Thunderbirds Are GO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thunderbirds Are GO | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | David Lane |
| Produced by | Gerry Anderson Sylvia Anderson |
| Written by | Gerry Anderson Sylvia Anderson |
| Starring | Matt Zimmerman Shane Rimmer David Graham Sylvia Anderson Alexander Davion Bob Monkhouse |
| Music by | Barry Gray |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | 15 December 1966 (UK premiere) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Thunderbirds Are GO was the first feature film to be made from the highly successful Supermarionation series Thunderbirds, and followed the first manned mission to Mars.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The new Zero-X, built to be the first manned craft to land on Mars, is prepared for launch. Following an initially successful taxi and take-off, the Hood is on board in disguise taking photographs. Stepping carelessly amongst the hydraulic flight controls, his boot becomes lodged in a vital component causing the pilot to lose control. The Hood, injured and in pain, parachutes from the undercarriage bay, the crew eject safely in their escape capsule, and the Zero-X crashes into the sea before ever leaving the atmosphere.
Following a two-year investigation into the failure of the first mission, during which time a second Zero-X has been built, a commission concludes sabotage. On the eve of the second mission the president of the United States invite International Rescue to provide security for the launch. Jeff Tracy is reticent, as there is no immediate threat to life. Relenting he allows them to attend, commenting that "some rules are made to be broken", sending Scott and Virgil to be on hand at the launch site in Thunderbirds 1 and 2, and calling in International Rescue's London agent Lady Penelope to assist. She foils a second attempt to infiltrate the mission and the take-off proceeds according to plan. Meanwhile, FAB1 gives chase, pursuing the criminal from the airbase, across water at one point, and shoots down his helicopter. Lady Penelope comments that there is no point looking for survivors. Zero-X leaves the atmosphere to be escorted briefly by Alan in Thunderbird 3.
After the launch, Scott and Virgil are invited to a nightclub called the "Swinging Star" as Lady Penelope's guests. Back at Tracy Island, Alan feels unappreciated after returning home because his father insists he remains on duty on the island while the others remain absent. Disappointed and annoyed, Alan has a dream about going with Lady Penelope to the Swinging Star, which in his dream is located in outer space. Playing at the nightclub are "Cliff Richard Jr. and the Shadows" (puppets and voices of the real Cliff Richard and the Shadows), who perform a musical number called "Shooting Star" (accompanied by music video-like imagery such as the Cliff Richard Jr. marionette dancing on a giant guitar in space), and an instrumental track "Lady Penelope". Alan's dream sequence ends abruptly when he falls back down to Earth, and wakes up to discover he has fallen out of bed.
The Zero-X has landed on Mars, and is exploring the Martian surface, which is a desolate landscape of rock. The crew are particularly intrigued by unusual rock formations, which they decide to shoot to collect samples to take back to Earth. However, these formations are actually living creatures, one-eyed rock snakes, and once provoked they begin firing at them, meaning the crew must make a swift departure without making as detailed assessment as they would have liked.
On re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, Zero-X's second lift body malfunctions and fails to connect properly with the main body, causing damage to the craft, including to the controls for the crew escape pod. International Rescue is called to assist, and Alan has to risk being trapped on board the doomed vehicle as Brains instructs him how to bypass the broken circuit. Alan is left with mere seconds to escape on his safety line, and the crew are evacuated in the nick of time, before the final spectacular impact on the evacuated town of Craigsville.
Afterwards, Alan is having what he thinks is a quiet tête-a-tête with Lady Penelope at the real Swinging Star, only to find that he is surrounded by the whole Tracy family in disguise, including Brains without his ever-present spectacles - and to his great embarrassment - Tin Tin. Nevertheless, they all heartily drink a toast to Alan as the "hero of the day".
The end credits feature the Band of the Royal Marines playing Barry Gray's Thunderbirds March, eventually forming "The End" on the parade square. Other than the voice credits, the names listed are organisations or characters from the film.
[edit] Analysis
A full length feature film starring marionettes was, and still is, a very unusual concept. There is little doubt that the reason United Artists (now owned by MGM) funded Thunderbirds are GO was because the series had quickly become a cultural icon appealing to both children and adults. However, the film was not the success that UA had hoped. Gerry Anderson has been quoted as saying that this may have been because people were not used to a big screen transfer of a television series. It was also released the same year as a several other films which appealed to a similar audience, such as Batman and the Doctor Who film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD. Contemporary film critics noted that the film lacked the urgency and "race against time" elements that worked in a 50-minute format, although sections such as the "Swinging Star" scene have become iconic in their own right. It is also worth remembering that the film was made before any significant space exploration had taken place.
To distance it from the television series, the film was shot in incredibly wide 2.74:1 Techniscope. This system was also used because Panavision cameras could not cope with special effects at the time.[1] Thunderbirds Are GO was also the first feature film to be shot using the Livingston Electronic Viewfinder Unit, also known as Add-a-Vision, an electronic viewfinder that could be used to take a television picture directly from the camera, enabling the staff of the entire unit to watch any scene being filmed on the television monitors. This was particularly necessary to enable the puppeteers to see what they were doing, as they were often suspended several metres above the set.[2]
[edit] Place in the canon of Gerry Anderson
"Thunderbirds are GO" functions as a link between the 1964-1966 television series Thunderbirds and the 1967 series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. The Zero-X craft appears in both. The plot point of peaceful creatures on Mars that suddenly turn hostile to humans when provoked also begins Captain Scarlet, although the "rock snakes" do not appear in the later series.
The size of the mechanisms operating the puppet mouths (dubbed Supermarionation) had been the main factor dictating the need for oversized caricatured heads. This film was the last to make exclusive use of the disproportionately large heads. Advances in technology allowed refinement of the system and hence the reduction of the marionettes' heads to near-perfect human proportions for Captain Scarlet and later series. Production of the second film, Thunderbird 6, coincided with that of Captain Scarlet, and many of the supporting cast were drawn from the new variety of puppets, whilst for continuity's sake the principal characters remained the same.
[edit] Trivia
- Many of the exterior and flying backgrounds were shot over Portugal. Cliff Richard had a holiday home in Portugal next to the Andersons', and it was there they asked him whether he would agree to appear in the film.[3]
[edit] See also
- Thunderbirds, the original television series.
- Thunderbird 6, the second Thunderbirds feature film.
- Zero-X, further information about the spacecraft.
[edit] References
- ^ Review at Amazon.co.uk by Gary S Dalkin, URL accessed August 20th, 2006
- ^ Trivia at IMDb, URL accessed August 20th, 2006
- ^ DVD commentary by David Lane and Sylvia Anderson
[edit] External links
| Gerry Anderson |
|---|
| Television |
| The Adventures of Twizzle | Torchy the Battery Boy | Four Feather Falls | Supercar | Fireball XL5 | Stingray | Thunderbirds | Captain Scarlet | Joe 90 | The Secret Service | UFO | The Protectors | Space: 1999 | Terrahawks | Dick Spanner, P.I. | Space Precinct | Lavender Castle | New Captain Scarlet |
| Feature Films |
| Crossroads to Crime | Thunderbirds Are GO | Thunderbird 6 | Doppelgänger |
| Companies/Techniques |
| AP Films | Century 21 Productions | Supermarionation |
| Notable Collaborators |
| Sylvia Anderson | David Lane | Barry Gray | Reg Hill | Derek Meddings | John Read | Shane Rimmer |
