Rent Strange New Worlds: Science Fiction at DEFA (1976)
2.9 of 5 from 46 ratings
5h 58min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Following the division of Germany in the aftermath of World War II, DEFA was established as the state-owned film studio of East Germany or the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Active from 1946 until its dissolution in 1992, the studio made hundreds of feature films in a diverse range of genres, from hard-hitting dramas to crime thrillers, fairytale adaptations and Westerns. During the 1960s and 1970s, it also produced a series of colourful and wildly imaginative science fiction films in which courageous cosmonauts attempt to unravel the secrets of the universe: 'The Silent Star' (1960), 'Signals: A Space Adventure' (1970), 'Eolomea' (1972) and 'In the Dust of the Stars' (1976). Based on Stanislaw Lem's 'The Astronauts', 'The Silent Star' begins as an extraterrestrial object is unearthed in the Gobi desert. When it is found to have originated on Venus, the crew of the spacecraft Kosmoskrator is dispatched to the yellow planet to solve its mysteries. In 'Signals: A Space Adventure', the Laika and its creware sent to find a lost research vessel, the Ikaros. But as they draw nearer to the missing craft, they begin to intercept a series of strange radio transmissions. Then, 'Eolomea' sees eight ships dispatched from the space station Margot disappear without trace - and it's down to science officer Maria Scholl (Cox Habbema) to find out what happened to them. Finally, 'In the Dust of the Stars' follows the crew of the Cyrano as theyland on the planet TEM 4 to investigate a distress signal – and find themselves under the psychedelic influence of its bizarre inhabitants. Pitched somewhere between Forbidden Planet, Star Trek, Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey, DEFA's science fiction films are marvels of production design and practical effects work - as well as poignant commentaries on the central issues of the atomic age, including nuclear warfare, rapid technological advancement and capitalist expansion. - Actors:
- Jana Brejchová, Alfred Struwe, Ekkehard Schall, Milan Beli, Silvia Popovici, Violeta Andrei, Leon Niemczyk, Regine Heintze, Mihai Mereuta, Stefan Mihailescu-Braila, Aurelia Dumitrescu, Dorin Ganea, Zephi Alsec, Hans Ulrich Laufer, Carlo Schmidt, Piotr Pawlowski, Evgeniy Zharikov, Gojko Mitic, Alfred Müller, Helmut Schreiber
- Directors:
- Gottfried Kolditz, Herrmann Zschoche, Kurt Maetzig
- Voiced By:
- Carmen-Maja Antoni, Manfred Krug, Hans-Dieter Leinhos, Walter Richter-Reinick, Danuta Szaflarska
- Writers:
- Joachim Hellwig, Gottfried Kolditz, Carlos Rasch, C.U. Wiesner, Angel Wagenstein, Willi Brückner, Stanislaw Lem, Jan Fethke, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Günter Reisch, Günther Rücker, Alexander Stenbock-Fermor, Kurt Maetzig, J. Barkhauer
- Aka:
- First Spaceship on Venus (Der schweigende Stern) / Signale - Ein Weltraumabenteuer / Eolomea / Im Staub der Sterne
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Anime & Animation, Children & Family, Classics, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Countries:
- Germany
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 19/05/2025
- Run Time:
- 358 minutes
- Languages:
- German
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Various
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- The Robot (Klaus Georgi, 1968) - animated short produced by the DEFA Studio for Animation Film
- Jana and the Little Star (Christl Wiemer, 1971) - animated short produced by the DEFA Studio for Animation Film
- Love 2002 (Joachim Hellwig, 1972) - documentary short on the future of love in East Germany produced by the DEFA Studio for Newsreels and Documentary Films
- New audio commentaries
- New Video Essay
- Blast Off - new interview with science fiction scholar Mark Bould
- Red Skies - new interview with Soviet cinema expert Claire Knight
- Marx Attacks - new video essay by Daniel Jonah Wolpert on In the Dust of the Stars
- British Filmmaker Visits DEFA (1959) - archival newsreel documenting Anthony Asquith's visit to the set of 'The Silent Star'
- A Rocket in the Soviet Zone (1959) - archival newsreel covering the making of 'The Silent Star'
- Cosmonaut Dreams - archival featurette on the making of Eolomea, featuring special-effects cameraman Kurt Marks, costume designer Barbara Müller-Braumann and technician Jan-Peter Schmarje
- Dusting Off After 30 Years - archival interview with Peter Suring, director of photography on 'In the Dust of the Stars'
- Original theatrical trailers
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the following Film:
- The Silent Star
- Special Features - Disc 2:
- This disc includes the following Films:
- Signals: A Space Adventure
- Eolomea
- Special Features - Disc 3:
- This disc includes the following Film:
- In the Dust of the Stars
- Special Features
