Director Alfonso Brescia (often using the pseudonym ) was a master of efficiency. Anno Zero was the first of five space operas he directed between 1977 and 1980, frequently reusing the same sets and cast to save costs.
Released the same year as Star Wars , Alfonso Brescia’s (internationally known as Cosmos: War of the Planets ) offers a fascinating, albeit low-budget, glimpse into the Italian "Spaghetti Sci-Fi" boom of the late 1970s . While George Lucas was revolutionizing special effects, Brescia was working in the trenches of Italian genre cinema, delivering a film that is now celebrated—and often roasted—as a cult classic of the "so bad it's good" variety. A Galactic Misadventure Anno zero - guerra nello spazio(1977)
The film follows Captain Hamilton (played by ) and his multicultural crew aboard the MK-31. After Earth receives a mysterious deep-space signal, the crew is dispatched to an unstable planet where they encounter a race of green-skinned aliens enslaved by a megalomaniacal computer. Key elements that define the experience include: Director Alfonso Brescia (often using the pseudonym )
Critics have often labeled it a "remake" of Mario Bava's 1965 classic Planet of the Vampires , though it swaps Bava's atmosphere for flashing lights and "scientific bollocks". Despite a dismal rating on IMDb , it remains a staple for fans of trash cinema for its nonsensical plot and endearingly cheap "potato-class" special effects. Why It Matters Key elements that define the experience include: Critics
Beyond the Event Horizon: Revisiting "Anno Zero - Guerra Nello Spazio" (1977)
: A machine named Wiz that provides "logic" and often bizarre commentary throughout the mission.