Road to the Stars

1957 Soviet science fiction film

November 1957 (1957-11) (USSR)

Running time

50 minutesCountrySoviet UnionLanguageRussian

Road to the Stars (Russian: Дорога к звёздам, IPA: [dɐˈroɡə ɡ_ˈzvʲɵzdəm]) is a 1957, Soviet biographical film directed by Pavel Klushantsev. It combines elements of science education films and speculative science fiction. The film was groundbreaking for its use of special effects to depict life in space.

Synopsis

The first half of the film is historical and educational in nature, depicting mostly the life and scientific contributions of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, along with the basic principles of rocket propulsion, ballistics, and space flight. It also depicts the contributions of Max Valier and Robert Goddard.

The second half of the film is speculative in nature, with various scenes showing crewed space flight (4 years before the flight of Yuri Gagarin), a large space station (in great detail), and the first person on the Moon (12 years before the flight of Apollo 11), as well as lunar colonization.^[1]

Cast

Giorgy Solovyov — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Crew

Writers — Boris Liapunov, Vasily Solovyov
Director — Pavel Klushantsev
Operator — Mikael Galper
Composer — S. Shatiryan
Artist — M. Tsybasov
Sound Engineer — RP Leviti
Operators animation — A.V. Lavrentiev and A. M. Romanenko
Animation artist — V. Shelkov

Art features

The film was far ahead of its time in terms of cinematic special effects. In particular, it features a wheel-shaped space station eleven years before Kubrick's famous 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Awards

1958. 2nd prize at CCF I (Moscow)^[2]
1958. Bronze medal: Б. Kudricha MCF technical and scientific films Belgrade.^[2]

Legacy

The film is believed to have significantly influenced Stanley Kubrick's techniques in 2001: A Space Odyssey, particularly in its accurate depiction of weightlessness and a rotating space station. Encyclopedia Astronautica describes some scenes from 2001 as a "shot-for-shot duplication of Road to the Stars".^[3] Specific comparisons of shots from the two films have been analyzed by the filmmaker Alessandro Cima.^[4] A 1994 article in American Cinematographer says, "When Stanley Kubrick made 2001: a Space Odyssey in 1968, he claimed to have been first to fly actor/astronauts on wires with the camera on the ground, shooting vertically while the actor's body covered the wires" but observes that Klushantsev had preceded him in this.^[5]

References

^ Guschev S. Фильм о штурме неба Техника-молодежи №3-1958 с.24-25
^ ^a ^b E.V. Kharitonov, A.V. Shcherbak-Zhukov Дорога к звездам "On the screen - Miracle: Patriotic fantasy genre and kinoskazki" (1909-2002) : Proceedings of the popular encyclopedia / Motion Picture Arts Research Institute, if . - Moscow: B. Sekachev 2003
^ "Road to the Stars". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
^ "Road to the Stars – 1957 Soviet Space Vision with Stunning Special Effects". Candlelight Stories. January 19, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
^ "Klushantsev: Russia's Wizard of Fantastika". American Cinematographer. 75. ASC Holding Corp. 1994.