Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969)
August 27, 1969Release Date
Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969)
August 27, 1969Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Journey to the Far Side of the Sun is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Sky Store
Streaming in:🇬🇧 United Kingdom
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Roy Thinnes
Colonel Glenn Ross
Ian Hendry
John Kane
Patrick Wymark
Jason Webb
Lynn Loring
Sharon Ross
Loni von Friedl
Lisa Hartmann
Franco De Rosa
Paulo Landi
Herbert Lom
Doctor Hassler
George Sewell
Mark Neuman
Tony Williamson
Writer
Vladek Sheybal
Psychiatrist
Ed Bishop
David Poulson
Philip Madoc
Dr. Pontini
Barry Gray
Composer
George Mikell
Captain Ross
Robert Parrish
Director
Nicholas Courtney
Data Analyst
Gerry Anderson
Writer
Peter van Dissel
Mallory
Sylvia Anderson
Writer
Donald James
Writer
Chris Burke
Assistant Art Director
Bob Bell
Art Direction
Barry Gray
Composer
John Read
Cinematographer
Derek Meddings
Visual Effects Director
Barbara Ritchie
Hairstylist
Len Walter
Editor
Philip Bawcombe
Assistant Art Director
Brian Burgess
Production Manager
Elsa Fennell
Wardrobe Supervisor
John O'Connor
Assistant Director
Ernest Holding
Associate Producer
Godfrey A. Godar
Camera Operator
Ken Rawkins
Sound Recordist
Geoffrey Rodway
Makeup Artist
Joan Davis
Continuity
Ivo Nightingale
Location Manager
Ted Karnon
Sound Recordist
John Peverill
Sound Editor
Gloria Barnes
Wardrobe Master
Margaret Miller
Assistant Editor
Julie Leighton-White
Production Secretary
Media.
Details.
Release DateAugust 27, 1969
Original NameDoppelgänger
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 41m
Content RatingG
Filming LocationsHertfordshire · Pinewood Studios, United Kingdom · Portugal
Genres
Wiki.
Doppelgänger (released internationally as Journey to the Far Side of the Sun) is a 1969 British science fiction film written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and Donald James, produced by the Andersons, and directed by Robert Parrish. Filmed by the Andersons' production company Century 21, it stars Roy Thinnes, Ian Hendry, Lynn Loring, Loni von Friedl and Patrick Wymark. Set in the year 2069, the film concerns a joint European-NASA mission to investigate a newly discovered planet which lies directly opposite Earth on the far side of the Sun. The mission ends in disaster and the death of one of the astronauts, following which his colleague realises that the planet is a mirror image of Earth in every detail, with a parallel and duplicate timeline.
The film was the first major live-action production by the Andersons, known for their puppet television programmes such as Thunderbirds. Having originally conceived the story as a television play, they were encouraged by their employer Lew Grade to pitch the project as a feature film to Jay Kanter of Universal Pictures. Though underwhelmed by the script, Kanter greenlit the film after the Andersons hired Parrish as director. Doppelgänger was shot between July and October 1968 at Pinewood Studios and on location in England and Portugal. The relationship between Parrish and the Andersons became strained as filming progressed, while creative disagreements between Gerry Anderson and his business partner John Read, the film's director of photography, led to Read's dismissal from Century 21. In an effort to distinguish Doppelgänger from their puppet productions, the Andersons wrote adult themes into the script, although cuts were required for the film to be awarded an A certificate by the British Board of Film Censors.
Doppelgänger premiered in August 1969 in the United States and October 1969 in the United Kingdom. It performed poorly at the box office during its initial theatrical run but has since garnered a cult following. The film has received mixed reviews from critics; while the special effects and production design have been praised, some commentators have judged the parallel Earth premise to be clichéd and uninspired. Various plot devices and imagery have been viewed as pastiches of other science fiction films, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Several members of the cast went on to appear in UFO, the Andersons' first live-action TV series, which also re-used many of the film's props.