Journey to the Far Side of the Sun Roy Thinnes Ian Hendry

(aka 'Doppelgänger')

Directed by Robert Parrish
UK 1969

When scientists a hundred years into the future discover a "duplicate" Earth on the other side of the sun, the stage is set for tense science fiction adventure and suspense. Determined to find out what this new world is like, the Western nations of Earth set up an expedition headed by former astronauts Roy Thinnes and Ian Hendry to reach the new planet. All goes according to plan until the spaceship makes a crash landing on a planet some three weeks earlier than expected. Have the space travelers actually returned to Earth or are they on some strange mirror-image world where they must prove who they really are or die trying? This imaginative space adventure offers a journey few will ever forget.

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Theatrical Release: October 8th, 1969

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DVD Review: Universal - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:41:30
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.60 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English (CC), French, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: June 24th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters: 18

Comments:

This film initially came out on DVD in the very early days of the medium - August 1998 HERE. Judging by this new dual-layered transfer we can safely assume the image quality is far superior. Universal's new offering looks very impressive with strong detail, muted colors and a healthy bitrate. The print used is exceptionally clean and hides the, almost 40-year, age of the film. This DVD is anamorphic, dual-layered and progressively transferred in the NTSC standard - coded for region 1.

The 2.0 channel audio is clean and clear and there are English (SDH) or French subtitles available. No extras, but I suppose there couldn't be much to offer with this particular film. It's nice to see Roy Thinnes after reviewing The Invaders TV series made right before Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. This production has some of those delightfully charismatic ear-markers of sci-fi films from the late 60's. The reasonable budget is able to project a fairly realistic presentation of the plot. I enjoyed it, but I am very keen on this genre. For less than $15 - I think it's a fabulous SD image and intriguing premise for those who might at all be interested in this nostalgic brand of science fiction.

Gary W. Tooze

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