Ikarie XB-1 (1963)

Ikarie XB-1 is a 1963 Czechoslovak science fiction film directed by Jindřich Polák. Ikarie XB-1 was a hit at the 1963 Trieste Science Fiction Film Festival and it is now widely regarded as one of the best Eastern Bloc science fiction films of the era, boasting impressive production design, above-average special effects, a strong ensemble cast and an intelligent screenplay (although much of the subtlety of the original is lost in the English-language version).

While it shows some influence from earlier American ventures such as Forbidden Planet (1956), the film was also influential in its own right — critics have noted a number of similarities between Ikarie XB-1 and Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and it is believed to have been one of the many 'space' genre films that Kubrick screened while researching 2001.

In 2005 Filmexport Home Video released a DVD of the original Czech version of the film with English subtitles. The DVD included opening credits from the US version and two scenes as a bonus material to show the differences. In 2013 UK company Second Run released a DVD of the original Czech version with English subtitles in a same transfer.The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Which is how my lamo mate found out about it, bought the DVD and played the film to my sorry ass. 

North Utsire