Test pilota Pirxa
Encyclopedia
Inquest of Pilot Pirx is a joint Polish
//Estonian/Ukrainian
1979
film directed by Marek Piestrak based on the story The Inquest by Stanisław Lem from his short story collection More Tales of Pirx the Pilot
. It was adapted for film by Vladimir Valutsky. It is a joint production by Dovzhenko Film Studios, Tallinnfilm
, and Zespol Filmowy. Music by Arvo Pärt
, sound by Aleksander Gołębiowski, cinematography by Janusz Pawlowski. Runtime 104 min.
s) for use as crewmembers on future space flights. Pirx and his crew, made up of nonlinears and humans, are sent out to launch two satellite
s into the rings of Saturn
. There is a near disaster and the human crew are almost killed. Upon returning to Earth there is an inquest
to determine if Pirx was responsible for the "accident." In the end, it is found that one of the robots caused the malfunction in an attempt to kill the human crewmembers and Pirx is cleared of all charges.
In this tale Lem puts forth the idea that what is perceived a human weakness is in fact an advantage over a perfect machine. Pirx defeats the robot, because a human can hesitate, make wrong decisions, have doubts, but a robot cannot. A similar idea is present in Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
, where putting a robot in a position where it cannot chose between the Three laws of robotics
fries its positronic brain
.
order with the inquest taking place at the end while the short story starts with the inquest and then goes back in time from there. The movie also includes an assassination
attempt on Pirx to prevent him from accepting the mission while this is not present in the short story. Another difference is that in the movie Pirx and his crew are attempting to launch two satellites into Saturn's rings while in the short story they are trying to launch three.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
//Estonian/Ukrainian
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
1979
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
film directed by Marek Piestrak based on the story The Inquest by Stanisław Lem from his short story collection More Tales of Pirx the Pilot
Tales of Pirx the Pilot
Stanisław Lem's Tales of Pirx the Pilot , published in Poland in 1968, and translated to English in two parts in 1979 and 1982, is a series of short stories about a spaceship pilot named Pirx...
. It was adapted for film by Vladimir Valutsky. It is a joint production by Dovzhenko Film Studios, Tallinnfilm
Tallinnfilm
Tallinnfilm is the oldest still functional film studio in Estonia. Originally founded as Estonian Culture Film in 1931, the studio was nationalized in 1940 after Estonia was forced into Soviet Union. During the first year of Soviet Occupation Eesti Kultuurfilm was taken over by the Communist Party...
, and Zespol Filmowy. Music by Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, sound by Aleksander Gołębiowski, cinematography by Janusz Pawlowski. Runtime 104 min.
Plot summary
This movie is about a rocket pilot named Pirx who is hired to go on a mission to evaluate some nonlinears (robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s) for use as crewmembers on future space flights. Pirx and his crew, made up of nonlinears and humans, are sent out to launch two satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s into the rings of Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
. There is a near disaster and the human crew are almost killed. Upon returning to Earth there is an inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
to determine if Pirx was responsible for the "accident." In the end, it is found that one of the robots caused the malfunction in an attempt to kill the human crewmembers and Pirx is cleared of all charges.
In this tale Lem puts forth the idea that what is perceived a human weakness is in fact an advantage over a perfect machine. Pirx defeats the robot, because a human can hesitate, make wrong decisions, have doubts, but a robot cannot. A similar idea is present in Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of short stories and novels by Isaac Asimov featuring positronic robots.- Short stories :Most of Asimov's robot short stories are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration...
, where putting a robot in a position where it cannot chose between the Three laws of robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
fries its positronic brain
Positronic brain
A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. Its role is to serve as a central computer for a robot, and, in some unspecified way, to provide it with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans...
.
Differences between the story and the movie
The biggest difference is the fact that the movie tells the story in chronologicalChronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
order with the inquest taking place at the end while the short story starts with the inquest and then goes back in time from there. The movie also includes an assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempt on Pirx to prevent him from accepting the mission while this is not present in the short story. Another difference is that in the movie Pirx and his crew are attempting to launch two satellites into Saturn's rings while in the short story they are trying to launch three.
Cast
- Sergei Desnitsky as Commandor Pirx
- Aleksandr Kaidanovsky as Tom Nowak, neurologist and cyberneticist
- Vladimir IvashovVladimir IvashovVladimir Sergeyevich Ivashov was a Soviet-born actor based in Russia. He had a film career that spanned over 30 years. He is best known for his role as Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov in Ballad of a Soldier which he starred in with Zhanna Prokhorenko in 1959.The film was awarded the Moscow International...
as Harry Brown, 2nd Pilot - Tõnu Saar as Kurt Weber, nucleonicist engineer
- Aleksandr Belyavskiy
- Igor Przegrodzki as McGuirr
- Boleslaw Abart as Jan Otis, electronicist
- Janusz Bylczynski as Juge
- Mieczysław Janowski as Mitchell
- Jerzy Kaliszewski as Dr. Kristoff
- Zbigniew Lesien as John Calder, 1st Pilot
- Ferdynand Matysik as Green, the UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Director