Cheap Assignment:Outer Space (DVD) (Antonio Margheriti) Price

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Customer Reviews of Assignment:Outer Space

The Italian Space Program In Disarray
This is one of the more unusual Italian space drama films by director Antonio Magheriti from the early sixties. The plot revolves around a super-annoying reporter, whom the crew calls a "parasite" (Rik Von Nutter), who is along on a mission to report on space activities. He is not a likeable member of the media, which is the only thing realistic about the film. Von Nutter and crew have to dart between Mars and Venus on a top secret mission to save the Earth from a spaceship with a 5,000 mile radius heat shield (that will turn the Earth to boiling mud) which is out of control due to the death of the pilot. Ultimately the only likeable character in the whole film, space pilot Al (who is black with silver hair), gives them the secret for how to destroy the rogue ship, and pays the ultimate price for his efforts. Von Nutter ends up being a hero at the end (and, of course, gets the girl), but I still found his very existence annoying.

The most noteworthy thing about this film are the special effects by Caesar Peace, which were considered groundbreaking in their day. They are generationally more primitive than anything from 'Star Wars', but they were breathtaking for 1961, and are still mostly watchable today, with two notable exceptions: fire from the rockets suffers from a horrible sense of scale that is virtually impossible to get rid of with small models; and more ridiculously, the ultra-bogus shot of the guy who jumps out of his spaceship and falls straight down to the surface of Mars (yet when rescued is OK!)

The film is interesting from a historical perspective, but none of the characters are remotely likable (except poor Al), and the story drags quite a bit at times. It is good enough to be boring, but not bad enough to be campy. One final note: the movie is in color, in that brown is a color. The print is so washed out that it may as well be in black and white. (There are even times that a viewer can't tell if it is color or not!) Two stars for a decent effort at an early sixties space adventure.

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Genesis of Italian space movies makes it to DVD!
Finally, the genesis of Italian space movies makes it to DVD! An ace reporter (Rik Van Nutter) is sent to space to record the daily lives of the Cosmonauts(?) who labor millions of miles from earth. He is far from welcome by the galaxy weary crew (who call him "parasite") of the space station he is assigned too. To make matters worse, he decides to tag along on a refueling mission without permission, and causes the loss of precious fuel. Things just couldn't get worse, or could they?

Alpha 2, an out of control spaceship with a heat producing "Photonic" field is about to enter in to orbit around Earth, which would burn everything on the face of the planet! The reporter and his new found "friends" fly towards Mars to intercept and destroy the spacecraft.

Once they make contact with Alpha 2, they devise a plan to exploit a flaw in the Photonic field to stop it, which takes the ultimate sacrifice of a brave Cosmonaut, the pitching arm of another, and the deep introspection of the rest.

ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE is definitely one of the wildest Italian space operas. It's plot movement is slow at first, but when it kicks into gear, it never stops. The laws of physics and space are discarded in favor of cool space gadgets (like the Space Taxi) and traveling between two space craft by merely floating from one to the other, which would become a standard in the Margheriti brand of space adventures. The special effects are a scream, especially when the little tiny models of the Cosmonauts interact with the larger rocket ship models. My favorite of these scenes is where miniature Cosmonauts fly out to connect a very large hose to the tail pipe of a rocket ship to refuel it. They just don't make 'em like this anymore. Music soundtrack fans will recognize the same music queues found in PHANTOM PLANET from Gordon Zahler's music library.

Okay, lets talk about the disc. Other reviewers and myself have commented in the past about how Alpha's releases are improving. For the most part, Alpha has distinguished themselves with some of the best box art, and accurate plot synopses. ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE takes it up another notch, as it is slightly letterboxed (after the first couple of minutes) and includes the original theatrical trailer! Keep in mind, I bought this DVD for $5. Alpha Video delivers more than most studios do for 4 times the price! While the film element is faded, almost devoid of color in some places, it is clear enough to be enjoyed. Still better than any VHS copy I've seen, and the slight letterboxing is sure appreciated. Audio quality is good, what you'd expect from the film element. Also, Alpha has extended its chapter choices from 4 to 6, which is a nice improvement as well.

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The Cost Says It!
This isn't a great film, however there are much worse. The story about a newspaper reporter on a spaceship filled with "cosmonauts" tends to kind of plod along. When they have to defend the earth against total destruction, the story gets a little more interesting. But then it bogs down again.

What really caused me to give this such a low rating is not the film itself, but the quality of the DVD. The source print is full of splices. And even worse, this film is in "color," as it is so proudly described on the box. However, there is so little color left in the print, that it almost looks black and white. In fact, it would have been easier to watch in black and white!