Conquest of Space

Poster tagline: SEE HOW IT WILL HAPPEN... IN YOUR LIFETIME!!! A superb achievement, very serious, almost as technically proficient as the legendary Destination Moon, the film that kick-started the Golden Age of science fiction in the 1950s, and with a sensible plot that even raises philosophical questions about the meaning and significance of space conquest. The special effects are more than appropriate for their time, whether it's the movement of astronauts in space, the depiction of weightlessness (here again humorously overcome by magnetic boots), or the depiction of the deformation of the human face in a state of overload when reaching space speed. The space station is in the shape of a fairground spinning wheel, something Kubrick would use 13 years later in his sci-fi opus. I was amused by the scene of the astronauts' lunch with pills of different colours that replaced meat, vegetables, coffee, etc. (with signs indicating the each kind), during which I remembered the "amaroons" of Polák's The Visitors, or the funny pre-flight communication with relatives and lovers via a telebridge. The actors were fine, every single one of them, but the one I enjoyed the most was Phil Foster as a good-natured non whiner. Of course, this film has to be judged by the optics of the time, of the as yet acquired knowledge of the cosmos, so you have to turn a blind eye to the fact that Mars has an atmosphere with clouds and snow, and other such "niceties". I can wholeheartedly recommend this fine sci-fi flick even to those who are just starting out in this era of cinema. (2013-02-19)