Same film can be both years behind its time and years ahead of its time. Few examples can illustrate this phenomenon like Cosmic Voyage, 1936 Soviet silent science fiction film directed by Vasillii Zhuravlov, also known under alternative title Cosmic Journey.
The plot is set in (then future) 1946. Scientists at the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Institute of Interplanetary Communications are preparing to send first manned flight to the Moon. First experiments with rockets haven’t been successful – a rabbit has died during the trip while the rocket carrying cat disappeared on the surface of the Moon. Elderly academician Pavel Ivanovich Sedikh (played by Sergey Komarov) want to the lead the flight but his colleague Professor Karin (played by Vasilii Kovrigin) is concerned for his health and would prefer his young assistant Captain Viktor Orlov (played by Nikolay Feoktisov) to go instead. Orlov’s young brother Andryusha (played by Vasilii Gaponenko) overhears this and warns Sedikh who decides to go nevertheless. Sedikh boards huge rocket plane Joseph Stalin together with Orlov’s girlfriend and his assistant Professor Marina (played by Ksenia Moskalenko) while young Andryusha goes there as stowaway. They successfully launch and reach Moon’s surface, albeit on the wrong side of the Moon when they can’t communicate back on Earth and with their oxygen supplies damaged. Trio is nevertheless resourceful and finds a way to solve those problems and triumphantly returns to Earth.
Cosmic Voyage is considered the last major silent science fiction film and, at the same time, the first “proper” Soviet science fiction film (unlike Aelita, which used interplanetary flight as side subplot in otherwise realistic drama). Its plot strikes great resemblance with Fritz Lang’s Woman in the Moon made years earlier, but the real inspiration came from the works of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, famous Russian and Soviet rocket scientist who is recognised as one of the pioneers of the astronautics. Zhuravlov and his scriptwriter Alexander Filimonov has spent long time discussing his theories of space flight and making sure that each and every detail in the screen conforms to his views. Results of those discussions are quite visible in the screen, making Cosmic Voyage as accurate in its depiction of (still theoretical) space flight as possible. As such, this film represent the “hardest” science fiction film in the first half of 20th Century. This can be seen in scenes that actually depict weightlessness in the space (achieved through rather impressive special effects involving wires) and protagonist making long jumps on the surface of low gravity Moon (achieved through clay animation). Cosmic Voyage also features rather impressive miniature model effects showing not one but two spaceships (the other named after Stalin’s marshal Kliment Voroshilov).
While it was visionary in many its aspects, Cosmic Voyage was also quite outdated from the beginning. The most obvious reason for that absence of sound, which was by mid 1930s standard technology in all major cinema industries in the world. Boris Shumyatsky, the boss of Soviet cinema industry, opted for silent film because Cosmic Voyage was primarily intended for the domestic audience, most notably children and youth who were to be inspired by futuristic achievements of Soviet science. Many of Soviet cinema theatres still haven’t been equipped for sound films and that was another reason for making of silent version. Like with many late silent films, Cosmic Voyage has great visuals, but acting is a little bit too theatrical. Nevertheless, Filimonov’s script is tight and even the Soviet propaganda is rather subdued. Film even lacks villains, with Professor Karin ultimately recognising that his colleague Sedikh was right. Zhuravlov keeps everything under tolerable 70 minutes of running time.
According to some sources, Cosmic Voyage was first shown in Kremlin roughly a month before regular premiere. Although Stalin ultimately allowed its distribution, he apparently wasn’t too enthusiastic about the film and, according to some sources, critics thought that “fantastic” adventures on the Moon weren’t in line with official doctrine of Socialist Realism, which would end all science fiction films in Soviet Union until 1950s. That, and increasingly embarrassing lack of sound technology, led to film being put out of circulation and all but memory-holed for the rest of Stalin’s rule. One reason for that can be also found in impressive futuristic skyline of 1946 Moscow, including (in)famous and never finished Palace of the Soviets, which wasn’t came to be in real life. Cosmic Voyage was rediscovered almost half a century later and shown on Soviet television, with elderly Zhuravlov being invited to comment on the film afterwards and accompanied by real life cosmonauts who praised film for being right in so many aspects of space travel. Although the audience that would most likely appreciate this film are hardcore cinephiles and early space technology enthusiasts, Cosmic Voyage deserves recommendation as one of the most extraordinary pieces of 20th Century cinema.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ Leofinance blog https://leofinance.io/@drax.leo
Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417 Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax Bitcoin Lightning HIVE donations: https://v4v.app/v1/lnurlp/qrcode/drax Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
