Per Aspera Ad Astra (film)

Infobox Film
name = Per Aspera Ad Astra


image_size =
caption =
director = Richard Viktorov,
Nikolai Viktorov (restored version)
producer = Aleksandr Kazachkov,
Yuri Obukhov,
Sandy Frank (English language version producer)
writer = Richard Viktorov (screenplay),
Kir Bulychyov (novel)
narrator =
starring =
music = Aleksei Rybnikov (original score)
Sergei Skripka (conductor)
cinematography = Aleksandr Rybin
Sandor Berkesi (restored version)
editing = Lyubov Pushkina (ed.)
Konstantin Zagorsky (production design)
distributor = Gorky Film Studio
Goskino (restored version)
M-Film (restored version)
International Film Exchange (1982, USA)
Celebrity Video Presentations (1987, USA, VHS)
released = 1981
2001 (restored version)
runtime = 148 min
123 min (restored version)
country = flagicon|USSR USSR
language = Russian
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0126237

"Per Aspera Ad Astra" ( _ru. Через тернии к звёздам, USA screen name - "Through the Thorns to the Stars"; "Humanoid Woman") is a Soviet 1981 film directed by Richard Viktorov based on a novel by Kir Bulychyov.

On December 27, 2001 a new restored version directed by Nikolai Viktorov, the son of original film director, was released as the 20th anniversary edition [http://ternii.film.ru/new_version.asp] . The film featured revised special effects by the Paradox company, an all-new soundtrack in Dolby Digital and the film length had shrunk by 25 min (to speed up the dynamics of the plot; but also some episodes with Soviet ideological context were cut).

An English-dubbed version of the film (under the title "Humanoid Woman") was featured on an early episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000".

Plot summary

XXIII century. A reconnaissance starship discovers a dead alien spaceship of unknown origin in deep space. The crew are found to be humanoid bodies, made by an advanced cloning process. One humanoid woman appears to be alive but has memory loss and is brought back to Earth. Scientist Sergei Lebedev settles her in his own house and names her Niya.

Some time later, Niya finds out that she has supernatural abilities. Prof. Ivanova finds a special neurocenter in her brain which can be used to control the humanoid clones. Niya suddenly remembers her home planet Dessa, where businessmen eager for easy money destroy nature.

A rescue mission with Niya on board is sent to her home planet. When she arrives there, her brain falls under the control of the neurowaves of local monopolist Turanchoks, who is trying to make the Earth expedition fail.

However, Niya is strong enough to resist the control and saves her civilization from an imminent catastrophe.

Cast

* Yelena Metyolkina as "Niya"
* Vadim Ledogorov as "Cadet Stepan Lebedev"
* Uldis Lieldidz as "Sergei Lebedev"
* Yelena Fadeyeva as "Maria Pavlovna"
* Vatslav Dvorzhetsky as "Petr Petrovich"
* Nadezhda Semyontsova as "Professor Nadezhda Ivanova"
* Aleksandr Lazarev as "Professor Klimov"
* Aleksandr Mikhajlov as "Dreier"
* Boris Shcherbakov as "Navigator Kolotin"
* Igor Ledogorov as "Ambassador Rakan"
* Igor Yasulovich as "Torki"
* Gleb Strizhenov as "Glan"
* Vladimir Fyodorov as "Turanchoks"
* Yevgeni Karelskikh