Signals: A Space Adventure + In the Dust of the Stars Blu-ray brings together two of the most ambitious and visually outrageous science fiction films produced behind the Iron Curtain, directed by East German genre visionary Gottfried Kolditz for the state-run DEFA studios. Long unavailable and scarcely seen outside Europe, these psychedelic space operas finally arrive on Blu-ray in a newly restored, definitive 2-disc set.
 
Signals: A Space Adventure was DEFA’s bold attempt to rival Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, deploying expansive cosmic imagery, futuristic production design, free-floating zero-gravity sequences, and a pulsing electronic score. Shot in stunning 70mm and recently restored in 6K by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the DEFA Film Library, the film stands as a breathtaking technical achievement and a fascinating Cold War mirror to Western sci-fi spectacle.
 
In the Dust of the Stars pushes even further into delirious territory, blending Socialist science fiction with glam-rock excess, abstract futurism, hallucinogenic disco culture, and sharp political satire. Following a team of cosmonauts stranded on the alien planet Tem, the film contrasts hedonistic spectacle with ideological tension, delivering one of the most visually explosive genre films of the 1970s. Frequently compared to Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires, Logan’s Run, Zardoz, and Space: 1999, it remains a singular triumph of Euro sci-fi imagination.
 
This Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray release marks the first-ever U.S. Blu-ray release for both films, featuring newly restored presentations, original trailers, and expert commentary that contextualises their place in global science fiction cinema.
 
directed by: Gottfried Kolditz
starring: Piotr Pawlowski, Gojko Mitic, Karin Ugowski, Alfred Muller, Jana Brejchova
1970–1976 / 181 min / 2.35:1 / German stereo