Customer Reviews
EASY ON THE EYE, CLASSIC SCI FI AT IT'S VERY BEST 
2008-09-30
Classic sci fi in the style of 2001, Gerry Anderson ( ex Thunderbirds ) is an absolute legend, this film obviously didn't get the exposure it should have otherwise it too would be amongst the all time classic's. I would say it's kind of a cross between the old style James Bond with that suave story line mixed with the best fashions of the 60s era make very easy on the eye, a gorgeous film to watch.
See you in three weeks 2008-08-27
"Journey to the far side of the Sun" is almost unique in SciFi films - fondly remembered from the last time I watched it, probably 20yrs ago on British TV - it's almost pure cheese, but sublime, magnificent, exquisitely produced cheese of the finest vintage!!! This is a B film that - no pun intended - reaches for the stars, that aspires to cinematic greatness, and the fact that it fails to reach those heady heights in no way diminishes it. For those who are familiar with the Anderson's live-action work, and who haven't yet seen the film, imagine a cross between UFO, Space 1999, and 2001 - A Space Odyssey. Yup, hard to imagine I know, but that'll give you SOME idea of what you're in for when you pop this "classic" into your shiny-disc player!
For years "Journey..." has been the Holy Grail of Gerry & Sylvia - Da da DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! - Anderson's oeuvre. Released for the first time on disc back in '98 I believe, it's been, as far as I know, unavailable at least since I got my first DVD player in about 2002; I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that it had been re-issued at LAST!!!
Staring Roy "The Invaders" Thinnes, Ian Hendry, and Patrick Wymark, who comes off as a poor-mans Anthony Hopkins, it also features a good chunk of the "Anderson Repertory Company." Yes, Ed Bishop is there - sans UFO blond wig - along with George Sewell, Vladek Sheybal - he of the cadaverous countenance and Peter Lorre vocal stylings - Philip Madoc, Keith Alexander, and a bunch of others you would see wandering around in the background of just about any UFO, Space 1999 etc. episode. Plus, as an added extra, for Patrick Troughton/Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker era Doctor Who fans, there's a blink and you'll miss 'im appearance by the once and future "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart," Nicholas Courtney, as a medical technician during a rocket launch. There's also a guest appearance by the wonderful Herbert Lom in a brief but pivotal role.
The basic idea of the film is great; an automated solar probe orbits behind the Sun for the first time, and brings back proof of the existence of an unknown planet, in exactly the same orbit as the Earth, to an astonished EUROSEC, the European space agency. The scientific and military potential of this discovery is incalculable, and the no-nonsense CEO of EUROSEC, "Jason Webb," played by Patrick Wymark, browbeats the board, made up of the other European spacefaring members, into accepting the need for a manned mission. That is until he drops the cost of the project on them, Three Thousand Million Pounds Sterling; after much politicking and arm-twisting he convinces NASA to cough up a measly one billion Dollars, which forces everyone else to fall into line. This allows said "Journey..." to proceed, but the mission then seems to fail in the most spectacular fashion, and it is during the resulting inquiry that the real adventure begins!!!
First, the good stuff; the main actors are more than serviceable. Wymark dominates the early part of the film as the head of EUROSEC, alternating between arrogant British smugness and scenery-chewing tirades, Thinnes and Hendry, as astronaut "Colonel Glenn Ross" and astrophysicist "John Kane" respectively, do all they need to make their characters believable in the context of the film. The fantastically, almost fetishistically, detailed models and miniatures of Derek Meddings and his team are a joy to see; no terabytes of CGI here, these are real, solid, they have a sense of weight, of mass, the way they move, but they are ALWAYS "models!" However in spite of this they do manage to pull off a couple of wonderful scenes; there's a shot of the ship in orbit with the sun rising over the planets rim that, given the technology available at the time, is astonishingly beautiful. Then there's a crash landing on the planet and its immediate aftermath that is incredibly well done, a wonderful mix of Meddings' model work and live action on full-size sets, with some incredibly eerie and atmospheric lighting effects and music! Then there's a scene that many other reviewers disliked, the main journey to the planet itself, where Ross and Kane are put into a kind of suspended animation, and you get a very dreamlike, expressionistic version of the trip and time passing; I thought that was exceptionally well realized!
