Danger, planète inconnue

What if there were a parallel world to Earth's always hidden from us on the other side of the Sun?

This is the question that astronauts Roy Thinnes and Ian Hendry ask themselves when they discover a parallel world of Earth always hidden on the far side of the sun in this 1969 cult science fiction melodrama, released here in America as JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN. The plot of the film was devised by British writers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the creators of such TV shows as "UFO", "The Thunderbirds" and "Space 1999". It is exceedingly weird at times, betraying the influence of "The Twilight Zone" and even Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi classic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. The visual effects work of Derek Meddings, who would also later work on SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, holds up surprisingly well under the last four and a half decades of special effects advancements (including CGI); and while they are not really on the same exalted level of the Kubrick film, they are very superb. If you don't anticipate a STAR WARS-type of a film and can overcome the occasionally trite dialogue, DOPPELGANGER is a good film; it was good enough for me to rank it a '7' and consider it an undiscovered sci-fi gem.

Fans of Gerry Anderson's productions will recognise several actors and vehicles from UFO (which was made after Doppelgänger) - as well as sound effects from various Anderson series. Barry Gray's excellent music (mostly unique to this film) adds to the feeling of familiarity. For these reasons alone, I think any Gerry Anderson fan would find Doppelgänger worth getting.

Judged simply as a film, it has to be said that Doppelgänger is flawed. It is known that there were major problems during production, and I suspect this is why there is a time-consuming plot thread that ends abruptly and appears to have no relevance to the rest of the story. Presumably time/budget constraints prevented the relevance from emerging!

Distractingly, the special effects range from outstandingly good - better than any 1960s film that I know of - to disappointingly bad.

Nevertheless, even with these flaws, Doppelgänger's main story is well told and keeps the viewer (or, at least, this viewer) engaged throughout. The ending is perhaps not what one might expect from Anderson, yet at the same time it is typical of Anderson, and it is certainly appropriate. To find out what I mean you'll have to watch it for yourself. :)

I'll admit that like many others here this is a movie I've seen many times as a kid in the 70's. :)

The concept and story are just wonderfull. My favorite type of sci-fi, the kind that makes you think and doesn't completely bombard you with special effects.

Speaking of special effects, without spilling any beans I can say if you like The Thunderbirds, you'll love the SFX in this movie.

Gets a 8 on 10 for me.

A 'counter-Earth' is detected on the far side of the sun, prompting an ill-fated expedition. This live action 'hard-science' space opera was produced by 'Supermarionation' maestros Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and, although puppet-free resembles their popular 'strings-attached' actioners such as 'Thunderbirds' (1965): the miniatures are excellent in both design and construction, the scripts wordy and expositional, the story gadget-laden, and Barry Gray's music stirring. The first two thirds of the film is excellent, cumulating in a spectacular crash after which everything goes down-hill fast, as footage is wasted on trippy '2001-like psychedelics and eye close-ups and the premise shifts from merely dubious to outright ludicrous. The concept of a co-orbiting planet hidden by the sun has long been discounted (even if unseeable from Earth, gravitational effects would have been detected long ago - Neptune was predicted in the early 1800s based on perturbations of Uranus' orbit) and the follow-up premise, that it is identical to Earth, would require entire universe to be symmetrical around our sun. Although the story troughs when the focus shifts to figuring out how and why the astronauts came 'home' so early, it does sets up the final crash: more of the spectacular miniature destruction on which the film's cult-appeal rests. The pyrotechnics and model-work are outstanding and the scenes in space are imaginative and relatively realistic. The acting is generally good although, as Colonel Glenn Ross, Roy Thinnes bears the brunt of the disintegrating storyline as he bashes around looking a reversed writing and tries to convince people that he's is not mad. In attempt to distance this, their first live-action theatrical-release, from their juvenile TV features, the Andersons wrote in some 'adult' situations (birth control, marital strife, government sanctioned killings, etc), none of which add anything of interest to the story (the 'espionage' opening is very well done but the whole sequence belonged in a Bond film or a 'Man from Uncle' caper). Despite the ridiculous story and narrative weaknesses, 'Doppleganger' (the original British title) showcases the best of 1960s special effects (perhaps second to only to '2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)) and is well worth watching for the imagery alone.

Interesting premise; interestingly worked out; the strongest feature of this film is the emotional tension of the astronaut who knows a truth, but is unable to convey it to others. Overlook the weaknesses and just enjoy the movie, but be prepared for a certain level of suspense.