Disney’s lavish history of rockets leading right up to a pre-Sputnik 1955!
Parts 2 – 8 after the jump
Tag Archives: space
Road to the Stars – 1957 Soviet Space Vision with Stunning Special Effects
Excerpt 1 – First Men in Space:
The film is in Russian but you absolutely do not need to know Russian to enjoy it! Unfortunately, I can’t find the entire film, only these three excerpts.
Pavel Klushantsev’s 1957 film, Road to the Stars, features astoundingly realistic special effects that were an inspiration and obvious blueprint for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey ten years later. The film is an extended form of science education, building upon existing 1950s technology to predict space exploration of the future. The sequences with astronauts in zero gravity are incredibly realistic. The second excerpt from the film features the construction of and life aboard a space station in earth orbit that is not only convincing but also beautiful. There are several scenes with space station dwellers using videophones that anticipate the famous Kubrick videophone scene.
Excerpt 2 – Space Station:
Excerpt 3 – Moon Landing:
Futurama 1964!
Now that’s a future I can get into! Let’s do another ride like this today.
The Production and Decay of Strange Particles – A Film by Jon Behrens
Seattle avant-garde filmmaker Jon Behrens made this gorgeous piece in 2008 with 16mm film, latex paint and inks applied directly to the film surface. It creates a mysterious space travel and exploratory sensation that has some connection – at least in my mind – to Kubrick’s 2001. There’s a big pile of magnificent work waiting for you to enjoy from this filmmaker. Visit his Vimeo page and personal website for more information.
You can rent Behrens’ films for 16mm projection from Canyon Cinema. He also has a DVD of collected works.
Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 22)
This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.
Chapter 22: John Carter, tries to find Dejah Thoris and learns some heartbreaking news.
You can find all the previous chapters of the book here.
You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.
Duration: 00:20:12
Read by Alessandro Cima
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Spectacular Video of Homemade Spacecraft Flight
This is private space flight at its best. Luke Geissbuhler spent 8 months researching how to launch a small weather balloon with a camera that would travel to the edge of space, take video of the trip, and return the camera safely to the ground! Incredible and fascinating to watch. You’d be amazed at how many things there are to understand about a simple balloon that is constructed to stay within the legal requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration. You also won’t believe how far this thing went. The video of the Earth is like what you see from the Space Shuttle.
Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 21)
This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.
Chapter 21: John Carter, meets a friend and learns to fly.
You can find all the previous chapters of the book here.
You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.
Duration: 00:19:54
Read by Alessandro Cima
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Film: Spaceman
Jono Schaferkotter wrote and directed this short sci-fi film that places a spaceship crew in love and peril during a mission to find more resources for Earth. But the spaceship is an apartment. It’s a clever mix of perspectives and imaginary circumstances that play out over the course of a short romance. The film was made with no budget but it features some lovely special effects and a very convincing space walk.
Animation: Zoudov
A film about an attractive spy during a rocket launch. By Clement Bolla, Aurelia Vernhes, and Laurent Gillot.
Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 20)
This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.
Chapter 20: John Carter, on the edge of starvation finds himself as an unwanted guest in a vast atmosphere generator.
You can find all the previous chapters of the book here.
You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.
Duration: 00:19:17
Read by Alessandro Cima
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 19)
This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.
Chapter 19: John Carter makes a new friend in prison but must face a day of fighting to the death in the arena.
You can find all the previous chapters of the book here.
You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.
Duration: 00:10:07
Read by Alessandro Cima
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Animation: Mars!
This animated short is by Joe Bichard and Jack Cunningham. Drill baby drill! On Mars! This is what happens when you run around punching holes in things.
Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 18)
This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.
Chapter 18: John Carter, is a prisoner of a new Martian horde and he witnesses savagery like none he has seen before.
You can find all the previous chapters of the book here.
You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.
Duration: 00:09:24
Read by Alessandro Cima
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 17)
This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.
Chapter 17: John Carter, Dejah Thoris, and Sola make their escape across the Martian landscape for the city of Helium.
You can find all the previous chapters of the book here.
You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.
Duration: 00:17:43
Read by Alessandro Cima
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Film: Die Schneider Krankheit
This 2008 film was written, produced and directed by Javier Chillon of Madrid, Spain. The director of photography was Luis Fuentes. Artistic direction by Ángel Boyano. In the fifties, a Soviet cosmonaut chimpanzee crash-lands in West Germany. Within weeks, a deadly virus has spread across the country and confounds all the scientific experts. The film is composed of entirely original footage made to look like a fifties documentary or newsreel. The very first shots with the camera tilting down through the trees to show us the crash site at long range is a nearly prefect rendition of old documentary style right down to how the camera would move. You have to really know what you are doing to come up with shots like that. Very fine work.
This is science fiction that is a deadly accurate portrayal of the calm, governmental, ponderous yet urgent, carefully-framed and full-of-import quality found in mid-century documentary films. The humor is sly and builds its effect gradually. It’s also somewhat frightening.
Found at No fat clips!!!