After a mysterious flight recorder found in the Gobi Desert is traced to the planet Venus, an international space crew is dispatched to decipher its message and discover what has become of the alien civilisation. This high-budget adaptation of Lem’s first novel The Astronauts is notable for its inspired set design of a post-apocalyptic alien landscape and its memorable robot helper Omega. It was also the world’s first sci-fi film to feature a multi-racial spaceship crew. Originally intended as a paean to the socialist ideals of multiculturalism and pacifism, Silent Star is equally at home as a schlocky space opera.
