Presented from the new 4K restoration of the film which premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, Second Run are delighted to present a new Blu-ray Special Edition of Jindrich Polák's seminal work of fantasy cinema IKARIE XB 1. Polák's pioneering and much-imitated feature IKARIE XB 1 is one of the cornerstones of contemporary sci-fi cinema. It predates Star Trek and Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and was clearly an influence on both - and on almost every other science-fiction vehicle that followed. Adapted from Stanislaw Lem's novel The Magellanic Cloud, the film is set in 2163 and follows a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity. With outstanding design and cinematography, IKARIE XB 1 is imbued with a seriousness, intelligence and attention to detail rarely seen in science-fiction cinema of the period.