And now to the bad; the execution just doesn't live up to the premise, from the recycled, and sometimes jarringly inappropriate, musical themes, to dear old Sylvies wince inducing "Century 21" fashions; dear viewer, if you are of delicate disposition try not to gouge your own eyes out after seeing what they forced poor Ian Hendry to wear for the "airport" scene when we're introduced to Thinnes' character for the first time!!! Then there's the aluminum foil spacesuits, the sometimes shaky model work, the F.A.B. groovy, "futuristic" cars and run-a-bouts that were recycled into UFO, and the most ludicrous photo-developing process known to man; this is so bad it's wonderful!!! And as for the ending, oh my GOD, what WHERE they thinking?! But hey, at least there're no Moonbase babes wearing silver micro-mini's, purple wigs, and glitter eye shadow!!!
And bizarrely, in amongst all of the above there's a much darker edge that moves the film away from purely kiddy-fare into much more adult areas. There's the brutal extra-judicial execution of a spy ordered by a snarling Jason Webb, and a scene where Ross' wife viciously taunts him about his "manhood" and their inability to have a child, that made me wince when I watched the film again after all these years.
Well, what can I say, I've watched this twice now since it arrived, it may be cheese, but it's wonderful! Highly recommended for Anderson fans, and lovers of the kitsch and the camp everywhere!!!
Journey the farside of entertainment 
2008-08-23
Journey to the Farside of the Sun is a classic of British sci-fi. I saw this as a kid and I loved it, I saw it again as an adult and thought it had all the wonderful touches, lots of lovingly built and filmed models, mediocre plot stiff characters, that a good B movie needs.
This is Gerry Anderson pre-Space: 1999 showing off a bunch of great special effect (pre-CGI) and they are great!!
It is not the best movie in the universe, but if you are a fan of old sci-fi, this is a must for the collection.
Pretty bad. 
2008-08-22
Too bad there isn't a zero rating. That's what it's worth. My husband and I both thought it was one of the worst sci-fi (or whatever category you want to put it in) movies ever. Very dumb ending!
Sci Fi 2008-07-30
Great DVD from the past. Enjoyed every minute of it. Would recommend it to any Sci Fi enthusiast.
Bare bones... 2008-07-28
Sci-fi adventure and suspense has never been more exciting or intense as when you Journey to the Far Side of the Sun! One hundred years in the future two astronauts are sent to uncover the secrets of a "duplicate" Earth on the other side of the Sun. When they crash land three weeks earlier than they had planned they must embark on a life-or-death mission to determine whether they have arrived back home or on the strange mirror world. This imaginative space adventure offers a journey few will ever forget!
The movie gets an A, but Universal gets an F- 
2008-06-28
For a movie with the kind of camp appeal that "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" has, I would have thought that Universal would have put a little more effort into the presentation. Yes, the transfer of the movie looks pristine--it sounds and looks great, particularly considering it debuted almost 40 years ago. And although the model work may look a bit cheesy--the launch sequence, especially, would give true space fans fits with the cheese factor--that is one of the movie's most endearing qualities. The Dove, the Doppelganger landing craft, and the Eurosec facilities (in Portugal!) are, to me, better for this type of movie than the fancy CGI computer work.
While the movie itself is wonderful, and takes me back to my first time seeing it, on a TV station that showed it without commercial interruption during broadcast tests, Universal should be ashamed for the lack of extras on this. There's no scene selection menu, no movie trailer--nothing that would add to the viewer's experience. (Universal also committed the same blunder with another one of its classic movies, the disaster thriller "Earthquake".) It's almost as if they wanted to just get the movie out there and be done with it.
Still, despite the lack of goodies, "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" is worth the purchase.
Lovely transfer of a classic SciFi 2008-06-26
A century from now, a probe to the Sun discovers a new planet in the solar system, in Earth's orbit opposite the Sun. A manned expedition seems to return to Earth three weeks early, and the surviving crewman is grilled to discover why he turned back.
The phenomenal effects in this picture (both special and practical) are must-see for science fiction fans, with the ships, future cars, and various futuristic (for 1969) devices a major highlight. Some futurisms have clearly passed us by (computer punchcards?), but the earnestness carries one past such elements.
