'Planeta Bur', or 'Planet of Storms', is a Soviet made science fiction film. That and the fact it is not an English language film mean it has largely been forgotten. But for science fiction fans it it definitely worth a view.
The story revolves around a flotilla of Soviet spacecraft heading to explore Venus. As the production year is 1962 Venus was still believed by many to possibly harbor life, and in the real world the USSR was very serious about exploration of it (they would land the Venera probe in 1967). 'Planet of Storms' is a mix of space opera with a smattering of Soviet propaganda, and it all the more interesting for it.
After the flotilla looses a craft to a meteor strike the crew of the two remaining ships decide to attempt a landing on the the 'Planet of Storms'. The male crew all decide to make the journey, along with a robot, leaving the missions only female member in orbit to maintain communications with Moscow control.
The special effects are, by the standard of the time, okay, but at some points are really creative and even exceptional. The mix of effects is uneven, with stop motion and puppet models being the lower end, and solidly built locations models and vistas being the best of what is on offer. Curiously the design of the spacesuits the explorers use seems to have resurfaced in the 1979 film 'Alien'.
While on Venus the explorers encounter dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, violent lizard men, an exploding volcano and the ruins of an ancient civilization. In short there is a lot packed into the films 1 hour and 20 minutes. Peppered throughout are references to the superiority of the Soviet Communist system, and even the scientific inevitability to a 'one world government', which are no doubt included because of who paid for the entire production (and had to okay the script). These references make the film interesting as a take on a fictional Soviet exploration of the universe; a future that never came to be and a system that did not survive to see what did actually transpire.
There are some other Russian curiosities; for instance sexism in any equivalent US film would put a female center stage to be kidnaped or threatened by some alien, but the Soviets men left their woman in orbit, out of harms way. Relating to that there is an interesting sequence of 'Masha' experiencing zero gravity when in orbit, and this is done well. Though no specific year is given for the setting of the movie, the character of Masha does say she was involved in the Sputnik and Luna projects, which means the mission to Venus is part of that lineage. They do however make a joke at her expense, saying that they can make a robot who can think, but not a woman. Que lots of manly laughter and thigh slapping. As it is a film of its time I will not criticize, only say that it is another indicator of the difference in Western and Soviet sci-fi. Another crucial difference is the type of hero that Soviet Science fiction hero uses, as opposed to their Western counter parts. In Western science fiction, a post-WWII influence lingers and is often present. It is the characteristic that the heroes or main protagonists are essentially a mix of aviator and navy type. By contrast 'Planet Bur' adheres to the Soviet preference, by which the main characters are scientists or dedicated cosmonauts, and there is none of the class delineation that is often visible in western space opera.
The special effects are functional, even if they are at times clunky. But some the live action sequences are truly excellent, and do give an immersive feel to the movie, in that it is actually taking place on another world. There is an extended underwater sequence for instance that is very well done.
Besides the afore spacesuits, the land vehicle the explorers use and their robot are both excellent, and are used for more than simply props. Clearly there was a lot of money spent on this production, and the creators ingenuity and artistry is very visible.
Aside from finding dinosaurs on Venus, there is a hint and an open ended cliff hanger, that intelligent life did and does still exist on Venus. This is one of the space opera tropes the movie, but it is well done and leaves the film open ended. Not until 12 years later would the Martian chronicles (in the 1980) infuse the same theme of alien mystery into popular Western culture.
In many aspects 'Planet of Storms' was a product of its time, and in some instances was creatively ahead of its time. It is well worth a look, and I have rated it 8/10 as an example of it's genre. It is not possible to compare it to better more serious sci-fi, as only 6 years later Stanley Kubrick made '2001 A Space Odyssey'. But as a piece of space opera science fiction it may have been more influential than anyone admits too.
The story revolves around a flotilla of Soviet spacecraft heading to explore Venus. As the production year is 1962 Venus was still believed by many to possibly harbor life, and in the real world the USSR was very serious about exploration of it (they would land the Venera probe in 1967). 'Planet of Storms' is a mix of space opera with a smattering of Soviet propaganda, and it all the more interesting for it.
After the flotilla looses a craft to a meteor strike the crew of the two remaining ships decide to attempt a landing on the the 'Planet of Storms'. The male crew all decide to make the journey, along with a robot, leaving the missions only female member in orbit to maintain communications with Moscow control.
The special effects are, by the standard of the time, okay, but at some points are really creative and even exceptional. The mix of effects is uneven, with stop motion and puppet models being the lower end, and solidly built locations models and vistas being the best of what is on offer. Curiously the design of the spacesuits the explorers use seems to have resurfaced in the 1979 film 'Alien'.
While on Venus the explorers encounter dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, violent lizard men, an exploding volcano and the ruins of an ancient civilization. In short there is a lot packed into the films 1 hour and 20 minutes. Peppered throughout are references to the superiority of the Soviet Communist system, and even the scientific inevitability to a 'one world government', which are no doubt included because of who paid for the entire production (and had to okay the script). These references make the film interesting as a take on a fictional Soviet exploration of the universe; a future that never came to be and a system that did not survive to see what did actually transpire.
There are some other Russian curiosities; for instance sexism in any equivalent US film would put a female center stage to be kidnaped or threatened by some alien, but the Soviets men left their woman in orbit, out of harms way. Relating to that there is an interesting sequence of 'Masha' experiencing zero gravity when in orbit, and this is done well. Though no specific year is given for the setting of the movie, the character of Masha does say she was involved in the Sputnik and Luna projects, which means the mission to Venus is part of that lineage. They do however make a joke at her expense, saying that they can make a robot who can think, but not a woman. Que lots of manly laughter and thigh slapping. As it is a film of its time I will not criticize, only say that it is another indicator of the difference in Western and Soviet sci-fi. Another crucial difference is the type of hero that Soviet Science fiction hero uses, as opposed to their Western counter parts. In Western science fiction, a post-WWII influence lingers and is often present. It is the characteristic that the heroes or main protagonists are essentially a mix of aviator and navy type. By contrast 'Planet Bur' adheres to the Soviet preference, by which the main characters are scientists or dedicated cosmonauts, and there is none of the class delineation that is often visible in western space opera.
The special effects are functional, even if they are at times clunky. But some the live action sequences are truly excellent, and do give an immersive feel to the movie, in that it is actually taking place on another world. There is an extended underwater sequence for instance that is very well done.
Besides the afore spacesuits, the land vehicle the explorers use and their robot are both excellent, and are used for more than simply props. Clearly there was a lot of money spent on this production, and the creators ingenuity and artistry is very visible.
Aside from finding dinosaurs on Venus, there is a hint and an open ended cliff hanger, that intelligent life did and does still exist on Venus. This is one of the space opera tropes the movie, but it is well done and leaves the film open ended. Not until 12 years later would the Martian chronicles (in the 1980) infuse the same theme of alien mystery into popular Western culture.
In many aspects 'Planet of Storms' was a product of its time, and in some instances was creatively ahead of its time. It is well worth a look, and I have rated it 8/10 as an example of it's genre. It is not possible to compare it to better more serious sci-fi, as only 6 years later Stanley Kubrick made '2001 A Space Odyssey'. But as a piece of space opera science fiction it may have been more influential than anyone admits too.