Although generally ignored in favour of other genres, Italian sci-fi has carved out a cult niche for itself at both a national and international level. A lot of the credit for this must go to director Antonio Margheriti (here under his habitual Americanised pseudonym), who had an excellent nose for exciting and fun screenplays, and was skilfully able to plug the gaps left by relatively modest budgets with effective special effects and inventive scenography. One of the most original aspects of this film lies it the paradoxical creation of a science fiction story set in the vastness of outer space that becomes suffocatingly claustrophobic, making Il pianeta degli uomini spenti feel like one of the director’s fantastic horror films.
Catastrophe is looming: a planet from another galaxy has entered into our solar system and threatens to collide with the Earth. After settling into a stable orbit, it releases lethal flying saucers. A hastily assembled expedition leaves Earth to explore the deadly planet, which turns out to be devoid of life forms…
Although generally ignored in favour of other genres, Italian sci-fi has carved out a cult niche for itself at both a national and international level. A lot of the credit for this must go to director Antonio Margheriti (here under his habitual Americanised pseudonym), who had an excellent nose for exciting and fun screenplays, and was skilfully able to plug the gaps left by relatively modest budgets with effective special effects and inventive scenography. One of the most original aspects of this film lies it the paradoxical creation of a science fiction story set in the vastness of outer space that becomes suffocatingly claustrophobic, making Il pianeta degli uomini spenti feel like one of the director’s fantastic horror films.
Catastrophe is looming: a planet from another galaxy has entered into our solar system and threatens to collide with the Earth. After settling into a stable orbit, it releases lethal flying saucers. A hastily assembled expedition leaves Earth to explore the deadly planet, which turns out to be devoid of life forms…
