours"
Antonio Román		original version
Rafael J. Salvia		original version

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer
Salvatore Billitteri	....	associate producer
Fulvio Lucisano	....	producer
James H. Nicholson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Gino Marinuzzi Jr.

Cinematography by
Antonio Pérez Olea
Antonio Rinaldi
Mario Bava		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Romana Fortini
Antonio Gimeno

Set Decoration by
Giorgio Giovannini

Costume Design by
Gabriele Mayer

Makeup Department
Gabriella Borzelli	....	hair stylist
Giancarlo Del Brocco	....	assistant makeup artist
Amato Garbini	....	head makeup artist

Production Management
Giancarlo Sambucini	....	production director
Mario Silvestri	....	production manager

Art Department
Emilio Zago	....	assistant set designer

Sound Department
Eugenio Fiori	....	sound recordist
Mario Ronchetti	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Mario Bava	....	special effects (uncredited)
Carlo Rambaldi	....	model maker (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Giorgio Aureli	....	assistant camera
Saverio Diamante	....	camera operator (as Saverio Diamanti)

Music Department
Gino Marinuzzi Jr.	....	music arranger

Other crew
Lamberto Bava	....	assistant to director
Serena Canevari	....	assistant to director
Paolo Ketoff	....	electronic effects
Lucio Romeo	....	production secretary
Manuel San Román	....	assistant to director
Rosalba Scavia	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• America-International Pictures (AIP)
• Castilla Cooperativa Cinematográfica
• Italian International Film

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Astral Films (1965) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• BijouFlix Releasing (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• C.B. Films (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Nou Films (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Orion Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• PolyGram Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Bixio  music publishing
• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack
• Ditta Pompei  shoes
• G. Stacchini  weapons
• Mayer  costumes
• Titra Sound Corporation  sound recording

Also Known As:

Demon Planet
Planet of Blood
Planet of the Vampires (USA)
Space Mutants
Terror en el espacio (Spain)
Terror in Space
The Haunted Planet
The Haunted World
The Outlawed Planet
The Planet of Terror
The Planet of the Damned

Runtime:

86 min | Italy:88 min

Country:

Spain | Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:T (DVD) (2005) | USA:Approved | USA:Not Rated (DVD) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 | West Germany:12 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

America-International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

This was the film on which Mario Bava's son, Lamberto Bava, began his career as his father's assistant. Lamberto would latter become a director himself.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Toby and Mark duke it out, Toby bumps into and moves the flight seat revealing it to be unattached to the deck.

Quotes:

Capt. Mark Markary: One entire crew lost; two of our own crew gone. Bert dead, Eldon disappeared. And this unknown enemy keeps getting closer!
Dr. Karan: The enemy is also becoming visible.
Capt. Mark Markary: What do you mean by that?
Dr. Karan: Well, you saw something. Something not quite identifiable out of the corner of your eye.
Capt. Mark Markary: Ah, yes. As if it were composed of little globes of light, something fleeting, nothing definite. And the minute I looked at the things directly, they were gone.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Trend setter sci-fi from 1965

I saw this film in it's 1965 American release, and at the time I was not overly impressed. It was obviously made on a low budget, the dialog dubbing is bad (although far superior to some other Italian imports I have seen), the acting alternates between wooden (Barry Sullivan) and outrageously overdone (i.e., "gravity effects", the reaction of the actor who smashes the "meteor deflector", numerous fear reaction shots of crew members). Time has proven that it has become a trend setter for numerous subsequent sci-fi films (most notably Ridley Scott's "Alien" (1979)). I recently viewed it again 37 years after it's release, and the similarities to "Alien" are unmistakable. The attentions of the crews of both films are attracted by mysterious radio signals originating from an unexplored world. The horseshoe shape of the ships in POTV resembles that of the wrecked alien spacecraft in "Alien". There are similar shots of the ship's landing gear in both films. Both crews find ancient wrecked spacecraft and skeletal remains of giant aliens on the planets they land upon. There is an unknown predatory alien presence in both films. Lots of gore footage exists in both films too, although POTV unarguably started this trend (alas, is there any recent sci-fi film that does not fall to this temptation?).I cannot believe that all these similarities are coincidental, and I suspect that Dan O'Bannon must have been heavily influenced by POTV, whether he realized it or not.

The use of lighting and color are also noteworthy. POTV still looks good today due to colorful exterior scenes (forgive the somewhat clumsy use of composite shots of the crew in a few scenes set against an obviously miniature landscape). Please also forgive the overzealous use of the zoom lens, which had just been developed at the time. One big demerit in set design comes from a scene inside the wrecked alien spacecraft. A prominently-featured prop appears to be the taillight lens from a 1957 Packard, complete with the backup light lens below it. It is positioned vertically in the shot, and perhaps the set designer was hoping that Italian audiences would not recognize it. Another detractor is the almost unlimited amount of area inside the ships. No ceilings are visible, and the various compartments look as big as football fields when compared to realistic spacecraft design criteria.

I found this to be an entertaining if somewhat flawed film, certainly more enjoyable than it was when I first watched it in 1965. It deserves a vote of 6/10.