Guest blogger Morticia Maguire-Broad, @ladylugosi, rather enjoyed Iron Sky; you can catch it on 1st June at Hyde Park Picture House.
I’m rather partial to Laibach so when a chum mentioned that they were responsible for the soundtrack to a film called Iron Sky I thought ‘mm I’d like to see that’.
When I then found out that the storyline was Nazis who’d been hanging about on the dark side of the moon since 1945 waiting for an opportunity to try and bring about the rise of the Reich again and that the President of the United States Sarah Palin (wonderfully played by Stephanie Paul) was going to lead the fight against them I thought ‘that sounds like a top load of old nonsense and I *must* see that’
The distributors Revolver Entertainment had either pulled a blinder of a marketing coup or seriously underestimated the interest in the film when they announced it would be showing for one day only. Hyde Park Picture House (my joint favourite cinema in Leeds – the others being the Cottage Rd and the beautiful little cinema inside Armley Mills Industrial Museum) was the place it was showing and I bought my ticket as soon as it was announced – which was just as well as it completely sold out and there were people being turned away at the door on the night.
I made sure I got there early enough to be at the front of the queue so I could get my fave just off to the left seat on the balcony and soon the queue to get in was stretching all the way down the side of the cinema. There was a happy and anticipatory atmosphere waiting for the doors to open, but also a bit of grumbling that lots of people who were also giddy about the film wouldn’t be able to see it that evening.
But have no fear if you missed it as it’s now out on DVD or if like me you want the full proper cinema experience it’s on again at the Hyde Park on Friday 1st June at 11pm. I strongly urge you to do the latter as it’s the kind of film that just looks and sounds better on in a proper cinema.
Iron Sky was film some 6 years in the making with lots of individual supporters giving money to ensure it’s realisation, and what a realisation – it is funny, sharp and satirical, beautifully designed, has a fabulous soundtrack as no-one does Wagner quite like Laibach and it has the added bonus of Udo Kier as the Fuhrer who gets a bit tetchy when his troops keep saying Heil Hitler instead of Heil Kortflesch. Gottz Otto played the upstart wannabe Fuhrer who gets his just desserts.
It has lots of lovely touches like President Palin hard at work on a treadmill, the treadmill on top of a real tigersking rug, her White House walls adorned with mooseheads and other hunting trophies. She is in the middle of a re-election campaign and her campaign team have come up with the idea of sending two men to the moon one white and one black. The two men get to the moon unfurl the campaign flag and disturb the Nazis who have been there since 1945 living in a space station shaped like a swastika and working on their return to earth to set up the new Reich and the weapon which will bring this about the Gotterdamerung.
The white spaceman is shot and the black spaceman James Washington a model (excellently played by Christopher Kirby) is taken prisoner, ‘ayryanised’ and the Nazi scientist Dr Richter realises his smartphone has all the computing power needed to power up Gotterdamerung and here the tale really begins – a tale of power struggles and ambition , propaganda battles, fighting, not being taken seriously when you claim there are Nazis on the moon, disillusionment with the lies you’ve been brought up with, spaceships and last but not least love.
I don’t want to give away the ending except to say the Nazis don’t win but you’d have to see it for yourself to determine the nature of the victory and what actually happens. Plus it was lovely to see strong female characters who kicked ass so to speak – or rather wielded a stiletto and hats off to Julia Dietze and Peta Sargeant for playing their roles with such aplomb.
In places the film reminded me of Independence Day, Dr Strangelove and Robocop and there lots of lovely little references to past and present political events – I especially enjoyed the Russian delegate at the UN hurling a shoe at President Palin and the Palin leaflets that looked just like Hitlers election leaflets in the 30’s and the new station ticker tape
Don’t go and see this film if you are big on things like practicalities – like just how did they survive on the moon and why didn’t their bones go soft from lack of gravity and just how does the Gotterdamerung work then? but if you are big on glorious nonsense with a sharp satirical twist, a Wagnerian inspired soundtrack and big space battles then go see this – you won’t be disappointed.