Yes, I do remember this movie being screened in Soviet cinemas, as «Дознание пилота Пиркса». I never went to see it though, don’t know why. Now, fortysomething years later (it takes as long for light from υ Andromedae to reach us), I watched it with a mixture of nostalgia, mild embarrassment and surprise.
I did not expect any Soviet actors — not only Sergei Desnitsky in the title role, but also tremendously popular Vladimir Ivashov and Alexander Kaidanovsky (of Stalker fame). Nor did I expect the screenplay by Vladimir Valutsky (the author of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Dog in Boots, Winter Cherry and many more), or the music by Arvo Pärt. And I certainly did not expect a slow-burn Blade Runner-esque sci-fi thriller preceding the Blade Runner by a few years.
The story is really cool. (As it was the case with Hospital of the Transfiguration, I didn’t read the book, so can’t compare.) The space-related special effects are so bad they are actually good. The question that Pirx asked the second pilot Brown, “Do you believe in God?”, in the Russian-dubbed version was replaced, no doubt by ideological considerations, by a rather weak “Do you believe that conscience exists?”. I wonder if the topless dancer in a bar where Brown drinks whisky while pondering about that question ever did it to the Soviet screens.
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