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Director Gottfried Kolditz is an East German director I haven't heard until this year when I saw the listing for this blu-ray
debut to North America of two of the sci-fi Utopian films he directed. They are different in tone from each other. SIGNALS
is influenced by 2001 while IN THE DUST OF THE STARS might have been influenced by STAR TREK. I have been discovering Eastern
European/ Communist/ Russian science fiction over the last few years. Outside of SOLARIS and STALKER, I didn't know much
about sci-fi movies that came from Eastern Europe and Russia for years. I really like the tone and storytelling of each
movie in this great release from Deaf Crocodile. I feel there isn't enough space opera sci-fi movie out there. I'm always
looking for a movie in that genre I haven't seen.
SIGNALS follows the spaceship Laika sent on a secret rescue mission in hope of finding and rescuing the crew of the Icarus
which Earth has lost contact with. Most of the crew doesn't know they're on a rescue mission as the Captain and a couple
people outside of the crew know of it. The official cover is to repair a satellite in the asteroid belt. SIGNALS features
a multi-national spaceship crew, great model work, and a serious story mixed up with some fun moments.
Meanwhile, IN THE DUST OF THE STARS is about a spaceship crew that responds to a distress call from a distant planet.
The rulers of the planet said they didn't send a call out and they even try to dissuade the ship from landing. Once they
land, the crew is greeted and invited to a party. Soon they find their minds have been played with and the people of the
planet are being oppressed. They have a tough choice to make whether to leave or find a way to start a revolution.
SIGNALS is a more serious hard sci-fi movie while IN THE DUST OF THE STARS is more weird with a somber ending. It is
interesting to contrast and compare the two movies.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Both movies feature audio commentaries by film historian/ comic book artist Steven R Bissette and Dr. Marina Ovanova of
the DEFA Film Library
Each disc has the original DEFA trailers for the respective movies and a video essay by film historian David Mckenzie
called OTHER WORLDS, STARANGE DREASMS: THE SPACE OPERAS OF DIRECTOR GOTTFRIED KOLDITZ
FINAL ANALYSIS: I love discovering sci-fi (especially space opera/ space bound sci-fi) from other parts of the world.
These two DEFA Utopian films are the latest from the Communist sci-fi/ Eastern Europe era to enjoy. If you're looking for
sci-fi films to discover you haven't heard of, SIGNALS and IN DUST OF THE STARS are films that easily fit the bill. I do
wish there were more extras for the movies like production art, interviews with cast and crew (even if it comes from archival
sources), and a featurette on how people reacted to movies over the years.
This review is ©4-24-2025 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
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