''In the Dust of the Stars'' (German: ''Im Staub der Sterne'', Romanian: ''Revoltă în cosmos'') is a 1976

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film, co-produced with Romania and directed by

Gottfried Kolditz Gottfried Kolditz (14 December 1922 – 15 June 1982) was a German movie actor and director. Biography Kolditz was born in Goldbach-Altenbach to a farm family. Between 1945 and 1949 he studied German philology at the University of Leipzig, an ...

. Some of the film's props were part of a 2009 exhibit entitled "Retrospektive in die Zukunft" and ''

Twitch Film Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

'' screened the film as part of their ''Attack The Bloc'' screening series.

Synopsis

The spaceship Cynro has received a distress call from the planet TEM 4. The crew tries to respond but ends up crash landing on the planet as a result of radio waves. Emerging from the ship, the crew is brought to the planet's leader Ronk (Milan Beli), who tells the Cynro crew that there was never any accident and that the distress call was all a mistake. As an apology he invites the crew to a party, much to the misgivings of Suko (

Alfred Struwe Alfred Struwe (April 22, 1927 – February 13, 1998)Peter Hahn"Struwe, Alfred (Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf): Die Serie "Zahn um Zahn" war ein Knüller im DDR-Fernsehen" '' Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung'', 20 April 2007 was a German actor, best ...

), the ship's navigator. Sensing that there is more to Ronk's claims, Suko refuses the invitation. His concerns end up being well-founded after Ronk uses the party to remove any memories of the fake distress call and Suko discovers a subterranean mine where Ronk forces captives to work as slaves. The Cynro crew is unable to decide whether they should return to their ship and escape or stay and help the slaves gain freedom. This choice is ultimately made for them when the slaves revolt and the ensuing battle forces the crew to leave the planet, leaving behind their commander and Suko, who is dying. The film ends with the natives burying Suko.

Cast

Jana Brejchová Jana Brejchová (born 20 January 1940) is a Czech film actress. She has appeared in more than 70 films since 1953. She was married to director Miloš Forman and later actor Vlastimil Brodský. Her younger sister Hana is also an actress who has ...

: Akala *

: Suko *

Ekkehard Schall Ekkehard Schall (29 May 1930 in Magdeburg – 3 September 2005 in Berlin) was a German stage and screen actor/director. He was one of the best-known interpreters of Brecht's works and together with Helene Weigel a member of the Berliner E ...

: Chief *

Milan Beli Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

: Ronk * Silvia Popovici: Illik *

Violeta Andrei Violeta Andrei (; born 29 March 1941) is a Romanian theater and film actress. Biography Andrei was born on 29 March 1941 in Brașov, Romania. After completing high school at the Școala Centrală National College in Bucharest, she graduated in 1 ...

: Rall *

Leon Niemczyk Leon Stanisław Niemczyk (15 December 1923 – 29 November 2006) was a Polish actor. Niemczyk developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1960s, known for serious dramas, including historical dramas and war films. He appeared in over ...

: Thob *

Regine Heintze Regine () or Régine is a feminine given name. Regine is a German-French form of Regina, and Régine is a French form of Regina. People with the first name include: Regine * Regine Heitzer (born 1944), Austrian figure skater * Regine Hildebrandt ...

: Miu *

Mihai Mereuță Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela. As a given name * Mihai I of Romania (1921–2017), King of Romania until 1947 *Mi ...

: Kte *

Ștefan Mihăilescu-Brăila Ștefan Mihăilescu-Brăila (; 3 February 1925 – 19 September 1996) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1959 to 1984. Selected filmography References External links * 1925 births 1996 deaths Romanian m ...

: Xik

Editions

The original, uncut version of the film was rereleased by the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2005.

Reception

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...

'' gave the film a positive review, calling it a "guilty pleasure" and a "fun, cheesy movie". ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' also praised the film and wrote "Though it's easy to mock its very '70s art direction, costume design and general sensibility, ''In the Dust of the Stars'' (''Im Staub der Sterne'', 1975) exhibits much imagination throughout."

References

Bibliography

*Berghahn, Daniela (2005), ''Hollywood Behind the Wall: The Cinema of East Germany'', Manchester University Press, p. 41, *Brockmann, Stephen (2010), ''A Critical History of German Film (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)'', Camden Press, p. 230, *Hake, Sabine (2007), ''German National Cinema (National Cinemas)'', Routledge, p. 137, *Scalzi, John (2005), ''The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies'', Rough Guides, p. 257,

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0074671 1976 films 1970s science fiction films German science fiction films East German films 1970s German-language films Films directed by Gottfried Kolditz 1970s German films