Stylistically sitting somewhere between SOLARIS and early STAR TREK this interesting Czech sci-fi drama about a spaceship voyaging to Alpha Centauri is pointed to as an influence on not only SOLARIS but 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY and even ALIEN. As it predates all these films it is hard to argue with that view. The film takes a psychological viewpoint as the crew face and overcome various problems on their journey. Most intriguing is the discovery of a derelict Earth spaceship from the 20th Century full of the corpses of humans wearing evening dress and who seemingly died while drinking champagne and gambling - perhaps, given the political regime in the country of origin at the time, a comment on the corrupt West. The version viewed is the original Czech version, letterboxed and sub-titled, rather than the dubbed and slightly re-edited version (with a different ending) that was released in America as VOYAGE TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. Rating ****
