It is time.
In every website related to the unknown and creative films of our time, there comes a time when you meet the master. The one who not only gave independent (or B-) movies their fame but created their very existence. Without this man, we would be stuck in a world which all entertainment comes from the cloning station known as Hollywood. To this man, of whom we may not respect all of the time, we must pay heed.
Thus, Odd Cinema enters the world of Roger Corman.
Roger Corman is a name that you will find in the credits of nearly every film in a video store. The man is a producer, a writer, a director. His wife is a financial genius. With that skill and his tenacity to make a 'decently-budgeted' film (one of his favorite lines is why Hollywood bothers to spend MILLIONS when he himself could make five/ten films with that), Roger Corman opened the door to cinema outside of the Hollywood mainstream. Good, bad, or disgusting, it was a step that results in many of the priceless gems you can find out there....and many of the duds.
The following review is one of the former. And with a name like "Voyage to the Planet of the Prehistoric Women," you would think that it's a bad Black & White bomber that just exists to make money. Utter nonsense. While Corman has been known to have his fingers in films just to make money, he does make (or is involved in) making quite excellent films. In "Voyage's" case, it only really made half of it. The bulk of VTTPOTPW is dubbed footage from the Russian made "Planeta Burg," which boasts some of the most amazing special effects in the 1950s/60s. And from RUSSIA!! I tell you, it just boggles the mind.
Anyway, the plot is simple: Three astronauts are sent to Venus to rescue two of their comrades (apt, eh?) and their special robot, called "Robotjohn." One gets the feeling that when Corman dubbed this, he was faithful to the original dialogue, as the action matches the English quite well. So, as the three astronauts try to find their comrades and Robotjohn, the natives of Venus use their God to throw challenges at the heroes, like rain and volcanic eruptions. Meanwhile, the stranded two astronauts keep moving to keep ahead of the natural catasophes thanks to the help of Robotjohn. Robotjohn, may I add, is one of the coolest retro robots I've ever seen, right on par with Robby from "Forbidden Planet" and X-9 from "Lost in Space."
Robots. That's how you tell you have something good on your hands.
Anyway, the three astronauts finally end up rescuing their comrades and Robotjohn ends up in a lava flow. Poor guy. After a trip in the hovercar that pre-dates the Landspeeder in "Star Wars" by a good twenty years, the astronauts go back to their ship. The natives of Venus, attractive young women lead by Mamie Van Doren, ask their God (who seems to be a relative of Rodan) to destroy the 'invaders' The God answers with a horrific rainstorm. The astronauts decide to blast off immediately, but one finds a rock with a face on it and begs them to stay. He is 'outvoted' by having himself forcibly dragged into the rocket as it blasts off back into space. The natives, tired of their God's failure, take the modern approach to religion by stoning their Rodan-like God (or his idol) and replacing it with a giant stone. Which happens to be the stone-encrusted hull of Robotjohn. The End.
Well, the special effects are quite awesome despite the time frame. Robotjohn is even more amazing considering that this was made in a land more known for efforts like "Jack Frost" and "The Day the Earth Froze" and "The Sword and the Dragon." Corman treats this material with dignity, save for the intro and exit voiceovers. Mamie Van Doren and the rest of the natives are good enough through they don't speak a word of dialogue (instead, it's looped in with the soundtrack). A bit slow, but the trip is well worth it.
RATING: Fantastic Adventures!! Cool retro robots. Four out of Four Stars. Get this one NOW. :)