Defa Scifi Collection: Part 1 - The Silent Star (Der Schweigende Stern)
Box Kindly submitted by First Run Features
When soviet scientist find a strange object from outer space in the debris of the Tunguska "meteor". It turns out it’s a magnetic spool from a spacecraft that crashed there in 1908.
The cylinder is partly damaged but it seems to contain a sort of message or warning for the people of earth. In no time, the scientists realise the only possible origin of the alien cylinder is to be found on Venus. So, they decide to pay the planet a visit.
An upcoming mission to Mars is cancelled and a team of scientists prepare to take of to Venus in their spaceship “The Kosmokrator”. Not knowing what they will find, our heroes leave for a long trip into the unknown. To kill time during the trip a scientist keeps searching to decipher the alien message, while others try to contact the aliens on Venus. However Venus shrouded in clouds, keeps silent. Little by little the scientists become certain that the origins of the message aren’t friendly at all. They even think the message could be considered as a declaration of war on earth. Heading towards Venus they decide not to inform the earth about this message. They settle on finding out what happened to the silent star and their silent inhabitants, since 1908.
Although “Silent Star ” looks like a typical early sixties Sci-Fi movie it isn’t. Made in Eastern Germany in 1960, in the DEFA studio, this is done at a moment the race for space was in full force. The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, on October 4, 1957. Because the Soviets won the first part of this race, the socialists started to dream of even further exploration of space. The truth is that during these years, the Soviets in “Star City” were very much ahead of the Americans. This was of course a fine reason to show off, which DEFA did with this very expensive science fiction movie. The movie is full of great alien landscapes, the rocket is a real masterpiece, the artwork and the sets are unbelievably attractive and their equipment is wonderful.
Although it was a really expensive movie you can see some flaws, you recognize when models are used, and wires are visible once in a while, but then again this was 1960. Another way of showing off was of course the international crew of the “Kosmokrater”. The dream team of experts from originate from Japan, India, China, Africa, Poland, East Germany and the Soviet Union (and an American who fled his country to go to the stars). This was propaganda directly aimed at the people of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries to spread the good word of communism. This is of course a political movie with socialist heroes who go into space for reason of exploration and in the meantime save the world on their way back. This was in big contrast to the vision on the US and the western world that is portrayed as instigators of the Hiroshima bombing, nuclear bombs and the weapon race.
This movie is announced as the first ever made movie on man exploring outer space, (which is of course nonsense) but all fitted in the propaganda machine of mother Russia. It was indeed the first Sci-fi movie made by the DEFA studios, shot in 70mm Total Vision and four-track sound; it became the most expensive movie ever made by DEFA. Not only the exuberant set designs and costumes were eating up the budget, but no less then 12 scripts were made before a compromise was found between the genre conventions and the bureaucratic propaganda from that time.
While this movie was definitely done to ridicule the Americans, who couldn’t get a rocket in the air at that time, it does borrow some elements of the American sci-fi movies of the fifties. And this is not so strange, if you think about the fact that American filmmakers “borrowed” their ideas from Russian movies (see: “Nebo”, “Zovyot, remade as Battle beyond the sun) and novels it’s only natural that many plot ideas are the same. “The Silent Star” is based on the novel, the Astronauts of Stanislaw Lem (remember Solyaris) but I doubt that this Polish writer put so much propaganda in his book as we taste in this movie version “The Silent Star”. Nevertheless this movie is and will stay a very impressive science fiction movie that no fan of early (and even new) science fiction can miss.
The film is presented in the original German soundtrack, with English subtitles. There are some interesting extra features on the disc, as well. Starting out with the Newsreels from that time (1959) with exclusive views on the Berlin film festival and the set of “The Silent star”. Furthermore you find text-essays on the film, by the set designer and on director Kurt Maetzig, which are one by one worth reading and last but not least an artful gallery of set designs. This first feature of three is definitely a lost treasure that is now available for all of us.
It gets the full RAZOR REEL thumbs up.
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