The premise is a stretch (best enjoyed with your Twilight Zone cap in place) and the acting is overwrought at times. Gerry Anderson's first move beyond marionettes often brings a marionette-like feel to its mise-en-scene - this is unquestionably a geekfest for gizmos, with a wacked concept as the centerpiece.
The DVD (the new 2008 release) delivers a gorgeous transfer, with excellent picture and sound. Sadly, the disc contains no special features, not even a trailer. Only language options and CC for the hearing impaired are available as options.
A solid movie-only release of a classic title. Glad to see this return to DVD, even if it's bare-bones.
A planet is found orbiting the far side of the sun and Roy Thinnes decides to go have a look in this sci-fi classic 2008-06-26
A minor science fiction classic from 1969, "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" has a nice O. Henry twist that occurs midway through the film taking it in unexpected directions. I'd suggest NOT reading the product description because it has a major spoiler (why copywriters do this is beyond me).
Universal has created a new anamorphic transfer for this DVD. It's a nice transfer that looks sharp with nice color reproduction. Audio sounds good as well although the only audio options are for English (English for the hearing impaired and French subtitles are included).
Clearly timed to coincide with the release of the classic TV series "The Invaders" (also starring Thinnes), it's a pity that Universal chose NOT to add any extras. It's clear that Thinnes would probably have been willing since he just did an extensive interview for the first season of "The Invaders" and episode introductions for each first season episode. Also, I'm sure that there are featurettes out there that Universal could (and should) have licensed about the Andersons and their prolific work during the 60's and 70's producing TV shows and films. Unfortunately, we don't get anythng in the way of extras not even the original theatrical trailer.
Roy Thinnes plays an American astronaut Glenn Ross put in charge of an expedition of a planet in orbit around the sun on the opposite side. He an Dr. John Kane (Ian Hendry)go through the necessary training prior to their flight but, suddenly, find the time table for the flight moved forward by the director of Eurosec Jason Webb (Patrick Wymark)because he has concerns that some of the countries participating are going to pull their funds. The three week journey will require the astronauts to be in suspended animation. During the process of landing on the new world their lander crashes and when Ross awakens he finds himself back on Earth not knowing how he ended up there nor why it only took him three weeks to fly to the new world and return.
**SPOILER**
The original title overseas of hte film was "Doppleganger" which hints at what we eventually find out about Ross' journey to the far side of the sun.
**END OF SPOILER**
The script has merit and the performances by Thinnes and Hendry are terrific although Wymark is a bit over the top he also does a solid job. THe visual effects are nicely done (although you can barely make out the wires hoisting the Phoenix as she lifts off from Earth)particularly those that take place in space. In fact, Stanley Kubrick had considered Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's (the writers/producers of the film)21st Century Productions to do the visual effects for "2001: A Space Odyssey" before he elected to supervise visual effects technicians Douglas Trumbull, Con Pederson and others on the film.
The main flaw with the film is the direction by Robert Parrish ("The Twilight Zone", "Mississippi Blues", "Casino Royale")by which telegraphs too much. Perhaps some of that flaw is due to the script written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (who created/produced/wrote episodes of "Thunderbirds", "UFO" and "Space: 1999"), regardless the film has held up remarkably well and is still very entertaining particularly the second half of the film when Ross returns to Earth. The pacing of the film is a bit choppy suggesting that much was cut out (for example we learn of the death of a major charactr in a dialogue scene and the reaction of all involved suggests that they already knew he had died).
Although flawed, this is an entertaining minor science fiction classic from the 60's. Thinnes gives a sterling performance and the script hints at deeper aspects of his character making him very much a flawed hero (for example his wife at one point complains that he has hit her on more than one occasion and can be violent). It makes the film richer although many of these points are glossed over they do add to the overall impact of the film.
About time 2008-04-10
Took long enough to get the re-release. Good movie, but certainly far from great. It's predictable, slow moving, with no real special effects, but it is reasonably well done and certainly worth a few watches. Roy Thinnes is in fine form, and the plot although very predictable is still interesting enough to keep you watching it all the way through. Certainly a worthwhile addition to a sci fi collection at the sale price of $13.99. I wouldn't bother paying more than that though.
