Thunderbirds et l'odyssée du cosmos

Do you appreciate beautiful models? No, not THAT kind of beautiful models...I mean this kind!

This is the first of two feature film versions of the `Thunderbirds' TV show. If you're on the wavelength of this type of entertainment (i.e., willing to ignore the fact that the characters are puppets, and to simply accept them as real), you may find this to be very engaging viewing.

`Thunderbirds are GO!' makes use of a good number of the sets and puppets from the TV show, and throws in some new constructions. It doesn't bother explaining who any of the characters are, however, so if you're not familiar with the series, it may be difficult to tell which characters are the `stars' and which play supporting roles. Regardless, you will see amazing model work and puppetry, and the very naturalistic, serious, story-conscious approach typical of Gerry Anderson's work.

The `Supermarionation' method was designed to allow the filmmakers total control over the look of the characters--impossible with real actors--and a means to depict spectacular action at the fraction of the cost it would take were it realized with conventional full-size sets. But the sets, models and puppets are lovingly crafted, and cost a pretty penny to produce; in fact, the original shows were the most expensive British television produced at that time.

If you're lucky enough to see this feature in its original widescreen version, you will see the Supermarionation look in beautiful frame compositions! I'd love to see this in a theatre sometime. Grab this up at your local video store if they have it!

In the 1960's, British TV producer Gerry Anderson and his wife, Sylvia, went about making a series of shows based around a highly functional set of marionettes which where built around a process called Supermarionation, a speech syncronization system designed to have the puppet's mouth move in sync with the voice actor reading it's lines.

Combining it with some of the most fanciful designs of futuristic societies, they spawned a slew of shows including "Joe 90", about a boy with the ability to be programmed like a computer to do anything, from pilot a stolen jet fighter to perform brain surgery: "Fireball XL-5", a galactic adventure onboard a massive space cruiser, "Stingray", the tales of a super sub working for the World Aquatic Security Patrol ("W.A.S.P."), "Captain Scarlet", tales of an indestructible agent in a war against unseen Martian invaders called The Mysterons, et al.

Perhaps the Anderson's most famous and popular show in the hearts and minds of it's fans is "Thunderbirds". The background is simple. John Tracy, former astronaut and billionaire industrialist, decides to use his wealth to help the world by creating "International Rescue", a secret force of super vehicles designed by an in-house genius known simply as "Brain" and manned by his sons, each a superb athlete and trained expert in their fields (It is no doubt to some that his sons would have been Xtreme sports enthusiasts given the times). Brain's creations are the Thunderbirds, a set of highly specialized rescue and response vehicles each designed for specific purposes.

Thunderbird One is a hypersonic VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) vehicle used as a mobile command center. Thunderbird Two is a heavy lifter, capable of transporting pods containing rescue equipment to any location, from a subterranean "Mole" to the aquatic Thunderbird Four. Thunderbird Three is a space ship, launched from under the Tracy Island estate's pool (the vehicles launch sequences are themselves something to behold, since International Rescue is a secret organization, the deployment of the vehicles must also be the same, leading to some of the most unique ways of converting the Tracy Island compound into a launch & retrieval complex). As for Thunderbird Five, it is a monitoring station orbiting in space, listening in on the world's airwaves for the call.

A pink, armoured futuristic Rolls Royce bearing the license plate FAB-1 also come into play, as the property of one Lady Penelope, British aristocrat and undercover agent for International Rescue. Driven by a former resident of Wormwood Scrubs Prison known simply as Parker, it is bullet-proof,has an exceptionally heavy bit or ordinance under it's hood and is capable of Hydrofoil work on the water.

The way that they pull this off without it turning into a low rent kiddie show was from the contributions of such people as Derek Meddings, designer or the ships as well as the space craft and miniatures for movies like "Krull", "Moonraker", "Goldeneye" and many James Bond films. Barry Gray's scoring duties bring real tension and drama to the adventure.

Anderson was no slouch himself, creating many inventive effects shots using the highly detailed miniatures. This movie, surrounding the attempted sabotage and eventual rescue of a Mars exploration mission, displays the tools of Anderson's craft quite well. Look for another movie, Thunderbird 6, as well as newly digitally remastered releases of the original episodes on the shelves (and no, they did not digitally erase the wires). It is truly one of the best guilty pleasures from the past.

