Réalisation:
Otakar KosekScénario:
Josef EismannPhotographie:
Ivo PopekMusique:
Vadim PetrovActeurs·trices:
Josef Somr, Květa Fialová, Petr Pelzer, Alexej Pyško, Eva Jakoubková, Svatopluk Matyáš, Karel Vochoč, Stanislav Malý, Václav Antoš, Václav Babka, Naděžda Letenská, Ivan Dědeček (plus)Critiques (1)
This film was inspired by the Soviet science fiction novel published in the early 70s by a group of authors under a pseudonym. The sci-fi genre didn’t thrive in the ideologically constrained cultural environment, and mostly survived on the fringes until the mid-80s. The story had a horror tone, where a group of scientists, backed by the political and military elite of a country, conducted experiments on children to create a genetically modified race capable of colonizing Mars. The television adaptation is a typical regional studio production with a minimal budget, and thus couldn't impress except through the performances of the actors involved. The screenplay logically cut out a lot of literary material, leaving a stripped-down version that deserves no more than 2 stars, mostly for the amazing potential this title had. I can imagine that in the hands of a capable director with a love for the genre, like the young Herz, it could have been a dark and immensely impactful film. Overall impression: 35%. It's a shame that this is probably the only adaptation of this novel. If a major studio had taken it on, sci-fi and horror fans could have rejoiced... ()