Ikarie XB-1

 

Today’s topic

We’ll discuss the Czechoslovak cult classic SF film Ikarie XB-1.

 

 

Let’s go over the quiz

1.  Ikarie is the name of: (a) the planet they’re traveling to; (b) the spaceship they’re in; (c) the captain of the spaceship; (d) the disabled spaceship they find on their journey.

2.  The crew of the ship has no women: true or false.

3.  The disabled ship they find on their journey is from the USSR: true or false.

4.  No one on the crew dies: true or false.

5.  When they arrive at their planetary destination, what do they find? Let’s discuss!

Start-of-class discussion

Guide questions to the film. Contributions?

1.  What did you like about this film and what didn’t you—and why?

2.  What later (famous) SF productions might this film have influenced and how?

3.  The film is obviously meant to be entertaining, but it also has a serious side. How do you read the message(s) of this film? To what end is SF being put here?

 

 

 

 

 

“Ikarie XB-1 is a masterclass in atmosphere, with lingering corridor shots and symmetrical set designs that no doubt inspired both Kubrick’s 2001 and Ridley Scott’s Alien.”

 

“Ikarie XB-1 is a visual masterpiece that both demands and deserves to be reevaluated within the canon of science fiction classics past and present.”

 

 

“That Ikarie XB-1 is as gripping a film as it is quite an accomplishment, especially when you consider that one of its major set pieces involves the entire crew falling asleep.”

 

 

It was inspired by a Lem novel called The Magellanic Cloud (1955). Lem’s novel has basically the same plot, but the ship is much larger and so is the crew (which is also multiethnic and gender-diverse), and the ship is sent from a society that is implied to be a world-wide socialist utopia. Another commonality is the theme of human idealism.

 

 

In Lem’s novel, however, the ship is called Gea (Gaia). While both ships reach the new world and initially encounter clouds, the first contact scenarios are very different. Lem’s book is much more philosophical and critical about human history on Earth. There are other differences as well.

 

 

Other East Central European SF films at around the same time: First Spaceship on Venus (1959, German and Polish), Storm Planet (1962, Russian), Andromeda Nebula (1967, Russian).

 

 

It’s a Cold War film: it was high-budget and meant to innovatively compete with Western cinema. At the same time, however, it’s not a propaganda film, which is somewhat surprising. It’s an optimistic film about the future of humanity that casts 20^th-century humankind in dark terms.

Ikarie “seems unconcerned with the dangers of the rest of the universe”: no alien invasions, no atomic monsters.

 

 

Another difference: “Unlike American SF films of the era, which were more often than not throwaway drive-in fare, these movies were a major undertaking for the countries that produced them, and were not only intended to be an expression of national pride, but also a source of it.”

 

Although there is some action and suspense, it is much less of a space-adventure tale than it is a film about human psychology.

 

 

The spaceship has a multinational crew of (mainly) scientists headed to Alpha Centauri to search for extraterrestrial life. The crew is diverse in terms of gender (but not race).

 

 

The film boasts special effects that were new for its time.

 

 

It’s a blending of genres: SF, thriller, romance, political drama.

 

 

One reviewer said the film “may well be a cornerstone of the genre, but it also bridges the gap between the psychological drama and the kitsch space film.”

 

 

The composer is Zdeněk Liška. He is also known for his collaborations with the acclaimed Czech clay-mation film-maker Jan Švankmajer (if you’re never seen his 1996 Conspirators of Pleasure, you’re really missing out).

 

 

The music has been described as “creating a suitable and engaging lounge mood at times, adding to the sense of a new age and new hope.” One reviewer has written: “The soundtrack is enjoyably creepy with bursts of jolting synth noises.”

 

 

It has sophisticated costuming and set design: a “stylistically refined fictional world of a distant future.” The film has often been praised for best spacesuit designs.

 

 

The cinematographers “create an impressionistic portrait of claustrophobia, full of ominous shadows, enclosed spaces, and a sense of individual minuteness against the eternal expanse of space.”

 

The style of film has been called “retro-futurism” or “futuristic minimalism.”

 

 

But it’s also a little campy: it features “a glorious dance sequence in which crew members in horrible meringue-like dresses perform choreographed dance sequences to somber synths.”

 

 

It had a strong influence on SF films that followed, including: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968),

Solaris (1972), Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979).

 

 

It also influenced TV series like Star Trek (1966) and Lost in Space (1965).

 

 

Much in the film seems familiar to us, but that’s only with the benefit of hindsight. Many of its themes and tropes became regular parts of films and TV series afterwards.

 

 

The space-opera segment of the film is the discovery and exploration of a derelict spacecraft.

 

 

The sequence is an obvious critique of the barbarism and selfishness of the (capitalist) 20^th century. At the same time, the criticism is somewhat softened: one crew member does remind another that the 20^th century also produced some great music and art.

 

 

The name Ikarie comes from the myth of Icarus. Who knows the myth? What happened to Icarus and why?

 

On the one hand, this is a decidedly odd name for a space voyage to another solar system: “a questionable choice for a craft flying towards a distant sun.” On the other, however, the Soviets celebrated Icarus in ideological propaganda of the time, particularly with reference to the space race—which is probably where the name comes from.

 

 

 

The most emphasized criticism concerns the cheesiness of the outside shots, which look like cheap models of spaceships pulled on strings… because they probably are just that. This creates a jarring juxtaposition with the beauty of interior scenes.

 

 

The film was distributed in the US by American International Pictures (AIP) in 1964, and AIP was known for revising, editing, and cutting the foreign films that it distributed. The Americanized name of the film was Voyage to the End of the Universe.

 

 

We’ll watch two trailers: the first is the Czech trailer from the 2016 restored release and the second is the AIP US trailer. How do these differ?

 

AIP also “westernized” the names of the cast and crew: Zdeněk Štepánek > Dennis Stephens, František Smolík > Francis Smolen, and Jindřich Polák > Jack Pollack…

(Godzilla vs The Thing).

 

 

Other changes to the film were more substantial. Almost 12 minutes of footage was cut. The footage of the visit to the derelict spaceship was cut and altered. The ship’s destination was changed from the “White Planet” to the “Green Planet.” Worst of all, the closing scene was recut, which resulted in a completely different ending.

 

The American version cut the last reveal and replaced it with stock video of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, which was a surprise ending: thus the “Green” Planet that Icarus discovered was, absurdly, Earth. Given this revised ending, how might we then interpret the voyage?

There’s an irony here given that the film was based on a novel by Lem and…

 

 

… the story of the film in Czech and then Americanized versions confirms Lem’s harsh critique of American SF as tending toward unserious space opera.

 

Text for end-of-class discussion

Uhlířová, “Voyage through Space, Time, and Utopian Modernism.” Contributions?

 

 

We have no formal class on Thursday, but our reflection papers are due tomorrow. If you need more time, take it: do a good job on the paper to submit something you’re proud of.

 

Finish reading Roadside Picnic (by the Strugatsky brothers) and take the Canvas quiz on it before next Tuesday’s class. We have another guest speaker to lead us in a discussion of this wonderful novella.