A visionary work of Eastern Bloc science fiction, this mesmerizing Czechoslovak adaptation of a novel by Stanisław Lem melds Cold War ideology and utopian futurism into a tour de force of space-age modernism. In the year 2163, a band of astronauts embarks on a fifteen-year voyage deep into outer space, in hopes of discovering life in another galaxy. It’s a perilous journey during which they will confront the wreckage of the twentieth century, the chilling vastness of the cosmos, and their own mortality. A triumph of avant-garde production design that served as a model for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, IKARIE XB-1 – long known internationally only through a mangled and dubbed re-edit – is a singular sci-fi landmark that finds both terror and wonder in the unknown. – Janus Films

“A pioneering work of cinema and a wonderfully realised treatise on the nature of life.” – Backseat Mafia

“Remains one of the most original and exciting science fiction films ever made… packed with sublime moments unlike those of any film preceding it. A game-changing film that profoundly influenced the genre and showed that science-fiction movies weren’t only about special effects; they were also high art.” – Alex Cox, The Guardian

“Finally available in its complete, original form, Polák’s groundbreaking celestial saga is every bit as impressive today as it was in 1963. Don’t tell me Kubrick missed this one…” – Joe Dante, filmmaker