Ikarie XB-1

[ravenus]

I know there has been some discussion in the Second Run thread but this highly influential SF movie needs to be seen by more than just the label fans. The visual aesthetic was supposed to be an influence on Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the narrative is likely to have been in Gene Roddenberry's when he came up with Star Trek. Highly recommended to fans of intelligent SF:

Quoting the news announcement:

British label Second Run will release on Blu-ray Jindrich Polák's film Ikarie XB 1 (1963), starring Zdenek Stepánek, Frantisek Smolík, Dana Medrická, Irena Kacírková, and Radovan Lukavský. The release will be available for purchase on March 25.

Studio description: Presented from the new 4K restoration of the film which premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, Second Run are delighted to present a new Blu-ray Special Edition of Jind ich Polák s seminal work of fantasy cinema IKARIE XB 1.

Polák s pioneering and much-imitated feature IKARIE XB 1 is one of the cornerstones of contemporary sci-fi cinema. It predates Star Trek and Kubrick s 2001: A Space Odyssey and was clearly an influence on both - and on almost every other science-fiction vehicle that followed.

Adapted from Stanislaw Lem's novel The Magellanic Cloud , the film is set in 2163 and follows a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity. With outstanding design and cinematography, IKARIE XB 1 is imbued with a seriousness, intelligence and attention to detail rarely seen in science-fiction cinema of the period.

Special Features and Technical Soecs:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION from original materials by the Czech National Film Archive
• Short film The Most Ordinary of Occupations (Nejv edn j í povolání, 1963)
• A filmed appreciation by Kim Newman
• Alternative US version Voyage to the End of the Universe opening and end scene
• Original trailer
• Voyage to the End of the Universe trailer
• Photo gallery
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• Booklet featuring a substantial essay by writer and film historian Michael Brooke
• REGION-FREE