ATLRetro

By Thomas Drake
Contributing Writer

IRON SKY (2012); Dir: Timo Vuorensola; Starring Udo Kier, Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Gotz Otto, Peta Sergeant, Stephanie Paul; Plaza Theatre,  Wed. August 8; 7:30 PM; trailer here.

Short: Doktor Richter: That is not a computer. This is a computer.

Medium: IRON SKY is a movie about a secret Nazi Space program that discovered anti-gravity and escaped to the dark side of the moon. For generations, they waited and plotted to reconquer the world until their timetable is ruined by a moonlander that comes too close for comfort. Queue Nazi Flying Saucers invading the earth.

Maximum Verbosity: IRON SKY is “the little movie that could,” having scrounged for years to get the funds that it needed for distribution. In addition to funds from some small independent producers, the vast bulk of the film has been financed by individual contributors who were eager to see the film made; some of it purely based on a trailer shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Now you can see it this Wednesday at the Plaza Theatre.

Look, I’m not going to lie to you. By all accounts this is a cult film that you will either love or hate. It is not exactly THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK nor is it rumored to be as gloriously bad as say…PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE or MANOS THE HANDS OF FATE. Given what I’ve heard, it’s just at the range that I’m still willing to see it, perfectly aware that some people might not like it.

But let me say this…Nazis. On the moon. Nazis in flying saucers. Udo Kier. This movie was made by a group of Finns, who have a rather odd sense of humor and if you look at the effects in the trailer, you’ll find the effects pretty amazing for its $7.5 million budget. And hey, it has made a profit so far of $500,000, which is pretty amazing for a movie that was put together totally outside of Hollywood.

Also, while the story is not at all similar, Robert Heinlein fans will be pleased to note the Nazis on the Moon angle from Heinlein’s short work ROCKET SHIP GALILEO. IRON SKY is a work of love and homage to another time when science fiction was all about ATOMIC SCIENCE. And really, isn’t it true that nuclear makes everything better?

So go see IRON SKY. Support the Plaza, support independent film, and support more craziness like Nazis on the Moon. Wednesday at 7:30pm.