While they are now regarded as singular masterpieces of world cinema, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris and Stalker descended from a long tradition of science-fiction filmmaking from behind the Iron Curtain — one that was heralded by the visually dazzling epic Aelita – Queen of Mars in the silent era. In the notes below (originally written for a 2012 TIFF Cinematheque retrospective), cult-film aficionado Todd Brown offers a tour of some of the less-famed but no less fascinating examples of Soviet sci-fi.

The science-fiction tradition in the one-time Eastern Bloc was as rich and varied as anywhere in the Western world, and the region’s film output is every bit as diverse as our own, ranging from art-house fare to populist comedies, hilariously cheesy space operas and grand adventures. And while there are some instances of open propaganda, there are also strains of sly satire — as well as evidence that the camp and excess of the swinging ’60s didn’t completely pass the Soviet world by. We present below a broad range of Soviet-era science fiction, a mix of acknowledged classics and outright pulp from Russia, the former Czechoslovakia, Poland and Estonia. Bearded ladies, post-apocalyptic wastelands, robot companions, vampire cars and outbursts of random dancing await — join us, comrades!