Journey to the Far Side of the Sun - DVD Release

Heading out from Earth

Cool, detached and yet intriguing in its psychological detail, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun might be seen as a precursor to the Matrix series.

Made in 1969, the film works extremely well on DVD as the small screen gives intimacy to action with human beings frequently eyeing each other askance as their concepts of reality fall apart.

Starring Patrick Wymark, Roy Thinnes and Ian Hendry in the main roles, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun marries the elements of parallel world, alternative reality and philosophy together in a tight-knit, paranoid sci-fi thriller about the discovery of a planet on the far side of the sun – in Earth’s orbit. It is a doppelganger of our world.

Written and produced by husband and wife team, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the unsettling opening fugues into an ingenious espionage episode, and thence to a serious space-race drama with wonderful special effects and glorious colours in the outer space sequences.

It is a fascinating study of training to be an astronaut, and an amusing glance at life 30 years ago (it is meant to be set 100 years in the future). The girls sport freeze-dried hair and candy-hued, body concealing, straight shift dresses with matching boots while the men have longish hair and very tight fitting trousers.

Roy Thinnes stars as Colonel Glenn Ross, assigned by Jason Webb (Patrick Wymark) to accompany John Kane (Ian Hendry) on a mission to explore a newly discovered planet on the far side of the sun.

They are placed on a spaceship in suspended animation, awaiting their arrival on the planet. But three weeks into the mission their ship crashes.

After a disastrous crash-landing, Ross awakes to see that Kane is severely injured, and humans who speak English have somehow rescued them, and sent them home to Earth. It must be Earth; the Council Director and his staff are all there.

The Council interrogates Ross for turning back before the ship reached its final destination. The journey was meant to be three weeks each way, and they’ve returned within three weeks.

Ross  is finally released to the custody of his wife, but soon realises things are not what they seem. The breakthrough point is when Ross sees a newspaper in which the writing is reversed. He tries to tell Webb about the mission but initially Webb has no idea what he’s talking about.

Playing the complex character of Webb in his own special way, Patrick Wymark does not let us down. He comes up with a solution. Eventually…

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Provocative thoughts about Earth

• Big Earth, Little Me