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| Images courtesy of Mosfilm |
At the tail end of the silent era in the Soviet Union came
the brief dawn of a new kind of futuristic science-fiction with the release of
the Mosfilm production Cosmic Voyage, one of the first films to ever
depict weightlessness in outer space and realistic imaginings of modern space
travel. Originating in 1924 but not
going into production until 1932 with Komsomol the Communist Union of Youth
suggested it might boost curiosity in the prospect of space flight, the film
came right on the heels of William Cameron Menzies’ equally prescient and
visionary H.G. Wells penned Things to Come. Due to its immediate censorship in Russia
over going against the spirit of ‘socialist realism’ vanished for almost
another fifty years before resurfacing sometime in the 1980s. Only in recent years thanks to ongoing
efforts of Mosfilm to restore and preserve their library of films have works as
technically proficient and innovative as Cosmic Voyage have their fair
handshake with Western science-fiction film lovers.
Set in 1946, the Soviet Russian space program is in flux
with the aged Professor Pavel Sedikh (Sergei Komarov) slated to lead a space
flight crew on an expedition to the Moon is deemed too old and psychologically
unfit for the mission. Against the
wishes of arch-rival Professor Karin (Vasili Kovrigin) who is Sedikh’s most vocal
opponent, Sedikh presses on ahead anyway with the help of his assistant Marina
(Ksenia Moskalenko) and a young stowaway named Andryusha (Vassili
Gaponenko). Making a successful launch,
flight and landing on the moon, dealing with all of the newfound problems of
zero-gravity and a lack of breathable oxygen or body warmth in below-zero
space, their mission is complicated and becomes a rescue operation when the
beloved Professor Sedikh slips and falls down into a crevasse and is trapped
under a boulder as his oxygen runs out.
Co-written by Aleksandr Filimonov with the insight of
aeronautical theorist and rocket science engineer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky to
tragically passed away shortly after production wrapped, Cosmic Voyage is
a feast for the eyes when the special effects miniatures come into play with
intricate and meticulous stop-motion animated sequences that dazzle and defy
the senses. Oddly a case where the
special effects sequences of stop-motion and monofilament wires were used to
simulate zero-gravity inside the spaceship or on the lunar surface became a
point of contention for the censors, the scenes now are some of the most
technically innovative and exciting visual manifestations to be unleashed on a
then-1930s filmgoing public.
With arresting 1.33:1 black-and-white cinematography by
Aleksandr Galperin of Fodor Krasne’s miniatures and special-effects wizardry
and stunning art-direction of the interior of the spacecraft as well as the
lunar surface imagined by Yuri Shvets, M. Tiunov and Aleksei Utkin, Cosmic
Voyage while admittedly light on drama or characterization is full of
visual wonderment and fantasy science-fiction worldbuilding. Performances by the ensemble cast with Sergey
Komarov as the elderly but determined Professor Sedikh, buried under old man
makeup, are generally good. Ksenia
Moskalenko as Marina the Professor’s most trusted comrade gives off a Brigitte
Helm vibe with her eyes and demeanor.
Special attention goes to Vassili Gaponenko as the young stowaway
Andryusha though in all honesty the special effects team are the real stars of
this magic show.
Taken out of circulation almost immediately upon release
before the iron grip loosened on the film’s availability to the public, finally
making its way to Mosfilm’s channel in addition to a newly rendered German
blu-ray disc with English subtitles, audiences domestic and foreign have the
chance to judge for themselves just which filmmakers made it to the moon
first. Though light on characterization
or plot, simply wanting to see this mission successful with all the astronauts
safely back home on Earth, as an early slice of effects heavy sci-fi futurism
it is startlingly prescient for its day.
Full of fluid stop-motion animation and startling set pieces, Cosmic
Voyage was a little engine that could fly ahead of the curve had it had the
chance to on its original run. Fans of
all-things science-fiction related should be overjoyed by this unlikely
rediscovery.
--Andrew Kotwicki
