Audience Member
One problem that has long bothered most filmmakers, since the dawn of cinema, is the smoke-and-mirrors magic act itself--namely, getting big, great, creative ideas that movie watchers will be interested in and like, while getting these ideas across in as budget-conscious a manner as possible. Take this film, 'The Day the Sky Exploded', for instance (but make sure you give it back--I liked it LOL). Rome-born director Paolo Heusch (who later made the no-budget enjoyable thriller, 'Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory') wisely utilized as much stock footage as humanly possible, and a fine cinematographer in future horror-aficionado hero Mario Bava (though his name is bizarrely misspelled in the film's credits), to credibly bring his ambitious ideas of widespread panic and civil unrest to fruition.
Mildly problematic is the dated way that women are portrayed here. Usually in older films, this isn't bothersome to me, simply because it was so widespread, and thus expected to a certain extent, but that doesn't mean it was right. For example, the only two principal women in the film are the wife of the main astronaut, who basically is left to complaining that she doesn't get enough attention from him while the world is in chaos, and a math expert, considered 'cold' because she dares to simply think about her job, who basically falls to pieces when the going gets tough (though, to her credit, she comes to her senses). And, playing the devil's advocate for a moment, it was kind of crappy that it was a Russian who went crazy and made thinks difficult for the scientists who were binding together to try and save the world. But those are minor nit-pickings.
It made me very happy to watch this valiant cinematic attempt. It left me far more satisfied than later, big-budget efforts in the area, such as 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon'. Some fanfare for the common man, please! =)
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This was an hour and 20 minutes I'm never getting back. I could have saved starving children, I could have rescued animals, but no, I watched The Day the Sky Exploded.
The movie was basically divided into two halves. One half was the least interesting movie ever, the second was the most nonsensical.
The film opens with some guy on some mission in outer space, and then his ship blows up or something. Up until anything remotely interesting something happens (roughly past the 50 minute mark), the movie comprises of awkward scene involving people talking about things that never come up later and of sound effects that are basically:
SCIENCE FICTION
SCIENCE FICTION
Anyway, then an asteroid threatens to hit the planet, and tsunamis strikes fires burn, and riots break out, all before the meteor actually hits. Preemptive mass hysteria.
Then, someone has a brilliant idea of blowing up the asteroid. With nukes. When the asteroid is literally right above the Earth. In real life, the asteroid would probably shatter into thousands of pieces, which would then bombard the Earth with radioactive material. But this doesn't happen because - science.
I will be honest, I wasn't actually watching the movie the entire time, because I was more interested in watching my bowl of popcorn slowly disappear than in the movie.
And no, the sky doesn't actually explode.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One problem that has long bothered most filmmakers, since the dawn of cinema, is the smoke-and-mirrors magic act itself--namely, getting big, great, creative ideas that movie watchers will be interested in and like, while getting these ideas across in as budget-conscious a manner as possible. Take this film, 'The Day the Sky Exploded', for instance (but make sure you give it back--I liked it LOL). Rome-born director Paolo Heusch (who later made the no-budget enjoyable thriller, 'Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory') wisely utilized as much stock footage as humanly possible, and a fine cinematographer in future horror-aficionado hero Mario Bava (though his name is bizarrely misspelled in the film's credits), to credibly bring his ambitious ideas of widespread panic and civil unrest to fruition.
Mildly problematic is the dated way that women are portrayed here. Usually in older films, this isn't bothersome to me, simply because it was so widespread, and thus expected to a certain extent, but that doesn't mean it was right. For example, the only two principal women in the film are the wife of the main astronaut, who basically is left to complaining that she doesn't get enough attention from him while the world is in chaos, and a math expert, considered 'cold' because she dares to simply think about her job, who basically falls to pieces when the going gets tough (though, to her credit, she comes to her senses). And, playing the devil's advocate for a moment, it was kind of crappy that it was a Russian who went crazy and made thinks difficult for the scientists who were binding together to try and save the world. But those are minor nit-pickings.
It made me very happy to watch this valiant cinematic attempt. It left me far more satisfied than later, big-budget efforts in the area, such as 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon'. Some fanfare for the common man, please! =)
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
kinda lame very low budget
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Not a particularly interesting film, at least, it has a hard time holding any interest
The characters are bland, the overall plot doesn't have much to it, and the pacing is slow. The ending is somewhat decent, and some of the dialog is good. Forgettable, but not trash.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Watchable but unengaging.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
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