When we think of Eastern Bloc cinema, we think of socialist realism themes required by the Soviet occupiers. Lesser known are the science fiction movies that occasionally emerged from the bloc. Probably the most famous is Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris". Another one is Jindřich Polák's "Ikarie XB-1" (retitled "Voyage to the End of the Universe" in English), which is also based on a Stanisław Lem novel. It's a pretty cornball movie, but still fun. One can see an influence on movies like "2001: A Space Odyssey".I understand that there are two versions of the movie. There is the original one released in Czechoslovkia, and the one released internationally. I saw the international version: anglicized names and a twist ending. It would be interesting to see the original version to find out what the director's original vision was.It's a pretty fun movie, although probably the most important movie from Czechoslovakia from this era was "The Shop on Main Street", for which Zdeněk Liška also did the music. And of course Jan Švankmajer's movies are always neat.

Jindrich Polák directs "Icarus XB1". Set in the 22nd century, the film sees a spaceship with a crew of 40 journeying to Alpha Centauri in the hopes of finding extra terrestrial life. The first half of the film plays like a futuristic documentary, we the audience dispassionately observing life on board the ship. And so we watch the astronaut's day to day activities – showering, socialising, dancing, dressing, birthday parties, exercising – and even a pregnancy subplot in which one crew-member gives birth.The second half of the film shifts gears entirely. Here, a deserted satellite is found drifting in space. An expedition is mounted, the strange vessel is boarded and attempts are made to discover what happened on board. This portion of the film plays like Ridley Scott's "Alien", filled with spooky corridors, corpses, high-beam flashlights knifing through shadows, dark tunnels and smoke filled rooms.To say anymore about the plot would be to spoil the fun. Suffice to say that the film ends with an encounter with a black hole, an event which has adverse physical and psychological effects on the ship's crew.For scifi buffs, the film is interesting in the way it constantly seems to be shifting gears. The first part of the film is pure "Star Trek". Czechoslovakia's first science fiction film, "Icarus XB1" embodies a kind of romantic view of socialism, everyone happily working together (the cast, like "Star Trek" , is remarkably multi-ethnic, with British, Russian, Czech, America, French and Scandinavian crewmen). The second part of the film, in which a derelict satellite is found, is, of course, resemblant of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", while the investigation of the derelict recalls Ridley Scott's "Alien". Then there's a giant robot which resembles Robby the Robot from "Forbidden Planet", the film's title which recalls "Rocketship XM" and several sequences which conjure up the look of Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". The film even manages to fit in a subplot in which a crazy crewman goes on a murderous rampage, akin to the atrocious ending of Danny Boyle's "Sunshine", which, incidentally, was also about a ship called the "Icarus".7.9/10 – Very atmospheric and ahead of its time. The film was released in the US as "Voyage to the End of the Universe". This version was heavily cut (all the smoking, cerebral, pregnancy, birthing and death scenes were removed), sequences reorganised and re-dubbed such that the film played like a pulpy action movie. Worth one viewing.

Most Americans know this film (if they know it at all) as VOYAGE TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. According to most sources, the film was chopped & re-dubbed from its original 81 minute length (the original Variety review pegs it at 90 minutes) to approximately 64 minutes for its limited theatrical run by American International Pictures. Curiously, I have an old VHS tape off of TV that runs about 78 minutes. The odd thing is that the cuts that were made (apparently there were both Theatrical and TV Versions prepared), are actually LESS important to the ADDITIONAL footage that was added. And, that Additional Footage runs about 5 seconds! How could 5 seconds be more important that the 5 to 20 minutes that were cut out?? More on that below (with SPOILER ALERT to come). IKARIE XB 1 (the Czech cut) is on display as part of a traveling series of Czech films and hopefully will show up on DVD soon in a definitive version. Unquestionably, IKARIE is one of the best SF films to come from outside the USA. Well mounted production values, solid acting and an intelligent storyline. The film has many parallels to such Productions as 2001, SOLARIS, the German TV series SPACE PATROL, PLANET OF THE APES and many others. What's particularly intriguing is that the film doesn't condescend to its audience. Some of the most fascinating aspects of the script are more implied than detailed (this may cause some to be confused or distracted - Why, for instance, does the crew not know of the previous mission they come up close to the target 'White Planet'(NOT the 'Green Planet' as it's US version calls it)?). A true find. Hopefully, a restoration would allow the film to take its rightful place in the SF Film canon. +++++++++++++SPOILERS BELOW++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Most of the cuts made in the TV version of IKARIE are fairly minor (most just made to speed things up). But, it's that 5 seconds of new footage that makes for an entirely different viewing experience. For, the US version changes THE ENTIRE MEANING OF THE MOVIE! When the Space Travelers finally reach the "Green Planet" it appears that they have either never left, gone thru a time warp (a la PLANET OF THE APES) or gone around in circles - NONE of these endings was inferred by the original film at all! Shockingly, when I've talked to people who've seen the US Version or read about it in Film Reference books, their view of the whole film is not only tainted by these 5 seconds, but actually results in their dismissal of the film's quality. Most huff that "it's got this lame and OBVIOUS ending" - And, sadly, they are referring to an ending that is neither lame nor was "obvious" -- for it was never meant to be by the filmmakers! Tragic, shocking and sad. People read the film from the ending backwards and dismiss all that came from before due to its "trick ending". Again, I hope the film, and its purposefully ambiguous ending will out.

Considering that this film was made in 1963, in Czechoslovakia, at a time when so much sci-fi schlok was produced in the spacefaring United States, this film is a rare, welcome sight to the eyes. Intelligently produced and designed, with good character development and good special effects, I miss seeing this film which seems to have been lost in the Great Transition To Video; I know of no distributors for it. It does have its corny moments, but this is excusable in light of the time in which it was made. The ending was unfortunately changed for U.S. viewers, which is a shame; It is the U.S. ending which gets criticized most...I imagine the European ending would have been more in keeping with its originality, and would hope that American International would re-release it in the U.S., with new dubbing (I'm one of those non-purists who can't stand sub-titles...they interfere with the enjoyment of the image. And yes, dubbing CAN be done well, when done RIGHT!). It's been nineteen years since I saw it over the airwaves. I hope it has not vanished; It would be a shame for others not to experience it.