A DREAM COME TRUE (aka Mechte Navstrechu)

After receiving radio waves from our solar system, the inhabitants of planet Centuria send out a starship toward Earth. Dues to technical problems, though, their starship is forced to land on Mars. Earth sends a rescue party to rescue the alien visitors. However, upon arrival, and in a scene similar to Alien, they discover a solitary, dead Centurian astronaut at the starship controls. What happened to the other Centurian spacemen? The answer appears to lie on the distant Martian moon, Phobos. One of the great things about Soviet science fiction cinema of this era is its extravagance. Every set, every spaceship, even the space helmets and space suits are lavishly done in a style that looks like a live version of an old 1950s Ace double cover. They're just gorgeous. And everything is BIG. The Russians spared little expense on their sci-fi films. This is a beautiful film to look at, pure space opera from start to finish. Subtitled in Engligh. Great color, from 35mm.

• science fiction