Space Is the Place (1974) User Reviews (14)

Part science fiction, part music documentary

[Gyrofrog · 7/10 · 24 August 1999]

I can't help but think that Vxf111 is either joking, or (unfortunately) did not know who Sun Ra was before viewing the film. Yes, the film was certainly produced with a low budget, and it might not be of much interest to those who aren't fans of, or at least interested in, Sun Ra.

Sun Ra maintained that he was from Saturn, although historical documents note that he was born Herman Blount (or Poole) in Birmingham, AL. Sun Ra was a first-rate pianist, arranger, and composer, and worked with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. He formed his own big band, the Arkestra, during the 1950s in Chicago. This ensemble was completely unlike any other big band, as it incorporated elements of Egyptian mythology, science fiction, and other exotica and esoterica (those familiar with Earth, Wind, and Fire and Parliament-Funkadelic should take note). Sun Ra was also an early proponent of electronic instruments in jazz.

The film "Space Is The Place" is part science fiction and part musical documentary. A comparison could also be made to the "blaxploitation" films of the 1970s. The story centers around Sun Ra's return to Earth after an extended absence, and focuses on his concern for the fate of humanity and African-Americans in particular. All of this is infused with his mythological outlook. This certainly makes Sun Ra an "interesting character" but he was very serious about what he did and what he said. If any of this makes you the least bit curious about Sun Ra then I would recommend the film, which is available on videocassette.

outa sight a must for Sun Ra fans and new inductees

[monkmellon15 · 7/10 · 20 March 2006]

Space is the place is a hard to find movie to be sure I searched for years to find it and finally saw it tonight at a local college in a show that included a concert of avant-gard jazz. Those familiar with Sun Ra's oeuvre will not be shocked by its content. The plot centers around Sun Ra arriving on earth with his Arkestra to spread his philosophy of the music of the universe and to take back as many black folks as he can to repopulate his home planet and fill it with "human vibrations". The plot is not as disjointed or hard to swallow as one might think, there are good characterizations, especially by the overseer/devil character. There are some comic moments as well, like whenever the overseer kicks out the news caster every time he gets the two chicks in the room alone and he thinks he is going to finally score. The music is of courser superb as well. I will agree with a previous poster that this period of sun Ra's music was far from his best, but still makes for a great soundtrack. The Sun Ra devotee will love it and it serves as a good introduction to The world of Sun Ra for those unfamiliar with his work as well. watch it with an open mind.

"Don't play what you know - Play what you don't know"! says RA

[thebestceleb · 8/10 · 21 March 2007]

Yes! It was a low budget film and it was my very first. Although I did not know who "Sun Ra" was at the time - I did enjoy working with him. I will always remember his very words to me during the filming of the nightclub scene (in which I had a small speaking role). We were taking a lunch break and I had decided to sit at the piano and hit some piano keys, just for fun. Ra came walking by and glancing over to me he said, "Don't play what you know - Play what you don't know"! I am not a professional musician, but always remember these words when playing an instrument. I was very happy to see that this film made it to DVD a few years ago.

Ra was cool, including on the set.

[firewatr · 15 March 2004]

I was credited as 2nd unit director on this film. Ra was a calm, sort of surreal Buddha through the whole thing, even one time when the script called for him to be tied-up in a chair and menaced by gangsters. During the many hours it took to get this scene on film, Ra just quietly sat tied-up in that chair, so quietly that a couple of times I went over to make sure he was still breathing. He said he was fine, just relaxing on "another plain".

Near the end of the shoot, we had a nightclub scene with about 70 extras and a chorus of girls on stage. They were supposed to dance to a tune that Ra insisted on playing live on camera with his band. I had been bugging him unsuccessfully for days as to what he was going to play so that the girls could rehearse.

On the day scheduled to shoot this scene, I nervously reminded Ra again about the music. Ra smiled, casually produced some old vinyl albums done by other bands and a portable record player, and suggested that I play them for the chorus to see what they liked. I did, and they caught fire with one of the tunes. Ra said "Fine. You got any music manuscript paper?" I was ready for him. I did.

And so, during lunch break, Ra listened to the record, transposed the instrumental lead sheets to paper for his band with a few of his own alterations, and we choreographed and shot it after lunch.

For my money, Ra was a fine musician...extremely cool and really "there".

A psychedelic, Afro-centric, free Jazz classic...

[matrixj23 · 7/10 · 30 September 2004]

A true underground classic. Witness: not-of-this-earth music, the funky righteousness of Ra, cinematic excellence and be prepared to alter your destiny. I'd heard good (and bad) things about this film, so my curiosity was peaked. Usually when very strong reactions are evoked of such diametric opposition, it can only mean one thing: Great Art. This movie is truly mind blowing. I can think of nowhere else, where one can obtain: Sci-Fi, Blaxplotation, Philosophy, Space Jazz, and dynamite costumes in one easy-to-swallow capsule. I highly recommend this to Sun Ra fans and those with an interest in fine Avant Garde films. Sun Ra is truly an enigma, and in excellent form in this movie. See him battle the devil across many dimensions and get ready for transmolecularization and isotope teleportation...

