Andromeda Nebula (1967)
"Tumannost Andromedy" (original title)

A spaceship from Earth is trapped on the unknown planet. Based on book "Tumannost Andromedy" by Ivan Efremov.

Director:

Yevgeni Sherstobitov

Writer:

Ivan Yefremov (novel)

Stars:

Sergei Stolyarov, Vija Artmane, Nikolai Kryukov

Cast

Credited cast:
Sergei Stolyarov	...	Dar Veter
Vija Artmane	...	Veda Kong
Nikolai Kryukov	...	Erg Noor
Tatyana Voloshina	...	Niza Krit
L. Tskhvariashvili	...	Mven Mas (as Lado Tskhvariashvili)
Aleksandr Gaj
Roman Khomyatov
Lyudmila Chursina
Marina Yurasova
Gennadi Yukhtin
Aleksandr Goloborodko
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tatiana Mayorova

Storyline

Film is set in the future. Humans on spaceship named "Tantra" are exploring the unknown part of the Universe. The spaceship gets trapped by the mysterious Iron Star. The Iron Star's powerful force of gravity is to hold the spaceship for 20 years. The humans are facing a very tough survival challenge, being surrounded by the invisible predators. The predators can eat human flesh right through heavy spacesuits, and some crew-members disappear. Only the light from "Tantra" can scare the predators away.

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Plot Keywords:

survival | communism | love | utopia | space travel | 

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Genres:

Romance | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Also Known As:

Andromeda Nebula

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dovzhenko Film Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min 65 min (re-edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono 70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Efremov was banned by the KGB. This film is the 1st episode of Tumannost Andromedy. Next episodes were never filmed.

User Reviews

A Serious and Philosophical Sci-Fi Movie

Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to see a dubbed or subtitled (in English) version of this Russian film. However, I consider "Tumannost Andromedy" ("The Andromeda Nebula") as one of the best sci-fi flicks dealing with space exploration, regardless. The plot, being very similar to another East European film, the Czech "Ikarie XB1, is about a long-duration spaceflight to a nearby star, Epsilon Tucanea [or something, like that], in the year 3000.

The spaceship interior, just like in "Ikaria", is very well-designed (there is even a swimming pool in the recreation hall], and once the astronauts land on a dark planet, the film features excellent special effects. The film's ludicrous and bombastic communist ideology should be overlooked, but the story [by A. Yefremov, who was also a planetologist by trade, so he really knew about astronomy and space] is rather intriguing. It is also nice to see the future Earth, where the air and waters are clean, and people live in harmony. (Nowadays, especially when seeing the contemporary cinema, it probably sounds rather corny - unfortunately...)

It seems, however, that this film is only the first of a planned two-part sequence ("Part 1: Prisoners of the Iron Star" [in Russian, of course] is being clearly stated at the beginning of the film), and the second part was never finished - probably because of the film's unfavourable reception. Nevertheless, I have found this film being very unique and atmospheric, even in its unfinished form and with its original language. (In used bookstores, the book ["Andromeda - A Space Age Tale"], upon which the film was based, is widely available.)