L'Enquête du pilote Pirx

This film is based on the story with the same title, written by Polish science fiction writer - Stanislav Lem. Even though the movie not as good as story, it is better than average sci-fi movie.

This is definitely the first film ever made to introduce the SF idea of replicants (here called "Nonlinears") , android robots who are almost indistinguishable from humans. Sure , you might have had movies featuring androids before but not in sense of the term you would describe the characteristic features of Blade Runner's replicants that have become a staple of pop culture. The story in short is about a space pilot who has to commandeer a ship to Saturn to launch some probes, with his crew being an assorted mix of humans and replicants. With no knowledge provided of who is who, he has to ensure the mission's success which will influence the UN's decision whether replicants should be mass produced or "retired". There are a lot of Blade Runner vibes in terms of the ideas and themes discussed. How do you actually define human traits? Can human foibles actually have purpose? Would you consider yourself superior to humans if you are made physically stronger but as a factory product with an imposed life cycle( no real sense of growing up from child to adult) In terms of pacing, this movie oftentimes actually feels like a Hollywood action film of the era, very fast paced instead of vast stretches of time devoted to just dialogue between two-three characters, as is often the common perception of these Cold War era Eastern films by the West. If characters do talk, it's not usually about long expositions or ruminations but quick exchanges to move the plot along. The special effects are passable for the era. The space ship's interiors are well designed . However, the miniatures could have used more detail. At times, when the space ship is shown moving through space, it looks more like a gas cylinder suspended by rope than an actual miniature that was sculpted by an artist. Also, for some reason, for showing the lift off of the rocket from Earth, they chose to use NASA stock footage which is glaringly evident in the film quality differences between the NASA archive shots and regular film shots . At the very least, they could have done some post production to try to ease out these differences. Despite all of the film's shortcomings, the film succeeds in an entertaining suspension of disbelief in the light of the pacing and especially the good performances . I think all the actors were well chosen for the characters they played.Sergei Desnitsky is likable as Commander Pirx. Also noteworthy is Aleksandr Kaydanovski ,who also appears in Tarkovsky's Stalker. In conclusion, this is definitely a film to check out if you are a Blade Runner fan or simply want to explore the vast library of Soviet Polish films

Marek Piestrak's film "Test Pilot Pirxa" happens to be one of the most challenging science fiction films made by an East European communist nation.It is based on a story by acclaimed science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem whose novel "Solaris" was made into a film by legendary Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.This film features a furiously intense clash between robots and human beings.The action takes place on a spacecraft commanded by a pilot named Pirx.He does everything in his capacity to prevent his crew from the dangers caused by some intelligent robots.It is the only film which set out to see answers to the intriguing question : "Can robots replace human beings" ? Some element of suspense is created in the film when the identity of robot on board the spacecraft is not revealed. Test Pilot Pirxa is a landmark film for Polish cinema as it was for the first time that futuristic sets were created for a Polish film.This was done to give a Hollywood kind of feel to this film.

Stanislaw Lem is one of my favorite authors. Every book of his is both very deep and philosophical and so funny that I laugh to tears. And "The Inquest", the short story that the film's based upon, is one of his most wonderful pieces. So even though I'm not a fan of old sci-fi movies which usually seem boring and dull, I decided to watch this one.

Luckily, it turned out to be an exception. The action was as swift and exciting as in modern films, and the plot was great. It was altered, of course - you can't turn a short story into a 1,5-hour film without expanding it. But the alterations fitted in perfectly. Most of Lem's hilarious humor remained in the movie, and some more was added (such as "Humans generally are less reliable. - Poor... poor humans").

The acting was very good. I think Alexandr Kaidanovsky was the best - but perhaps that's because his part was the most difficult one. (I can't explain why, because I would spoil one of the main plot intrigues!) And Sergei Desnitsky made an excellent performance of the clumsy, awkward but brave pilot Pirx.

To put it short: if you want first-class special effects and modern actors, skip it. If you want a both funny and thrilling sci-fi based on Lem's masterpiece, with various psychological and philosophical problems raised and discussed, "The Inquest of Pilot Pirx" is just for you.

First off I just really want to know what happened to the computer chip that fell on the floor.

Best things-set design and uncanny performance of the actors, which highlighted the dilemma - who are the robots? Are they among us? What makes us human and distinguishes is from machines?

Worst things- what was the robots' motivation? Was Novak good and Calder bad? Why?

Wasn't very focused.