'On the Silver Globe' is the best sci-fi film never made

October 31, 2016 3:27 PM

Daniel Oberhaus, Motherboard: "On the Silver Globe [full film] is one of the best sci-fi films I've ever seen, or at least it would’ve been if Zulawski had been able to finish it. As it exists today, it is only partially complete, a victim of censorship by Poland’s communist government. Fortunately Zulawski returned to Poland to rescue the film in the late 1980s after a period of self-imposed exile, so we have at least some idea of what could’ve been. At once the retelling of a 100-year old sci-fi novel written by Andrzej Zulawski’s granduncle Jerzy Zulawski, a meditation on communist Poland, and a deeply personal insight into the breakdown of Zulawski’s marriage, On the Silver Globe is a kaleidoscopic tour de force that was almost swallowed by history."
posted by sapagan (8 comments total)

Wow, this is fascinating stuff—I knew nothing about it. Thanks for the post!
posted by languagehat at 7:00 PM on October 31, 2016

He is he best. Possession is also amazing.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 7:10 PM on October 31, 2016

Just from peeking at a few selected bits on the YouTube, this movie looks amazing. I'm gonna have to find a subtitled version to watch.
The super-wide angle handheld camera immediately reminds me of The Revenant. I wonder if maybe Iñárritu was influenced by this?
posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:23 PM on October 31, 2016

The YouTube version has subtitles! You turn them on with the three dots menu.
posted by Triplanetary at 7:31 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

I wasn't sure if it had them, or if they're crappy auto-translate, and I can never change the subtitle setting (on or off, it always just stays the same) on my phone, so maybe on a more movie-friendly device I will check it out.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 7:43 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, sorry, forgot to add: there are subtitles that are, amazingly, not crappy auto-translate.
posted by sapagan at 10:11 PM on October 31, 2016

I can't help comparing 'On the Silver Globe' with the other legendary unfinished film I saw this year, 'best animated film never made' Richard Williams' 'The Thief and the Cobbler'. The unfinished nature of 'On the Silver Globe' we can blame on Polish communism, as the missing scenes were shot and destroyed; as for 'The Thief and the Cobbler', we can perhaps blame it on capitalism, or perhaps the ego of its creator, as he worked on it for 20 years before the funding was pulled out from under him. (He even bragged about spending a year on a single scene-- as an independent animated filmmaker I can't even comprehend spending a year on a scene, much less bragging about it). I was blown away by 'On the Silver Globe', but 'The Thief and the Cobbler' left me kind of disappointed and a little angry.

While I would love to see a finished 'On the Silver Globe', to me, its unfinished nature gives it another layer, as it forces us to confront the censorship and the drive to destroy that which threatens your power.
posted by matcha action at 8:19 AM on November 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

For more on Zulwaski, the amazing Daughters of Darkness podcast did a 4 part look at his life and works.

http://diaboliquemagazine.com/the-cinema-of-andrzej-zulawski-part-1/

(this podcast is amazing in general but this specifically are some good looks at films which are difficult to find in English)
posted by purosaurus at 9:54 AM on November 1, 2016 [1 favorite]