APOCALYPSE TETRALOGY presents four philosophical sci-fi films directed by Piotr Szulkin that he directed during the days of Poland under Communist rule and this one is for fans of thinking sci-fi like SOLARIS, STALKER, BEYOND THE SILVER GLOBE, and 2001. Even though the director said the movies were about moral questions, I think he is making social commentary about how it was to live under communist rule in Poland by using science fiction. If you're expecting action sci-fi, you're not going to get it with these four movies. They're very introspective and philosophical. They are using sci-fi to examine universal issues and covertly comment on life under communist rule. Only GA-GA: GLORY TO THE HEROES has a true happy ending for the central character where the other movies are cynical endings and reflect how sometimes we don't get what we want in the end.

Each movie is about misinformation and even trying to tear down heroes where the ruling authority is more important than the individual even if it doesn't reflect the truth. It is the struggle of the individual vs the state. WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE NEXT CENTURY is a world where the supposed truth of the person that people love is turned against him as the state and the newly arrived aliens want him to say something different. They want the lies to be the truth. You can draw many parallels to George Orwell's 1984 and even the propaganda you see at political rallies like the Nazis or do. GOLEM deals with identity as the main character tries to figure out who he is. A colony world tries to tear down out convict who is welcomed as a hero, but the people there want to have him commit a crime so they can execute him. However the convict sent to plant a flag has other ideas, Then you have O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILIZATION where humanity struggles to survive in a failing bunker after nuclear war. Anything that doesn't support the state is destroyed as our policeman hero looks for a better place for him and the hooker he is in love with. He plans an escape while one crazy man wants to hole up in a smaller bunker within the bunker while the lead authority expects the cop to follow the lie that the state has fed the remaining people who are losing hope.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Audio commentary for GOLEM
Audio commentary for THE WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE NEXT CENTURY

ACTUALLY EXISTING DYSTOPIA: POLITICS, DELUSION, AND LANGUAGE IN O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILIZATION (17 minutes)- an examination of the themes in O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILIZATION.
HARD TO BE A HERO: PIOTR SZULKIN’S GA-GA: GLORY TO THE HEROES (21 minutes)- an video essay on the movie

40 page perfect bound booklet with essays on GOLEM and GA-GA: GLORY TO THE HEROES along with an interview with Piotr Szulkin

FINAL ANALYSIS: If you want to discover more Eastern European communist sci-fi, this is a great discovery for fans of sci-fi if their exposure to communist sci-fi is Andrei Tarkovsky.

This blu-ray review is ©8-10-2024 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.