Journey to the Far Side of the Sun
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Franco Derosa, Herbert Lom, Ian Hendry, Lynn Loring, Roy ThinnesBrand: Universal
Cinematographer: John Read
Composer: Barry Gray
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-24
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Journey to the Far Side of the Sun
Movie Review: Buy it ONLY if you must complete your collection...
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie was released on 10/1969, but started filming during 1968. It generated a great number of the miniatures and props that would be used just months later in Gerry Anderson's UFO TV series (which began production in 04/1969). Additionally, a few of the actors joined that production. Thus, it's easy to make comparisons... but I think that is unfair, because this is a movie--not a series episode. A different kind of focus and treatment is done. In a general way, it is a better work than the UFO TV series because of that. UFO had a couple of key problems, mostly with the script dialog, mostly flat acting, and very abrupt endings.
The most glaring problem with "Doppelganger" is the idea of a mirror version of the Earth, in the exact opposite orbit. It is physically impossible as there is no gravitational lock to prevent 'drift'--one planet catching up to the other. Anybody with just a little knowledge of astrophysics would know this. Even if we accept this preposterous idea, certainly we could send a more advanced communication probe so that we might communicate with them? This idea isn't even explored... even if they dreamed up some kind of "solar blockage" issue preventing it from working, there's no reason why two probes could be sent out to solve that problem. Since it is an "opposite" world, they'd send the probes in opposite directions, thus their paths would never cross (as what happened to the astronauts). This is of course ignoring the fact that speech is exempt from being spoken in reverse... obviously this would be much harder to enact. Anyway, if you can overlook these glaring faults, the movie is enjoyable.
**SPOILER ALERT**
"Doppelganger" did have a fairly abrupt ending that left me unsatisfied. From a logical standpoint, it was highly flawed. Even if the polarity of electrical systems was reversed and "shorted out" radio communications (but not the rest of the systems--curious enough, as the vehicle could still maneuver), any vehicle capable of remote control would have a physical cut-off switch for full manual control. Even if we assume that they goofed and it is fully electrically driven and that control unit is fried, the fact is that remote control requires communications to receive and process signals. No doubt the radio communications would leverage the same system, so he should still be able to communicate with ground based control. Then... if they find they can't communicate and the re-entry vehicle is not responding properly to controls (it is coming in at too steep an angle and speed), why continue the forced remote control? Even still, they have radar imaging and can see how fast the vehicle is coming in... the rocket tower shield should have been closed as a measure of precaution. But no, these glaring faults are left to force a particular ending... the spacecraft crashes and destroys the entire EUROSEC installation.
If I had the chance to author the ending, it would go like this: Ross is able to communicate enough information to EUROSEC about the 'complete reversal' he witnesses at the Phoenix, so the suspicion is confirmed. But then, he docks and doesn't realize the danger of reversed polarity--his communication system is then shorted out. Ross decides to return to Earth and makes his descent. He repeats requests for telemetry for a proper trajectory, but he gets no response. He continues on a previous path he assumes will be correct. As he comes within range, the strength of the tracking station signal manages to get through and automatically takes computer control of his vehicle. Because of the previous damage, it doesn't function properly... Ross has only moments to disengage and go to full manual, which he does--but it's too late. The vehicle is out of control and crashes into a fiery mess, taking Ross with it. EUROSEC survives, but Webb remains disturbed about the whole incident. There is a meeting to discuss another mission, but it is scrubbed due to insufficient funds. Webb gazes at photographs of the solar system, frustrated that he'll never learn anything more about the "parallel" Earth. At least with an ending like this, we're left being able to see the characters consider what they've learned but remain unable to do anything about it. The mystery will prevail.
**END SPOILER**
This story did have a lot of potential and some of it was handled well for its time. Despite the obvious signs of miniature models and sets, the production values are excellent ("Doppelganger" was nominated for an Academy Award for special effects, unjustly losing to the movie "Marooned").
Character development is relatively weak, despite some excellent actors in the cast (like Roy Thinnes). The space scenes seem desperate to emulate the production values of "2001: A Space Odyssey", which would be an impossible task (not only budget-wise but for the talent required).
Overall, to watch it is a fun trip back in time to classic late 60's sci-fi productions. It does hold up well in that regard. But after watching it once, one gets the feeling that it will be placed in a box and not watched again for many years. So, overall I'm giving this production 3 stars (***). Worth watching for the sake of the genre, but not worth buying new (buy it used, rent it, or borrow it).
Incidentally, if you'd like to see a pictoral exploration of the movie, check out the review on Belligerent Bunny (http://bbbms.blogspot.com/2003_09_27_archive.html).
Summary of Journey to the Far Side of the Sun
Sci-fi adventure and suspense has never been more exciting or intense as when you Journey to the Far Side of the Sun! One hundred years in the future, two astronauts are sent to uncover the secrets of a "duplicate" Earth on the other side of the Sun. When they crash land three weeks earlier than they had planned, they must embark on a life-or-death mission to determine whether they have arrived back home or on the strange mirror world. This imaginative space adventure offers a journey few will ever forget!There's a sense of awe to the special effects work of animation specialists Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (Thunderbirds Are Go)--the slow, lovingly detailed introduction of a massive spaceship creeping out of dock and struggling against its bulk while trapped on the ground, and the almost balletic spectacle of the ship elegantly floating against an impressive star field or dramatically flying against the rugged landscape. These moments are the highlights of this sober science fiction thriller about the discovery of a planet on the far side of the sun in Earth's orbit. A mission is hastily put together, with British astrophysicist Ian Hendry teamed with hotshot American astronaut Roy Thinnes for the three-week trip, but when they suddenly crash-land the strange creatures that surround them are revealed to be human. Against all rational explanations they're back on Earth, but Thinnes suddenly discovers that everything is a mirror image of his existence: Through the Looking Glass by way of The Twilight Zone. Though it begins as a paranoid spy thriller set in the near future (the opening details an ingenious espionage caper featuring a very special eyepiece), it quickly turns into a serious and oddly unsettling space-race drama with a heady twist. Robert Parrish's direction is unusually aloof, but the film is always intriguing and well acted with gorgeous special effects that may rank second only to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 as the most elegant vision of outer space flight on film. --Sean Axmaker
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