Stazione spaziale K-9

{Note: these comments and score refer to the Russian film 'Nebo Zovyot' ('The Sky Beckons') (1959), NOT the AIP film 'Battle Beyond the Sun' which was pieced together using the Russian special effects (plus a couple of ridiculous monsters)}. The Soviet spaceship "Motherland' is being prepared on a space station for the first journey to Mars when the mission leader Yevgeny Petrovich Kornev (Ivan Pereverzev) gets a call from another team (presumably American but this is not explicit), also planning on going to Mars in their spaceship "The Typhoon", who request access to the space station's facilities. Kornev assures them that the station is 'open to all'. During subsequent conversations, The Typhoon's crew, pilot Robert Clark (Constantine Bartashevich) and publicity man Erwin Verst (Gurgen Tonunt), are very leery about revealing their exact plans and seem flustered when they find out the Soviets are leaving a few days hence. Verst contacts his boss, who orders them to leave immediately, despite the risks, as all that matters is getting to Mars first (in 1959, the real 'space race' was just beginning). The Typhoon breaks station regulations and takes off without authorisation, injuring Motherland crew member Gregory Somov (Valentin Chernyak). The takeoff triggers an orgy of capitalistic marketing, as seen in a montage of Times Square signs proclaiming the success of the "Mars Syndicate" to be the first to reach Mars, plugs for Mars themed cocktails, and real estate ads pushing the sale of cheap Martian land (an unsubtle dig at Western commercialism and blunt counterpoint to Kornev 'knowledge for knowledge's sake' explanation for why the Russians want to go to the red planet). Paying for their recklessness, the crew of the Typhoon soon find themselves low on fuel and drifting toward the sun. They send an SOS to the Russians who, without hesitation, abandon their own Mars trip to rescue their rivals, despite the hazards of the meteor field the Typhoon has entered. The Motherland, with too little fuel to return to Earth or land on Mars, touches down on the tiny asteroid 'Icarus', the orbit of which has taken it near Mars, to await help from Earth. When an unmanned fuel shuttle crashes, all seems lost until Kornev spots a space-suited figure staggering across the asteroid's surface: Somov had heroically taken command of a second shuttle and delivered the necessary fuel. The film opens with a lengthy present day (i.e. 1959) prologue but just ignore the 'just a dream of the future' framing device and watch the film as straight, hard science fiction. The film is a product of its times and its blatant cold war politics (noble Socialists vs. grasping Capitalists) seems trite and dated, but the story is entertaining and the special effects and imagery outstanding (especially the 'Mars-rise' scene on Icarus or the numerous shots of the spaceships and the space station). I watched a sub-titled version, so somethings may have been lost in translation (such as the nature of Somov's fate). Definitely a must-see for space-opera junkies (or fans of Soviet-era cinema). The best of the 'space' scenes can also be seen in the ridiculous AIP opus 'Battle Beyond the Sun', assembled by one of Roger Corman's more famous umpa loompas, Francis Ford Coppola, or the even more dire 'Queen of Blood' (1966), both of which incorporated recycled 'Nebo Zovyot' footage.

Like most soviet films of the period (and I watched the original version), in has no action whatsoever. The plot is stilted as statues at the People's Economy Achievements Exhibition in Moscow, and the story drags its feet to no end. It is a typical tableau vivant aimed at kicking imperialist America one more time, and at showing Russians (but mostly Ukrainians, as the film was done at the infamous Dovzhenko Studios, legendary for its spectacularly bad productions) at their best and foremost.

However, this propaganda poster about how Soviets and Americans tried to prove to each other whose penis extender—pardon me, phallic symbol—is better, racing each other to Mars, of all places, is nicely illustrated with analog FX. The music is abominable, and is in place only in the scene of "space madness" of the one "bad American" they let out into space. The dialogue is absurdist and as ridiculous as the gadgetry shown. More than anything else, it reminds me of the old Chapayev joke: —Pet'ka, the apparatus. —Six, Vasily Ivanovich. —Six what? —Apparatus what? In some sense, it's just as silly as Gravity. Look how much time passed, and what has changed?

Nevertheless, content-wise, the film's narrow-minded positivism and typical soviet jingoism is set off by one truly Pynchonian twist, and you can appreciate it if you read Gravity's Rainbow. The film has its own Gottfried, and there is the Gottfried glorious moment there. A-and Gottfried's name in the film is Grigory.

In anticipation of Megalopolis (2024) coming out next month, it's time for me to finally binge through the filmography of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and that begins with his first movie, Battle Beyond the Sun (1959) and it was certainly interesting.

Positives for Battle Beyond the Sun (1959): It was interesting to watch a movie made by both Francis Ford Coppola and Roger Corman. The movie's premise is very simple in both concept and execution. The effects with rockets and shuttles for the most part are decent enough in this movie.

Negatives for Battle Beyond the Sun (1959): The movie is very low budget and it definitely feels like something that Roger Corman would make. The camera quality is very granny. And finally, there were times to where I lost interest in watching the movie.

Overall, Battle Beyond the Sun (1959) is a interesting start to the legendary career of Francia Ford Coppola.

I have just posted a synopsis for this film and noted the major differences between the original Soviet production and the American release.

Although reported to be over 2 hours long my fully subtitled version is only 67 minutes.

I suspect that the a lot of the Soviet propaganda supposed to be in the film was removed before the subtitled version came out.

If anyone wants more details of the differences between the two films don't hesitate to contact me.

Also if anyone has a longer subtitled version of the original film I would also love to know how to source it

Although bearing the AIP logo and giving the characters all-American names like Craig Matthews and Paul Clinton the credits give the game away by revealing that it's actually a Mosfilm production in characteristically hot colours bought by Roger Corman's Filmgroup who engaged the services of his illustrious protege Francis Ford Coppola (credited as Associate Producer) depicting an international endeavour to colonise Mars; which seemed a far more imminent prospect sixty years ago that it does today, with a couple of monsters thrown in that manage to be both absurd and Freudian in equal measure.