Iron Sky
Iron Sky is a 2012 science fiction comedy action film directed by Timo Vuorensola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Kalesniko from a story by Johanna Sinisalo, based on a concept by Jarmo Puskala. It tells the story of a group of German Nazis who, having been defeated in 1945, fled to the Moon, where they built a space fleet to return in 2018 and conquer Earth. The story also incorporates elements of political satire. Iron Sky is one of the most expensive Finnish films.
Iron Sky comes from the creators of Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning and was produced by Tero Kaukomaa of Blind Spot Pictures and Energia Productions, co-produced by New Holland Pictures and 27 Films, and co-financed by numerous individual supporters; Samuli Torssonen was responsible for the computer-generated imagery. It was theatrically released throughout Europe in April 2012. A director's cut of the film with 20 additional minutes was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 March 2014. The film received negative reviews, focusing on the film's execution and dated humor.
A video-game adaptation titled Iron Sky: Invasion was released in October 2012. A sequel, titled Iron Sky: The Coming Race, was crowdfunded through Indiegogo and released in January 2019, to a more hostile critical reception and a box office bomb, culminating in the bankruptcy of two production companies involved in the sequel's production: Blind Spot Pictures, and Iron Sky Universe.
Plot
In 2018, an American crewed mission lands on the Moon. The lander carries two astronauts, one of them an African-American model, James Washington, specifically chosen to aid the U.S. President's re-election.Upon landing on the far side of the Moon, they encounter the descendants of Nazis who escaped to the Moon. Washington is taken captive after the other astronaut is killed. Nazi scientist Doktor Richter examines Washington and obtains his smartphone, which he later recognizes as having more computing power than their 1940s-style computers, enabling its use as a control unit to complete their space battleship Götterdämmerung.
When Richter strives to demonstrate his Wunderwaffe to the current Führer, Wolfgang Kortzfleisch, the phone's battery is quickly exhausted. Nazi commander Klaus Adler, seeking to marry Richter's daughter Renate, an Earth specialist, embarks in a flying saucer to collect more such computers on Earth. He takes with him Washington, who has been "Aryanized" by Doktor Richter using an "albinizing" drug.
Upon landing in New York City, they discover that Renate has stowed away with them. They abandon Washington after he connects them with the President's campaign adviser, Vivian Wagner, who, in a parody of a scene from Downfall had raged at her staff for their inability to create effective marketing to improve The President's ratings. Adler and Renate energize the President's re-election campaign using Nazi-style rhetoric. Renate is unaware of Adler's ambition to rule the world.
Later, Kortzfleisch interprets Adler's lack of communication as treachery. He commands a much larger fleet of flying saucers and giant Zeppelin-like spacecraft called Siegfrieds which tow asteroids as missiles. Renate finds a now homeless Washington on the street, and together they watch The Great Dictator. From this, Renate realizes the Nazis' true intentions and that Adler intends global genocide.
Kortzfleisch lands on Earth and confronts Adler, but is killed by Adler and Vivian, who were beginning an intimate relationship. Adler declares himself the new Führer before returning to orbit in Kortzfleisch's flying saucer, deserting Vivian but taking her iPad.
Afterwards, the Moon Nazis launch a blitzkrieg on New York City. The U.S. Air Force engage the flying saucers with some success.
The United Nations assembles to discuss the Moon Nazi threat. The President appoints Vivian as commander of the secretly militarised spacecraft USS George W. Bush, which carries nuclear and directed-energy weapons, in blatant violation of the Outer Space Treaty. Vivian intends to get revenge on Adler, but is quickly outgunned, only to discover that every other nation has also broken the treaty and secretly armed their spacecraft. They dispatch them against the Nazi fleet and wipe out the Siegfrieds.
Adler arrives in Kortzfleisch's flying saucer with the iPad to activate the Götterdämmerung. Renate and Washington travel in Adler's flying saucer, where Washington goes to disable the engines while Renate seeks out Adler. Meanwhile, the international space fleet damage the Nazis' Moon base and approach the Götterdämmerung which dwarfs them all. Commanding the Götterdämmerung, Adler destroys parts of the Moon to expose Earth to his line-of-fire. During the battle, Washington disconnects Vivian's iPad from the control panel of the Götterdämmerung, while Renate kills Adler before he can fire at Earth. Renate and Washington separately escape as the Götterdämmerung crashes into the Moon.
The U.S. president congratulates Vivian from the UN session; whereupon Vivian discloses the presence of large tanks of helium-3 on the Moon, of which the President immediately claims on grounds that it ensures a millennium-long supply of energy. This enrages the other UN members, one of whom throws his shoes at her, inciting a large brawl. Meanwhile, the international space fleet turns on each other and every ship is destroyed in the process.
At the damaged Moon base, Renate reunites with Washington, who has reverted his pigmentation back to normal. They kiss before a confused group of Nazi survivors. The final moments of the film show the Earth apparently during an international nuclear war. At the very end of the credits, the planet Mars is revealed with an artificial satellite in orbit.
Cast
- Julia Dietze as Renate Richter
- Götz Otto as Klaus Adler
- Christopher Kirby as James Washington
- Tilo Prückner as Doktor Richter, a parody of Albert Einstein
- Udo Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch
- Peta Sergeant as Vivian Wagner
- Stephanie Paul as the President of the United States
- Michael Cullen as Secretary of Defense
Production
On 11 February 2009, it was announced that the film would star German actress Julia Dietze, while the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach would be recording the soundtrack. Appropriately enough for a film about Nazism, the orchestral soundtrack incorporates leitmotifs from the operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and other operas by Richard Wagner, a composer whose music was favoured by the Nazi leaders. The national anthem of the Nazis from the Moon has the tune of "Die Wacht am Rhein". During the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Iron Sky signed a co-production agreement with the Australian production company New Holland Pictures, which brought Cathy Overett and Mark Overett as co-producers of the film.
Iron Sky was video-recorded in Red [Digital Cinema Camera Company#Recording media|Red camera format]. Cinematography began in November 2010 in Frankfurt for location shooting, and after that in January 2011 in Australia for studio shooting. Settings in Frankfurt were Weseler Werft and . On 6 February 2011, the cinematography of Iron Sky concluded; it then entered a ten-week post-production process.
Release
Iron Sky premiered on 11 February 2012 at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, in the Panorama Special section. It was released in Finland on 4 April and in Germany on 5 April, running in major cinemas.In the UK, there was some controversy regarding the decision of the distributor, Revolver Entertainment, to release the film for only one day, causing the film makers to issue a public condemnation of their UK distributor, and accusing Revolver of misleading them. Following high demand from the film's online fanbase, Revolver revised its decision and Iron Sky's UK cinema release was extended.
Awards
- In 2013, Iron Sky won the Finnish audiovisual export Hulda award, granted by the Finnish Film & Audiovisual Export organization.
Reception
William Goss of Film.com gave the film a D+, saying that it "feels more and more like a lost Austin Powers sequel that already feels exceedingly dated in its humor." Jeff Shannon of The Seattle Times gave the film two out of four stars, describing it as "great idea, lousy execution". Leslie Felperin of Variety described Iron Sky as being "...neither good enough to rep a proper breakout hit nor bad enough that it might attain cult status; it's just kind of lame".