JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN (1969) (film review by Evelyn C. Leeper)
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Philip De Parto
Jan 2, 2026, 9:48:43 PM (12 days ago) Jan 2
to SFABC (nj) Movie Group
The following review is reprinted with permission from:
THE MT VOID
01/02/26 -- Vol. 44, No. 27, Whole Number 2413
01/02/26 -- Vol. 44, No. 27, Whole Number 2413
= = = = =
JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN (1969) (film review by Evelyn C. Leeper)
JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE
OF THE SUN supposedly takes place in 2069, but the clothing
styles and hairdos are strictly 1969: mini-skirts and go-go boots.
And the all-male security committee seems very anachronistic
(though is probably more likely than mini-skirts and go-go boots).
Needless to say, the science is totally bogus on many levels. The
idea that a planet the same size as Earth could remain undetected
just because it was on the far side of the sun is ludicrous--the
gravitational effects alone would reveal it. And the idea that it
would be an exact duplicate, down to the people inhabiting it, and
their actions, and their thoughts, is even more ridiculous.
If all this was in service of something, that would be one thing,
but there is no purpose. The ship flies around the sun and lands,
the survivor is at first confused by various reversals, but then
realizes the truth. And then it goes nowhere.
Also, they claim the far side of the sun (meaning its surface) is
not totally hidden from us. But unlike the moon, the sun does not
rotate in sync with us--we do see all sides of the sun.
They do the best to keep the reveal hidden: the hairstyles have no
parts, and the men wear turtlenecks. But they don't have slip-ups,
because after they filmed the part on "counter-earth" they flopped
the film. But there are character slips: the main character
doesn't notice the righthand drive in the car, or the fact that
his pants zipper is reversed. And although some tests shown the
organs reversed in his body, they attribute it to errors in the
equipment; don't they ever put a stethoscope to him and notice his
heart is on the wrong side?
There is also the question of whether organic molecules should be
reversed, and therefore taste and act differently.
And there seems to be gravity most of the time on the ship when it
is in space.
The film uses psychedelic effects to represent the passing from
one realm to the other. What the state of the universe is at that
point is totally unclear. They did say the polarity of electricity
did not change, because if it did one would have to ask exactly
where that happened.
Released theatrically 28 August 1969.
Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064519/reference>
What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/
journey_to_the_far_side_of_the_sun>
[-ecl]
OF THE SUN supposedly takes place in 2069, but the clothing
styles and hairdos are strictly 1969: mini-skirts and go-go boots.
And the all-male security committee seems very anachronistic
(though is probably more likely than mini-skirts and go-go boots).
Needless to say, the science is totally bogus on many levels. The
idea that a planet the same size as Earth could remain undetected
just because it was on the far side of the sun is ludicrous--the
gravitational effects alone would reveal it. And the idea that it
would be an exact duplicate, down to the people inhabiting it, and
their actions, and their thoughts, is even more ridiculous.
If all this was in service of something, that would be one thing,
but there is no purpose. The ship flies around the sun and lands,
the survivor is at first confused by various reversals, but then
realizes the truth. And then it goes nowhere.
Also, they claim the far side of the sun (meaning its surface) is
not totally hidden from us. But unlike the moon, the sun does not
rotate in sync with us--we do see all sides of the sun.
They do the best to keep the reveal hidden: the hairstyles have no
parts, and the men wear turtlenecks. But they don't have slip-ups,
because after they filmed the part on "counter-earth" they flopped
the film. But there are character slips: the main character
doesn't notice the righthand drive in the car, or the fact that
his pants zipper is reversed. And although some tests shown the
organs reversed in his body, they attribute it to errors in the
equipment; don't they ever put a stethoscope to him and notice his
heart is on the wrong side?
There is also the question of whether organic molecules should be
reversed, and therefore taste and act differently.
And there seems to be gravity most of the time on the ship when it
is in space.
The film uses psychedelic effects to represent the passing from
one realm to the other. What the state of the universe is at that
point is totally unclear. They did say the polarity of electricity
did not change, because if it did one would have to ask exactly
where that happened.
Released theatrically 28 August 1969.
Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064519/reference>
What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/
journey_to_the_far_side_of_the_sun>
[-ecl]
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