dlee2012 Planeta Bur is another strong 1960s film from behind the Iron Curtain. Along with the likes of Ikarie XB-1 and First Spaceship on Venus, this production shows that film-makers in the communist countries were committed to producing high-quality films with a kind of gritty realism lacking in the output of their Hollywood rivals.Like most Soviet films, the production has some technical problems. The direction is very rudimentary, the colour film stock of extremely poor quality and the sound is muffled. There is no great artistry here but, despite these limitations, it is a thoroughly pleasurable science fiction film and stands head and shoulders above most Hollywood output, then and now.If anything though, this film suffers from being a little too much like First Spaceship on Venus. It features the same realistic voyage, landing on a surreal alien world, deployable surface vehicles and maintenance robot. Unfortunately, it suffers a little in comparison for whereas Stanislaw Lem was able to write about a truly alien world, this film falls back on the old and erroneous clichés of Venus being a young planet and thus features dinosaurs and the like.Nevertheless, the first half of the film is extremely strong, with an emphasis on realism in space flight. Gone are the contrivances found in most American science fiction of ships with unscientific, magical properties like faster-than-light engines and the ridiculous need for ray guns, space battles and the like. Here is a comparatively realistic space craft and a story that shows that one can encounter just as much drama exploring one's own solar system.Some of the acting is wooden but the characters are slightly better defined than in First Spaceship to Venus. The robot is, for the most part, realistically portrayed as a useful tool though there is, unfortunately, a moment of unintentional camp when rain affects its circuits, causing it to babble incoherently. Falling into campiness is a danger when creating films in this genre and, despite this moment, the writer and director successfully avoid this trap for the most part.Another fortunate thing is that the film is virtually devoid of Soviet propaganda, making it all the more watchable today.The greatest problem, though, lies in the journey's end. Venus is an interesting, alien world at first but one's interest quickly wanes and the aforementioned dinosaurs will only captivate very young children. Science fiction should present an estranged view of humanity, allowing us to reflect on ourselves and our society from afar. Lem's film does this by showing how the aggressive Venusians destroyed themselves through their imperialist ambitions and experimentation with nuclear weapons.This film, presenting a primeval world, holds up no such mirror to humanity. It does present a hope that we can work together to explore space in the future so there is a vaguely utopian feel but there is no real critique of society so it ultimately fails to be really effective science fiction.Nevertheless, despite these shortcomings, due to its realism, atmosphere and plausible depiction of robots and other space hardware, it remains an enjoyable film, just not a profound one. It is a refreshing and superior alternative to Hollywood science fiction films with their emphasis on violence, camp and fantastical space craft.

a666333 Not bad, not incredible like "Forbidden Planet" and not as colourful and tragic as "This Island Earth" and it is certainly not "Solaris". But we must give 60s Eastern bloc science fiction its due. None of it is bad. All of it respects the intelligence of the viewers and each manages to create effective atmospheres. The music and background sound were good. The robot and the "supercar" are dated but very good for the time. Naming the robot "John" is a bit of a dig at the West (one could just as easily see Westerners naming a robot Ivan or Igor). The robot is given a Western name while the crew are all self actualized socialist men except for the woman cosmonaut who is given the traditional role of minding the mothership and lamenting over the fate of the men who are off exploring the planet. If that and the song are the social commentary then it could have been much worse.

keshlam Agree w/ the other reviews; it's very effective for its time and budget. I think the should-I-land subplot may have been more effective for the intended audience; this is a "should I trust my orders or should I innovate" question, and the answer in American culture may be very different from that official response in Soviet Russia. When viewed with that insight, it may make more sense.Question: My copy (a transfer purchased from Sinister Cinema) subtitles the lyrics during the ending credits... but does _not_ subtitle the earlier instance of the song. Does anyone have a transcription of the Russian words for either or both parts, and/or a complete translation? I'm really tempted to learn it well enough to perform it.Thanks in advance...

timayres I saw this in my childhood and took years to track it down again since I saw it under one of its two confusing Roger Corman english-language re-edits [Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet with Basil Rathbone added, and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, with mermaids scenes directed by Peter Bogdonavich.] Finally able to track down the original Russian version recently, I was able to fully appreciate the ambitious scope and production values. The forest is truly primeval in its detailed beauty, Robot John both heroic and sad in his dedication, and the ending poetic and lyrical. Non-U.S. science fiction films are doubly exotic, and this one is classic fare.