Per Aspera Ad Astra (film)
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| Per Aspera Ad Astra | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Viktorov, Nikolai Viktorov (restored version) |
| Produced by | Aleksandr Kazachkov, Yuri Obukhov, Sandy Frank (English language version producer) |
| Written by | Richard Viktorov (screenplay), Kir Bulychyov (novel) |
| Music by | Aleksei Rybnikov (original score) Sergei Skripka (conductor) |
| Cinematography | Aleksandr Rybin Sandor Berkesi (restored version) |
| Editing by | Lyubov Pushkina (ed.) Konstantin Zagorsky (production design) |
| Distributed by | Gorky Film Studio Goskino (restored version) M-Film (restored version) International Film Exchange (1982, USA) Celebrity Video Presentations (1987, USA, VHS) |
| Release date(s) | 1981 2001 (restored version) |
| Running time | 148 min 123 min (restored version) |
| Country |  USSR |
| Language | Russian |
| IMDb profile | |
Per Aspera Ad Astra (Russian: Через тернии к звёздам, USA screen name - To the Stars by Hard Ways; Humanoid Woman) is a Soviet 1981 film directed by Richard Viktorov based on a novel by Kir Bulychyov.
On December 27, 2001 a new restored version directed by Nikolai Viktorov, the son of original film director, was released as the 20th anniversary edition [1]. The film featured revised special effects by the Paradox company, an all-new soundtrack in Dolby Digital and the film length had shrunk by 25 min (to speed up the dynamics of the plot; but also some episodes with Soviet ideological context were cut).
An English-dubbed version of the film (under the title Humanoid Woman) was featured on an early episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
[edit] Plot summary
XXIII century. A reconnaissance starship discovers a dead alien spaceship of unknown origin in deep space. The crew are found to be humanoid bodies, made by an advanced cloning process. One humanoid women appears to be alive but has memory loss and is brought back to Earth. Scientist Sergei Lebedev settles her in his own house and names her Niya.
Some time later, Niya finds out that she has supernatural abilities. Prof. Ivanova finds a special neurocenter in her brain which can be used to control the humanoid clones. Niya suddenly remembers her home planet Dessa, where businessmen eager for easy money destroy nature.
A rescue mission with Niya on board is sent to her home planet. When she arrives there, her brain falls under the control of the neurowaves of local monopolist Turanchoks, who is trying to make the Earth expedition fail.
However, Niya is strong enough to resist the control and saves her civilization from an imminent catastrophe.
[edit] Cast
- Yelena Metyolkina as Niya
- Vadim Ledogorov as Cadet Stepan Lebedev
- Uldis Lieldidz as Sergei Lebedev
- Yelena Fadeyeva as Maria Pavlovna
- Vatslav Dvorzhetsky as Petr Petrovich
- Nadezhda Semyontsova as Professor Nadezhda Ivanova
- Aleksandr Lazarev as Professor Klimov
- Aleksandr Mikhajlov as Dreier
- Boris Shcherbakov as Navigator Kolotin
- Igor Ledogorov as Ambassador Rakan
- Igor Yasulovich as Torki
- Gleb Strizhenov as Glan
- Vladimir Fyodorov as Turanchoks
- Yevgeni Karelskikh
