Unfortunately, most who see this movie today are robbed of whatever chance there might have been to appreciate it as a serious effort at speculating about mankind's future by it's current re-edit and the atrocious choices made in the dubbing room. It is inconceivable that an adaption of a Stanslaw Lem novel could be plotted so incoherently, and even more improbable that English-speaking male astronauts would board a craft called the `Cosmostrator' or that a robotics expert would name his creations `Automats' in honor of the popular coin-operated cafés of the 1940's.. The heavy contrast on the print may have been the original cinematographer's fault or it may be a result of decay setting in, but it doesn't help at all. The one black character in the film appears as a faceless shadow, except when his glistening teeth or the whites of his eyes break through the gloom.
The flaws do not completely ruin the tale, however: following in the Soviet tradition of `Aelita, Queen of Mars' the filmmakers present a dazzling vision of an alien world, and combine it with a compelling argument for international cooperation. The devastated face of Venus is brilliant, as are the `data spiders' the lifeform used to store information by the Venusian culture. Unfortunately, audiences rocked by the hysterics of an `MST3K'-style viewing may have difficulty approaching its deeper philosophical insights.
The flaws do not completely ruin the tale, however: following in the Soviet tradition of `Aelita, Queen of Mars' the filmmakers present a dazzling vision of an alien world, and combine it with a compelling argument for international cooperation. The devastated face of Venus is brilliant, as are the `data spiders' the lifeform used to store information by the Venusian culture. Unfortunately, audiences rocked by the hysterics of an `MST3K'-style viewing may have difficulty approaching its deeper philosophical insights.