The cinema posters say it all:
and in French:
The plot is a lot like Deep Impact, with an asteroid heading straight for Earth. Cold War missiles are deployed around the world and the shot were thousands of them descend upon the rock hurtling through space is quite surreal!
A very Continental production involving Italy and Germany the film was released in Italian. The English version I saw was dubbed and the lead role was voiced by Shane Rimmer no less! Yes, Scott Tracy!
The other notable name on the roster is that of Mario Bava, who is the cinematographer. Bava is the Godfather of Italian horror and created such virtuoso flicks as Black Sunday 1960 with Barbara Steele, Black Sabbath 1963 with Boris Karloff and inspiration for the name of the founders of Heavy Metal and Blood and Black Lace 1964 starring Cameron Mitchell and only kicked off the Italian giallo genre!
For me Bava's most notable film is Planet of the Vampires from 1965. A sort of Forbidden Planet with Fangs, its leather fashions and stark imagery stand out even today.
Some of the imagery is even said to have influenced Ridley Scott and Dan O' Bannon when they created ALIEN, although they apparently said they'd never seen the film. This topic is hotly debated constantly on the web and was re-ignited again by Prometheus. What do you think readers?
Planet of the Vampires giant skeleton: the Space Jockey?
Planet of the Vampires spaceship: the Derelict?
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