On the Silver Globe (1988)

A team of astronauts land on an inhabitable planet and form a society. Many years later, a single astronaut is sent to the planet and becomes a messiah.

Director:

Andrzej Zulawski

Writers:

Andrzej Zulawski, Jerzy Zulawski (books)

Stars:

Andrzej Seweryn, Jerzy Trela, Grazyna Dylag

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrzej Seweryn	...	Marek
Jerzy Trela	...	Jerzy
Grazyna Dylag
Waldemar Kownacki
Iwona Bielska
Jerzy Gralek
Elzbieta Karkoszka
Krystyna Janda	...	The Actress
Maciej Góraj
Henryk Talar
Leszek Dlugosz
Jan Frycz	...	(as Andrzej Frycz)
Henryk Bista
Wieslaw Komasa
Jerzy Golinski

Storyline

A small group of cosmic explorers, including a woman, leaves Earth to find freedom and start a new civilization. They do not realize that within themselves they carry the end of their own dream. They eventually die one by one, while their children revert to a primitive native culture, creating new myths and a new god. Some time later, a space bureaucrat, running from a broken heart, arrives and finds the colonizer's descendants enslaved by bird-monsters called Cherns. Society is divided into numerous classes, and everyone is waiting for the arrival of a messiah. The newcomer is considered a suitable candidate, and for some time he lives as a god. In the end he is crucified by his people.

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Plot Keywords:

colonization | mythology | voice over narration | philosophy | avant garde | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

10 February 1989 (Poland)

Also Known As:

On the Silver Globe

Filming Locations:

Pustynia Bledowska, Slaskie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zespól Filmowy "Kadr"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

166 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Orwochrome)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on a novel of the same name written around 1900 by Andrej Zulawski's granduncle Jerzy Zulawski. The novel is part of a trilogy known as The Lunar Trilogy.

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Alternate Versions

The English language version features a singular voice-over description of the action and dialogue; it isn't dubbed or subtitled, but it is the full version - 166 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Bird Talk (2019)

User Reviews

One of the worst films I have ever seen.

I have seen many bad films but it is hard to remember any which equaled this one. The film has very little if anything going for it. Like other parts of the film the beginning of the film wasn't needed. There is little continuity to the scenes. It will be a real struggle for even the most die-hard film lover to get through this monstrosity. It lasts two and a half hours long and is horribly written. The film tries to be poetic but the script is stilted and the story line becomes constantly disjointed. (The fact there is one-fourth of the film which was never shot doesn't help matters.) In place of lost scenes viewers will see modern shots of life on Earth as the director narrates what the missing scenes would have looked like. The acting is overdone and is laughable if it weren't for the fact they are trying to be serious. I get the idea that the actors were allowed to ad-lib their lines which go on for an inordinate amount of time. I'll do my own ad-libbing right now which will give you an idea of what is in store:

A rainbow is like a light never reaching its essence. It is the light of life that glows that way. Life is that way everyday in the morning. I like the morning it gives me a feeling of freshness. Feeling fresh I can see the light.

Yes it is that bad. As previously stated the film has several scenes which should have been cut or not used as they add nothing to the storyline. The lighting is very dark and shot with a blue filter to the point that fire looks green. The soundtrack (or lack thereof) will also make you question the director's ability to bring a coherent story to the screen. The only joy I experienced while watching came after the two hour mark when I knew it was almost over.