Ikarie XB 1

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1963

Production year

1962

Premiere

26 July 1963

Runtime

83 min

Category

film

Genre

adventure, drama, psychological, sci-fi

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Ikarie XB 1

Czech title

Ikarie XB 1

English title

Ikarie XB 1

English parallel title

Icarus XB 1

Working title

Stříbrná kometa / Za 200 let koncem června

Summary

In 1963 Jindřich Polák expanded his filmography with his sci-fi feature Ikarie XB 1 (Icarus XB 1). Thanks to its motif, the film constitutes a unique piece of Czechoslovak cinematography. The screenplay – on which Pavel Juráček collaborated – is based on Stanisław Lem’s novel Obłok Magellana (The Magellanic Cloud). The humanistic narration set in the year 2163 tells the story of a spaceship with an international crew making a voyage to seek signs of life in the Alpha Centauri star system... The feature won an award at the Trieste International Science Fiction Film Festival and was subsequently sold to many countries including the USA. The American International Pictures company transformed it into the American B-movie Voyage to the End of the Universe with English dubbing and Anglicised names for both the actors and members of the production crew credited in the titles. The feature was also recut (an ideologically-coloured scene that depicts an encounter with a derelict spaceship from the era of capitalism was omitted, and a new ending was created).

Synopsis

It is year 2163 and the space ship Icarus XB 1 with the crew sets off to the Alfa Centauri planet system. Life on board has its firm rhythm, but after four months, the staff begins to display signs of boredom and annoyance. The celebration held on the occasion of the 110th birthday of the mathematician Anthony thus represents a welcome change. The entertainment is, however, interrupted by an alert - a mysterious space ship appears on the screen. In a rocket from 1987, the researchers Kubeš and Herold find the dead bodies of rich people who escaped from the endangered Earth long ago and later killed each other. Kubeš accidentally explodes an atomic weapon and both men die. Icarus continues on its way. Svenson and Michal have to step into outer space to mount a reserve motor. Shortly afterwards, Icarus falls under the influence of the Dark Star, whose radiation attenuates the biochemical reactions in all living organisms, and the whole crew thus falls asleep. Upon waking up they find out that a mysterious field of energy appeared between the space ship and the Dark Star and protected them. Michal and Svenson, who had been exposed to the radiation, however, fall ill. Fortunately, it proves possible to cure them. Icarus is getting close to the White Planet and the astronauts find out that the protective energy field was the work of the planet's inhabitants. They observe a fantastic city of the aliens on their screens. Yet before they land, the young astronaut Štefa delivers a baby.

Cast

Zdeněk Štěpánek

velitel Vladimír Abajev

Radovan Lukavský

zástupce velitele Mac Donald

Dana Medřická

socioložka Nina Kirová

Miroslav Macháček

astronaut Marcel Bernard

František Smolík

matematik Anthony Hopkins

Jiří Vršťala

pilot Erik Svenson

Svatava Hubeňáková

Rena, Mac Donaldova žena

Otto Lackovič

koordinátor Michal

Jaroslav Mareš

astronaut Milek Wertbowsky

Marcela Martínková

astronautka Štefa, Milkova žena

Martin Ťapák

Voice by Bohumil Bezouška
astrobiolog Petr Kubeš

Rudolf Deyl ml.

pilot Ervín Herold

Irena Kačírková

astronautka Brigita Wagnerová

Jozef Adamovič

Voice by Ivo Palec
koordinátor Zdeněk Lorenc

Růžena Urbanová

historička Eva

Eva Cedlová

koordinátorka

Václav Irmanov

koordinátor

Zdenka Borovičková

koordinátorka

V. Maláková

koordinátorka

J. Vicherková

koordinátorka

Ladislav Mrkvička

Romeo ve filmu

Hana Pražanová

Julie ve filmu

Jan Cmíral

člen posádky

Jiří Cejnek

člen posádky

Věra Křesadlová

členka posádky

Karel Duba

člen posádky

Gustav Voborník

člen posádky

Olga Navrátilová

členka posádky

Olga Schoberová

členka posádky

Vladimír Štúr

člen posádky

Miroslav Abrahám

člen posádky

L. Prokůpek

člen posádky

R. Junášková

členka posádky

Renáta Pospíšilová

členka posádky

Marcela Trsková

členka posádky

V. Urbánek

člen posádky

V. Hrabák

člen posádky

František Halmazňa

tanečník

Bohumil Klika

tanečník

Jaguše Podešvová

tanečnice

L. Stejskalová

tanečnice

J. Januška

navigátor

J. Lacina

robot

Zdeněk Jelínek

klavírista

Jan S. Kolár

mrtvý muž

Marie Popelková

mrtvá žena

Josef Drbohlav

mrtvý muž

D. Kalibová

mrtvá žena

J. Sluštická

mrtvá žena

I. Sigrotová

mrtvá žena

V. Zítko

mrtvý muž

B. Kocian

mrtvý muž

V. Smolík

mrtvý muž

Commentary

Dubbing

Bohumil Švarc

hlas palubního počítače

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Hynek Bočan

Assistant Director

Jiří Růžička st.

Continuity

Eva Mičulková

Director of Photography

Jan Kališ

Second Unit Photography

Alexandr Rašilov

Camera Operator

Oldřich Hubáček

Production Designer

Jan Zázvorka

Assistent Production Designer

Bohumil Dudař

Set Designer

Jaroslav Ciboch, Karel Lukáš, Karel Smrž

Sound Designer

Jaromír Svoboda, Bohumír Brunclík (zvukové efekty), Jaromír Svoboda (zvukové efekty)

Production Manager

Rudolf Wolf

Unit Production Manager

František Jaderník, Ludmila Tikovská

Unit Production Manager

Eliška Doubková, Ferdinand Zelenka

Consultant

inž. Milan Ledvina, prof. dr. inž. Rudolf Pešek, doc. dr. Vladimír Guth, Milan Morávek, pplk. MUDr. Jan Hospodář, kpt. Milan Kauders

Cooperation

Ladislava Boudová (klapka), Miroslav Pešan (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Zdeněk Liška

Selected Music

Arthur Honegger (klavírní skladba)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Choreographer

František Halmazňa

Production info

Original Title

Ikarie XB 1

Czech Title

Ikarie XB 1

English Title

Ikarie XB 1

English Parallel Title

Icarus XB 1

Working Title

Stříbrná kometa / Za 200 let koncem června

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

adventure, drama, psychological, sci-fi

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1963

Production Year

1962

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 8 March 1961
technical Screenplay approved 16 January 1962
start of filming 13 February 1962
end of filming 20 December 1962
projection approval 1 April 1963
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1975
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1991

Premiere

premiere 26 July 1963 /suitable for youths/ (kino Blaník /3 týdny/, Praha)
premiere 26 July 1963 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
renewed premiere 1 April 1986 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 16 June 2016 /suitable for all ages without limit/

Distribution slogan

Digitally restored and back in cinemas.

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Barrandov

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1963 a obnovená 1986), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2016)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 359 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm, DCP 2-D, BRD

Aspect ratio

1:1,66, 1:2,35

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 1. mezinárodní festival vědecko-fantastických filmů Terst

1963
Terst / Italy

Revue

Ikarie XB 1 in the West

The screening of Ikarie XB 1 as part of the Cannes Classic presentation was not the first opportunity foreign audiences ...

Czechoslovak science-fiction films

Only a handful of films which could be described as of the science fiction variety were made in Czechoslovakia prior to ...