It also marked the end of Supermarionation, for with the exception of one puppet show ("Terrahawks"), Anderson's productions went into live actors, but still carried on the traditions of awesome miniatures with shows like "U.F.O", "Space:1999" and "Space Precinct".

Unfortunately,the big budget adaptation of the series, released in 2005, directed by Johnathan Frakes (Commander Will Riker of "Star Trek:The Next Generation"), was a muddled, childish piece of dreck which totally ruined the hopes of many aging fans of the original show for a decent and reverent homage to Anderson's vision, which probably explains his refusal to have anything to do with the movie.

WOWZERS!!! What a classic of sixties cinema silliness! TV's Thunderbirds are brought to the screen for a feature-length outing complete with goofy anonymous foreign perpetrators, bizarre dialog and lots of flying animated toys! This is a film that really should be seen at least once by everybody interested in film-making. Before I discuss the plot, let's talk about what the film is really about. Because the plot is just a distraction. This film is about making a film with marionettes and toys in the place of actors and special effects. Now, before you close your browser and head to Blockbuster to NOT RENT Thunderbirds, think about this - the film-makers, improbably, ACTUALLY PULL IT OFF! This film is entertaining and watchable, but more for its inventiveness and experimentalism than anything else.

The plot is honestly not worth discussing, and would have made for a truly awful film had it not been done with puppets and toys. It is a purely fantasy vision of the 21st century, though some of the technology used in it is no less ridiculous than - say - that which appeared in Star Trek Voyager. If you've seen the Thunderbirds TV show you already know exactly what to expect, and this film really amounts to two or three episodes stitched together with a very fine thread. Basically, the Thuderbirds are a family (all boys, of course, one has to wonder how they reproduced), and a couple of mystery women (one is an elegant but unpretty female James Bond type, and the other seems to serve no real purpose) who live in and run an International security base, and have incredible technical and piloting skills, allowing them to carry out very dangerous aerial missions at very high speed (it helps that they are made of wood, I guess). The central plot, if there is one, involves NASA's first manned space flight to Mars and two attempts (one sabotaged by a very unpleasant looking spy) and the second ... well... I won't spoil it. Of course, it's the Thunderbirds to the rescue in both cases.

As a rule, I do not like masks, elaborate costumes and puppets. In fact, I remember despising the Thunderbirds TV show when I was a very young hardcore sci fi fan, because of the scary bobbleheaded characters and the poor use of the sci-fi genre. I was too young to understand what was really going on. What saves this film for me today is its very good sense of aesthetics. The sets are interesting and detailed. Even the monsters (occupying a very short segment about 2/3rds of the way through) are innovative and interesting. Despite the fact that the special effects are ridiculous, you keep watching because its fascinating to see how the film-makers accomplish each effect. You also keep watching because even though the voice talent is unrelentingly average the animated marionettes manage to do better body language than many contemporary flesh and blood actors.

I am not sure Thunderbirds is a film I will see again, but I am glad I saw it once.

I remember back in the 1960s the family were out for a walk and we were passing a cinema. We had nothing else to do, so we went in to see this. I had never been particularly impressed with the TV version in black and white (at that time in Britain). But I was very impressed with the film. In full glorious colour, and the special effects looked highly realistic on the big screen - they really did.

It's kids' entertainment for children aged from 7 to 700. The fact it lasted longer than a TV episode doesn't matter.

You get a great exciting story, lots of journeys into space in a blistering adventure that'll steam up Brains's glasses and set his bow tie spinning.

Saw the film again recently, this time with the eyes of an adult. Saw the dream sequence set in the night club. I was amazed at the attention to detail with The Shadows. Not only was each puppet almost a perfect model of Hank, Bruce, John and Brian, but the little Burns guitars were perfect in every detail, right down to the trade mark scroll head. Beautifully done. The singer was Cliff Richard Junior. Oh, well, you can't get everything right!

International Rescue make their big-screen debut in a fantastic Supermarionation adventure which puts many modern summer blockbusters to shame.

Impressive ( if now dated ) special effects and model sequences, together with a strong script and interesting characters ( and of course, Barry Gray's wonderful music ) make this a real treat.