Voyage to
the End of the Universe (1963) is the American
version of the Czech film Ikarie
XB 1, dubbed, re-cut and, in typical
Hollywood fashion, given a shlocky new ending.
In
the 22nd Century, a gigantic spacship called Ikarie (Icarus) takes off
on a long, long voyage to the "Green Planet" in the Alpha Centauri star
system. Aboard is an international crew of 40, who enjoy a birthday
celebration, eat, exercise and even shower together. There's also a
personable but somewhat dense robot named Patrick.
Along the way to Alpha Centauri, the galactic explorers
run into various space hazards including a derelict spacecraft from
1987 with a bunch of corpses inside and a "black star" with radiation
that burns some crewmembers while driving another one crazy.
But they eventually reach their destination, with clouds
parting on the Green Planet to reveal a beautiful city of lights that
seems to stretch on forever.
While Voyage to the End
of the Universe was a black and
white movie, the original Ikarie
XB-1 was shot in color and elements of
the set designs, plot and special effects were adapted by sci fi
filmmakers to come, including Stanley Kubrick in his groundbreaking
1968 epic 2001: A Space
Odyssey and Ridley Scott in the 1979
sequel-spawning hit Alien.
Catch a ride on the
flying saucer back
to the Outer Space Art Gallery homepage
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