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From the latest newsletter:

Last month we gave a few hints of what further to expect from Second Run during 2013. We mentioned an exciting collection of Slovak films plus that there would be films from Iran, China and the Philippines. We also said that there would be a host of classic Czech film treats... and we want you to now know that just one of those treats will be Jindrich Polák's influential 1963 sci-fi masterwork IKARIE XB1, which was based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem and adapted by Pavel Jurácek. Ours will be the first release of this very special film in a new 16:9 anamorphic transfer.

Is this one of those films that people talk about the BBC showing in the past during a Czech retrospective or something?

I suspect that's Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself With Tea - same director, but very different film!

I reviewed the Czech DVD of Ikarie XB-1 here - it's a superb film, and I'm delighted it's getting an audience outside its native country. (Those who saw it as Voyage to the End of the Universe don't count, as it was massively changed in the editing/dubbing).

Very excited for this.

I remember reading about this, both in your writeup MichaelB and in a blog on moviemorlocks- it sounds fascinating. I haven't dipped my toe into Second Run before, but I'm pretty certainly going to pick this one up.

matrixschmatrix wrote:I haven't dipped my toe into Second Run before

Assuming you're participating in the forum's 1960s list project, nearly everything Second Run has released from the decade should practically be a required text. I'm just hoping that some of these teased-at Czech and Slovak goodies end up coming out before the deadline (May 19th, if you're reading this, Bikey ).

And even if you're not these are some of the best movies on disc. It really is a horrible life the one without Szindbad.

Joe Dante on Ikarie XB1. Looking forward to this release!

I saw rhis in 35mm (b/w Scope) at the BFI Southbank, a year or so ago as part of a season of Russian and East European SF films. It's well woirth seeing.

swo17 wrote:

matrixschmatrix wrote:I haven't dipped my toe into Second Run before

Assuming you're participating in the forum's 1960s list project, nearly everything Second Run has released from the decade should practically be a required text. I'm just hoping that some of these teased-at Czech and Slovak goodies end up coming out before the deadline (May 19th, if you're reading this, Bikey ).

Oh, I'm fully aware that I should watch them heavily- I've read all the glowing feedback on here- but there's just never been one that leaped out at me as being specifically to my taste. Hopefully, I'll watch Ikarie and get hooked into the whole lineup, as seems usually to happen with this stuff.

To mention only one title, if Marketa Lazarová isn't to your taste, you need a new mouth.

Yeah, discovering Marketa Lazarova decades after its release is like The Leopard or 8 1/2 going unknown for decades. It's a release that teaches us that we really don't know a damn thing about the history of film nor what belongs in the recognized film canon.

I'll third that. Marketa Lazarova in particular is big part of why I've come to think of Second Run as the label that's home to "the best films you've never heard of."

I similarly was excited to explore Second Run's catalogue, but put it off for a while because of having no idea where to begin at first. I went with the Frantisek Vlacil set since it was such a good deal and had received many great reviews, and was completely floored by it, especially Marketa Lazarová as others have mentioned. I've been a Second Run DVD addict ever since.

Why releasing already easy accessible title?
http://www.filmexport.cz/hrane-ceske/ikarie-xb-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

admira wrote:Why releasing already easy accessible title?
http://www.filmexport.cz/hrane-ceske/ikarie-xb-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Because most people don't import elderly DVDs from the Czech Republic - and in any case, that particular DVD is only English-friendly when it comes to the main feature, so most of it isn't "easily accessible".

And if I read Second Run's announcement correctly, this will be a much more recent transfer.

Sounds great!

Here's an article by Alex Cox on Soviet-era Sci which mentions Icarus XB1.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jun ... -films-bfi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think it's highly possible that Kubrick would have seen Ikarie XB-1 prior to making 2001 - by all accounts he watched pretty much every big-screen sci-fi production whose subject-matter and special effects came anywhere close to what he was attempting, and this would have been one of the outstanding examples at precisely the time that he was conducting his research. And there are a lot of visual similarities, not just in terms of the production design, but also the framing of certain shots, etc.

There's another very lengthy review of Ikarie XB-1 here.

Blu-ray would be wonderful.

L.A. wrote:Blu-ray would be wonderful.

I agree. I fell in love with this film from the first warble of its synthy Liska soundtrack, which is worth the price of admission in itself.

L.A. wrote:Blu-ray would be wonderful.

Sadly, very very unlikely - the economic factors that Second Run couldn't get around last year are still just as valid in 2013.

Can't believe I missed this announcement! This is a personal favorite. Gorgeous film. Wish it was blu, as I've got the Czech DVD (which is anamorphic and a beautiful transfer) but I might double dip depending on extras.

Delighted to report that Ikarie will be part of the core programme of this year's Scalarama Festival (Aug 31 - Sept 29 across the UK). Continuing the success of 2011’s Scala Forever and Scala Beyond, which saw over 120 exhibitor partners across the UK take part in the celebration of all forms of rep cinema from film clubs and societies to pop-ups, rep cinemas and even into schools, this year's event hopes to be even bigger and better.

They've also just launched a crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter for those who would like to help support this celebration of cinema in the UK.