Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Star Dreamer (2002)


Director: Mads Baastrup & Sonja Vesterholt

Staring: Pavel Klushantsev

More Info: IMDB

Plot: This is the story of the ground-breaking Russian film maker, Pavel Klushantsev was a visual wizard and left a fantastic legacy of films which transformed and influenced the science fiction genre as we know it.





My Rating: 9/10

Would I watch it again? Yup


I was so taken by this film a couple of years ago that I slapped it in for some friends between movies one night and it was a big hit. At 54 minutes you get a solid glimpse into the joys and hardships PK experienced behind the Iron Curtain in the 1050s and 60s. It's sad that the Russian government treated him so poorly but at least we have the amazing films he did manage to complete.


His vision and innovative special effects techniques are extraordinary and his films are visual works of art. Many of the techniques featured in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) that are accredited to Kubrick were surprisingly achieved and pioneered by PK ten years earlier. We get to see how many of these shots were created in detail and the sheer simplicity of it all, much like the revealing of a magic trick, leaves you in awe. I don't know where this Danish documentary can be found but seek it out. It's a neat glimpse into an era long gone and into the life of a man whose contribution to science fiction film making can be felt to this day.

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