How sad is this?

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

At the time of my review, the other reviews are all either raves or pans. Mine is somewhat between.This Russian style movie doesn't translate too well, but the communication problem looks to be more sever than that. It's about six astronauts on a doomed mission. One dies in space in an accident, leaving another with guilty feeling flashbacks during the return trip.The return trip also goes badly, as the remaining five are stranded in the desert. This is before cell phones, internet, all that jazz, and no one knows they are there. Sort of like the Twilight Zone episode.The movie is more or less about the breakdown of these professionals in the wild.That had promise. However, it looked very slipshod in editing, and we aren't sure what happens to a couple of characters in a very bizarre, disoriented chain of events. One problem is that we only get a point of view of three of the characters, yet one of the other two becomes a mutineer.This could have been a good film, on the order of SILENT RUNNING or ROBINSON CURSOE ON MARS, but it is too disjointed, and it can't be blamed on budget, because the fact is that the plot and events are left with gaping holes that could be rectified without any budget at all.It isn't as great as some say, nor as bad as some say. In an evaluation to give a person an idea of what to expect, I can say that although it is not action oriented, it does flow fairly well, with enough drama and suspense, enough scenery and atmosphere, to cover for lack of action itself. The monotone style of speaking of the characters may be because of dubbing, but I think it is intentional for effect. I've been more bored by many high octane action movies, but also more entertained by less action. It falls somewhere in between.On the plus side, it sticks with you. After many years, I still find much of it very impressionable, and memorable, for good or bad.It should have been better, but it won't disappoint completely. I think it is a movie that bears watching.

I agree that the special effects in this movie are really sub-standard compared to what was possible in 1977 (it was a low-budget movie), but the story itself is interesting and pretty clear and there is never a doubt that the 5 (and not "about 4" - did you really watch this movie???) survivors make it back to earth and are stranded in Mexico (more precise: at the deserted Baja California coast). The water is a problem for these survivors because they carry a small portable filter with which they can produce drinkable water from salt water (that's why they stay at the coast at the beginning) but not enough for all of them. What makes this movie interesting imho is the fact that they managed to survive the tough two years return voyage only by strict self-discipline whilst being in the small space capsule, but as soon after they have reached the earth orbit, all the suppressed group dynamics and character differences are starting to show and lead to the group's breakup. Don, the scientist, who is the physically and mentally weakest of those who survived, is, on the other hand, the most flexible of all and he is the only one who can adapt to their new situation.

I've read about the atrocious English language dub, but my copy of the film is the Dutch rental video with the original German dialogue and it sounds fine. The film itself is gritty and realistic in tone. Five astronauts return from years in space only to find a seemingly desolate Earth. No radio signals, deserted ruins, sparse vegetation etc. At loss at what to do next they decide to head North, but without sufficient food and water supplies, how long will they last? The line between reality, hallucinations due to dehydration (and possible radioactive sickness) and flashbacks to their exploration of Jupiter moon Ganymedes is constantly blurred. Recommended.

The storyline is 3 ships travel to Ganymede (moon of Jupiter); about 18 people go, about 4 come back. Don is mentally unstable since he was felt responsible for the deaths of 2 crew members that went to collect samples of organic compounds for him (proving life was on Ganymede). About 1/3 of the movie is in space returning to Earth, 1/3 flash back to Ganymede, and 1/3 hiking through the desert when they force on a landing on (what may/may-not be) Earth after they aren't met when they return to Earth's orbit. The dubbing was one of those classic "ha! you are a crazy person, yes a crazy person, and I say that without malice, I do, it's just that you are a crazy person." who's responsible for that dubbing? Some of the on-Ganymede effects were well done, but in general it seemed like the cinematography was done as a high-school drama project. 10 minutes spent with the camera trained on someone rapelling down some rocks. At the end, you really don't have a clue what it was all about. Was Don crazy? Were they on Earth? Did Earth still exist? Were they in Mexico? Did 14 really die on Ganymede? Why did no one meet them on their return? And considering they were out of water all the time, how did they keep getting more?