82 / BD 20 Ikarie XB 1

[solaris72]

"These are the voyages of the starship Icarus – this fascinating, seminal 1963 Czech sci-fi was plundered wholesale by Star Trek, including the philosophical homilies by a verbose captain."

London Evening Standard by Steve Morrissey

Well that's unfair. I love Ikarie XB-1 something fierce (as I do Star Trek) but in my eyes both were clearly born of the same inspiration- Forbidden Planet.

[Bikey]

Close-Up Film

[MichaelB]

"These are the voyages of the starship Icarus – this fascinating, seminal 1963 Czech sci-fi was plundered wholesale by Star Trek, including the philosophical homilies by a verbose captain."

London Evening Standard by Steve Morrissey

Well that's unfair. I love Ikarie XB-1 something fierce (as I do Star Trek) but in my eyes both were clearly born of the same inspiration- Forbidden Planet.

Both were indeed influenced by Forbidden Planet (it's hard to ignore Ikarie's Robby-style robot Patrick!), but Roddenberry also borrowed from Ikarie. I'm guessing he didn't see the East German/Polish production The Silent Star (1959), which is actually even closer to Star Trek in that its spaceship's crew is explicitly multiracial as well as international.

[Bikey]

"Disorienting and delirious, the latest addition to Second Run's excellent roster of Czech films might be a milestone of sci-fi cinema, but it's also a work of such sophistication that its production values and allegorical intent took this first-time viewer by cumulative surprise."

Michael Pattison at idFilm

[Bikey]

"Second Run’s restored print looks and sounds marvellous... Ikarie grips as an acutely realised study of what life could actually be like on a fifteen-year space voyage... Production values and design are astonishing, and all is handled with deft, sober intelligence"

Graham Rickson at The Arts Desk

[Finch]

I watched the DVD the other night and heartily recommend the film as well. Would Second Run consider releasing more Eastern European science fiction?

[MichaelB]

Given that the disc seems to be selling rather well (at least by Second Run standards), I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were considering it!

[swo17]

Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea would seem like an obvious (and welcome) follow-up.

[MichaelB]

Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea would seem like an obvious (and welcome) follow-up.

It would need a restoration. The existing Czech DVD is grotty in the extreme - far worse than the Czech Ikarie XB-1 disc.

[Bikey]

Electric Sheep discuss Liška's "stunning" musical score:
The High Pitch of Strangeness: Ikarie XB-1

[Bikey]

"Ikarie XB-1 is a visual masterpiece that both demands and deserves to be reevaluated within the canon of science fiction classics past and present."

CineVue

[admira]

http://shotcontext.blogspot.cz/2011/01/ ... ref=fb&m=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bikey]

Time Out's latest DVD round up.

[Bikey]

Total Film

[Bikey]

Empire

[MichaelB]

"Nifty booklet" - I like that!

Although since he writes for the mag, it's a shame that they completely failed to mention Kim Newman's contribution.

[Bikey]

Double-page spread review by Kim Newman in the latest Sight & Sound

[Bikey]

IKARIE XB 1: The Czech STAR TREK
Jordan Hoffman revisits the little-known sci-fi film that influenced STAR TREK at Badass Digest

[Bikey]

Mondo Digital

[perkypat]

Its got an extra screening at the Leeds FF, which means tickets are selling well. Great to see it reaching a wider audience outside London.

[Bikey]

Leeds Film Festival dates here -
Sun 10th Nov, 2013, 14:00 @ Leeds Everyman
Sun 17th Nov, 2013, 16:00 @ Leeds Vue

[Bikey]

Film Bizarro

[Bikey]

IKARIE is DVD Beaver's DVD of the Month!

[antnield]

The Digital Fix.

[Bikey]

Sometimes they go to Eleven