FanFare

Awesome 1963 Czech scifi film directed by Jindrich Polák about a spaceship crew bound for Alpha Centauri, based on an early Stanislaw Lem novella. It's been called an influence on 2001 (we know Kubrick saw it) and Star Trek. It includes eerie encounters with alien spacecraft, fantastic sets and costumes, a wonderful experimental electro-acoustic score by Zdeněk Liška (who later scored Jan Svankmeyer shorts), and the 2nd best outer space dance scene ever, complete with casual drug-sniffing. Available in a beautiful 2016 restoration from Second Run DVD with neat extras, and currently up at YouTube. [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Nov 5, 2023 - 13 comments

A sly, deadpan Canadian comedy about a team of non-astronauts sent into isolation in a desert on Earth because their personalities match the members of an actual ongoing Mars mission that's having interpersonal conflicts. The earthbound team is tasked with mirroring the real astronauts' behavior and coming up with solutions to the Martian team's psychological problems. 100% on RT with 9 reviews, free on Tubi and other options, mostly in French with English subtitles.
posted by mediareport on Oct 24, 2023 - 2 comments

[TRAILER] Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a brilliant medical engineer on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Jun 30, 2023 - 24 comments

Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but there's a lot riding on whoever the International Aerospace Coalition decides to send on this historic -- but potentially very dangerous -- mission? Could Elma really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family to spend several years traveling to Mars? And with the Civil Rights movement taking hold all over Earth, will the astronaut pool ever be allowed to catch up, and will these brave men and women of all races be treated equitably when they get there? [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on May 20, 2022 - 4 comments

In 1983, a cosmonaut is involved in an incident in space and crash-lands back to the Soviet Union. A nervy psychiatrist (Oksana Akinshina, Lilya 4-ever) is recruited to help him recover from his amnesia about the incident in this sci-fi horror movie. [more inside]
posted by whir on Aug 13, 2020 - 5 comments

In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Jun 17, 2020 - 13 comments

A thread to discuss the entire first season of The Expanse, as well as the James S. A. Corey book it's based on: Leviathan Wakes.
posted by zarq on Feb 4, 2016 - 58 comments

A race of space vampires arrive in London and infect the populace. [more inside]
posted by Artw on Dec 11, 2015 - 12 comments

Next up on MeFi Horror Club: Lifeforce, 1985. Discussion to be posted next Friday 11 December. [more inside]
posted by Artw on Dec 6, 2015 - 7 comments

In which O’Brien meets O’Brien, and all hell breaks loose.... [more inside]
posted by zarq on Nov 25, 2015 - 13 comments

An ancient Bajoran prophecy of doom complicates the first joint Bajoran, Cardassian, and Federation science mission: an attempt to establish a permanent communications link through the wormhole. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Nov 18, 2015 - 12 comments