Judgment Day (film)

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Movie
German title Judgment Day
Original title When Worlds Collide
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1951
length 81 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Rudolph Maté
script Sydney Boehm
production George Pal ,
Cecil B. DeMille
music Leith Stevens
camera W. Howard Greene ,
John F. Seitz
cut Arthur P. Schmidt
occupation

The Judgment Day (Original Title: When Worlds Collide ) is an American science fiction film from 1951. The film was produced by animation specialist George Pal . The screenplay was based on a 1933 novel When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer .

action

At the Kepler Observatory in South Africa, the astronomer Bronson discovers that two gigantic celestial bodies are moving towards the earth: the planet Bellus and its satellite , the planet Zyra. Both are so-called strays who move through interstellar space. Bronson instructs the pilot and daredevil Randall to immediately forward his test results to his colleagues in the USA, headed by Dr. Hendron to bring. Hendron immediately reviews the report and realizes that Bronson is right.

First, the smaller Zyra will pass the earth and cause terrible devastation by its gravity through earthquakes , volcanic eruptions and tidal waves hundreds of meters high , before Bellus will collide with the earth and completely destroy it. Hendron and a few colleagues then inform the UN . The assembly responds with disbelief as Bronson's discovery has been questioned by many astronomers. However, when it is finally established that Bronson is right, there are only 90 days left for mankind, then all life on earth will be destroyed.

After a short planning period, Hendron and his colleagues build a spaceship, a kind of Noah's Ark , to save a small group of people and thus protect humanity from total extinction. The ship is to be launched shortly before the collision with Bellus and fly to Zyra, where it is hoped to find living conditions. Billionaire Stanton, a crippled and embittered man, is funding the project to save his life. The spaceship can only hold 50 people. The inmates are Hendron, Stanton, Randall as the pilot and a few other indispensable scientists, the rest will be drawn among the project staff.

Zyra flies close to the earth and causes the expected devastation. The spaceship will be finished just in time. When it comes to takeoff, the collision with Bellus is imminent in a few minutes, Hendron and Stanton are to be the last to board the ship, Hendron pushing Stanton's wheelchair. But shortly before the door, Hendron stops: He sacrifices his life and that of the reluctant Stanton in order to give others a better chance of success by saving weight because of the scarce fuel. The ship takes off without the two of them, even before some of those left behind, who took up arms in the face of death, can storm up to fight for a place on board. The ship takes off, the earth will be destroyed in the next few moments. The landing on Zyra succeeds, and one also finds an environment suitable for living.

Astronomical inconsistencies

The 1933 novel speaks of two objects of planetary mass called 'Bronson Alpha' and 'Bronson Beta'. In the English dubbing of the film, Bellus is referred to as a star, shown very large on the telescope images and Zyra as his planet. The German version again only speaks of planets. The film ends with a landing on Zyra, which turns out to be a very Earth-like planet with almost idyllic vegetation, a road-like structure in the center of the picture and an architectural object the size of a dam on the edge of the picture. The question of how life can survive without a sun on a planet that wanders through the solar systems remains unanswered.

Reviews

"Without a solid foundation, but interesting as a technical gimmick."

- 6000 films

“The science fiction film has good technical special effects and a dramaturgically cleverly prepared disaster climax. The representation of the human conflict situations is not of the same quality. "

- Lexicon of international film

“Intelligent utopia that won the Trick Oscar at the time. When New York is inundated by a tidal wave, the effects seem more nostalgic and amusing. "

- Cinema

Awards

Others

  • In the opening song Science Fiction / Double Feature of the Rocky Horror Show , among other things is When Worlds Collide sung. "But when worlds collide, said George Pal to his bride, I'm gonna give you some terrible thrills, like a:"
  • The story of the film has won multiple awards.
  • In the small supporting role of a worker, Stuart Whitman appears in front of the film cameras for the first time .
  • World premieres:
  • USA: November 22, 1951
  • Germany: May 16, 1952
  • Austria: December 1952

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958 . Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism, 3rd edition, Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 226.
  2. ↑ Judgment Day. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed September 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ^ Film review , Cinema , accessed August 15, 2008.
  4. ^ When Worlds Collide. In: afi.com. American Film Institute , accessed September 2, 2017 .
  5. ↑ World premieres according to IMDb