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First Spaceship on Venus

Play trailer Poster for First Spaceship on Venus 1960 1h 18m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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International astronauts (Yôko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski) go to Venus and find remnants of a race that destroyed itself.

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First Spaceship on Venus

Critics Reviews

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Steve Biodrowski Cinefantastique [I]t is tempting to dismiss "The Silent Star" as an ambitious failure...however, a glimmer of noble intent shines through... Aug 30, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Claudio C Aged not Very Well (11,744 – 04 Jun 2025 – by Claudio Carvalho) In 1985, engineers accidentally discover a spool and after many tests, they conclude is not from Earth and is connected to an explosion in 1908. Further, they believe that instead of a meteor, it was an alien spaceship that crashed on Earth. After analysis, the American Professor Harringway (Oldrich Lukes) concludes that the device is a flight recorder from a spaceship from Venus. A group of scientists under the command of the Indian mathematician Professor Sikarna (Kurt Rackelmann) and Chinese Dr. Tschen Yü (Hua-Ta Tang) translate part of the message, indeed a greeting sent from Venus. The three scientists, plus the Japanese Medical Dr. Sumiko Ogimura (Yôko Tani), the French engineer Prof. Durand (Ignacy Machowski), the African communication officer Talua (Julius Ongewe) and the German pilot Günther Simon (Robert Brinkman) embark in a spacecraft for a journey to Venus. During the voyage, Sikarna continues to work in the translation pf the spool and learns that the Venusian intended to annihilate mankind and then invade Earth. However, Harringway convinces them to proceed with the journey to Venus instead of returning to Earth. What will they find on the surface of Venus? “Der schweigende Stern”, a.k.a. “First Spaceship on Venus” (1960) is a German/Polish movie that aged not very well. The plot is very related to the Cold War in the 60’s. The low-budgets effects are interesting for a 1960 film, and the idea of a multinational crew was used later in Star Trek. The introduction, with the “running” credits/ was used in Star Wars. My vote is five. Title (Brazil): “A Primeira Espaçonave em Vênus” (“The First Spaceship on Venus”) My Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/ Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/05/25 Full Review Bruce J For a 1962 movie, I enjoyed it immensely. The special effects were good for that time. Surprisingly it is an East German/Polish film. I watched the dubbed version. It always surprises me that the old sci-fi movies didn't always put some young good-looking guy in as a lead actor. The crew is older and the head science member is of course bald. If you like old movies this is for you! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/28/24 Full Review Rick M An early Star Trek contemporary. Not bad. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/25/24 Full Review Georgan G A decent film from the 50 DVD SciFi Collection, disc 8. Various versions made for audiences in America, Japan & Europe. The drama is about human ability to create powerful weapons & machines, but inability to control them. The spaceship to Venus learns how A-bombs killed the Venusians. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/23/23 Full Review Audience Member soooo campy. i loved the "stop. we don't need anymore baggage on the ship" line. it was kind of in your face with the whole atomic bomb message.. it didn't even try to be metaphoric. crazy germans. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting sci-fi flick from East Germany, based on a story by Stanislaw Lem. Has lots of camp value, but also some serious moments. I watched the original German version (not the dubbed American one). Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
First Spaceship on Venus

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Movie Info

Synopsis International astronauts (Yôko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski) go to Venus and find remnants of a race that destroyed itself.
Director
Kurt Maetzig
Screenwriter
Jan Fethke, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Günter Reisch, Günther Rücker
Production Co
DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Zespol Filmowy "Iluzjon", Künstlerische Arbeitsgruppe "Roter Kreis"
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
German
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 18m
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