“Anno Zero – Guerra Nello Spazio,” also known as “Cosmos: War of the Planets,” is a 1977 English-language Italian science fiction film. It was directed by Alfonso Brescia, who co-wrote the script with Aldo Crudo. The movie is known for its low budget and space opera style.
Set in a far-off future, the film opens with Earth’s communications unraveling under the influence of a cryptic signal from deep space. Meanwhile, a UFO hovers over Antarctica, fueling suspicions of an alien source behind the cosmic chaos.
Captain Hamilton (John Richardson), a staunch skeptic of unchecked technology and domineering computers, is tasked with leading the starship MK-31 and its crew on a mission to track down the source of the baffling signal.
Venturing into the unknown, the crew soon faces a swarm of hostile flying saucers circling a mysterious planet. Under a barrage of laser fire, the MK-31 crash-lands on a barren world, where the explorers stumble upon a bizarre teleportation portal that thrusts some of them into grave danger.
Beneath the planet’s surface, Hamilton’s team encounters a telepathic alien race, now mere shadows of their former glory, enslaved by a sinister artificial intelligence. The aliens reveal that their own creation, a mighty computer, betrayed them, seizing control of their minds and dooming their civilization.
Determined to free the oppressed, Hamilton pledges to topple the tyrannical machine. After a fierce clash with the computer’s robotic enforcers, the crew manages to destroy the AI. Still, their victory comes at a cost: the planet begins to self-destruct, leaving only a single alien survivor.
As the battered survivors, both human and alien, ready themselves for the journey home, a sinister twist unfolds: one crew member falls under the lingering influence of the destroyed computer, turning violent until the alien heroically intervenes, sacrificing himself. The humans escape and rejoice, but in a chilling finale, the ship’s computer Wiz echoes the voice of the vanquished AI, leaving the true end uncertain.
The film also stars Yanti Somer as Meela, Massimo Bonetti as Vassilov, Aldo Canti as Etor, Romeo Costantini as Commander Armstrong, Katia Christine as Greta, West Buchanan as Richard, and finally Percy Hogan as Dr. Max Wright. (Additional cast includes Daniele Dublino, Giuseppe Fortis, Eleonora King, Vassili Karis, Malisa Longo, among others.)
“Anno Zero – Guerra Nello Spazio,” or “Cosmos: War of the Planets,” has earned its reputation as a gloriously cheesy cult space adventure, borrowing liberally from sci-fi giants like “Planet of the Vampires” and the “Star Wars” craze. Ultimately, it is a quirky, low-budget romp that most viewers embrace for what it is: a delightfully campy sci-fi escapade.
The Other Cinema 