RETURN OF THE SPACE MAKER

[higherall7 · 6/10 · 17 June 2020]

This is a strange, amusing mixture of Afro-futurism and Blaxploitation. While I was watching this movie, there were other films that came to mind that spring from the same humble origins. THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET (1984), on the Afro-futurism side, and SWEET SWEETBACK'S BADASS SONG (1971), on the Blaxploitation side. Thankfully, there are several independent features of interest that solely come from the mystique and enigma that is Sun Ra.

There is no doubt that SPACE IS THE PLACE (1974) comes across like a episode of DOCTOR WHO with wildly garbed, eccentric characters landing on Earth and strolling proud with Sun Ra to achieve mission objectives. Among them is a mirror-faced character in the exposition who proves to be a real missed opportunity for writers Joshua Smith and Sun Ra. I could have easily welcomed his presence at other pivotal points in the story.

There is another fascinating scene where Sun Ra plays cards with the Overseer in the Desert. This fateful encounter subtly reeks with the Temptation of Christ by the Devil in another Desert game. THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL (1959) with Harry Belafonte and Inger Stevens suggested itself to me, as well as the DUTCHMAN (1967) with Shirley Knight and Al Freeman Jr. We watch this battle of wits progress as we move through space and time to find out how Sun Ra left Earth and to see what he has returned for in the mean time.

There was a common thread that ran through all these films that explained both their virtues and their shortcomings. While these works of cinema promised unconventional, far out adventures, oddly enough, they did not go far out enough and in many ways revisited old stereo-types. Sun Ra's portrayal of Buddha outside the box is compelling, and the reference to Casino and Bordello and Ghetto ethics needs no apology. However, this film could have benefited from more astute SELECTION and EMPHASIS, like one of those riffs and solos that flowed out of Louis Armstrong's trumpet. The allusions to the Casino could have been better counter-poised with allusions to the museum, and the allusions to the Bordello could have been counter-poised with allusions to the Church, while allusions to the Ghetto could have been ultimately counter-poised with allusions to the sprawling metropolis of Downtown with its high society denizens.

The reach of this eighty five minute epic into space of all kinds seems unfortunately limited, less by production values, and more by a lack of balance and symmetry. When Sun Ra starts to interview recruits for his trip back across the stars you would expect a more diverse cross section of characters and ethnic populations, as wildly eccentric as the emissaries who have descended to Earth. Since this turns out not to be the case, the rest of the movie sandwiched in between the stirring opening with the mirror-faced dude, and the game of cards in the desert and the apocalyptic ending is as sophomoric as anything you might see at your local neighborhood talent show.

Crazy movie from a serious genius

[drocta950 · 10/10 · 24 October 2000]

I'll tell you what, Sun Ra was a gift we didn't love enough. He gave us fifty years of his time to "get it," but no one bothered. He's sitting on his home planet right now, entertaining his minions on Saturn. Sun Ra made one movie, that's all he needed to preach his philosophy. It is a brilliant statement on race relations in the early 1970's. An interesting story, engaging characters, and some out there music. One fault: this was not his best period in music. His records from the 50's and 60's were astounding, good enough to make this film even more of a classic. Space Is The Place is essential viewing for those who care about jazz or Africana cinema.

Afrofuturistic Cinematic Brilliance

[samxxxul · 7/10 · 7 July 2020]

Sun Ra plays a cosmic seer who lands in his spaceship (powered by music) on Earth and makes plans to resettle black people on a new planet from the white power structure. He is like the Moses figure in this sci-fi blaxploitation film which mixes surrealism, avant-garde jazz in a proposal like no other. Danny Ray Thompson. A mainstay in the Sun Ra Arkestra since the late 60s who's undulating baritone sax riff makes up the backbone of the evergreen Space Is The Place. A rare, unmissable trash-culture, sci-fi classic tantalizing glimpse into RA's fantastical world.

One of my favorite musical bios of all time which offers sharp social commentary and a stylish Afrofuturist vision. A truly great biography of melancholic musician, an Afrofuturist long before it was named, devastatingly multi-layered and esoteric. One of the best 'cult films' ever that defies genre categorisation and manages to truly uphold its otherworldly feel while burning itself in your brain. FYI Interestingly the first person of African descent in space was Afro-Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, via Soviet Interkosmos program in 1980. Highly recommend for those who love surrealistic films and a fan of Coltrane (John & Alice), Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock, and Cannonball Adderley.

The earth cannot move without music. The earth moves in a certain rhythm, a certain sound, a certain note. When the music stops the earth will stop and everything upon it will die.

Sun Ra, Space is the Place.

strange and amusing

[pyamada · 8/10 · 18 November 2002]

Being able to see the Arkestra/Orchestra during this period is really wonderful. Certainly there are strange happening and moments, and the black nationalism may now be out of place. Worth it indeed for Sun RA and some Jazz fans.

Too disjointed for me

[briancham1994 · 6/10 · 1 July 2020]

This film is very random and disjointed. There is not much structure or consistency so it is hard to follow. The characterisation is a bit abstract and mythological. It will probably be easier to swallow for those who are already familiar with Sun Ra.

One man's deluded vision of the plight of African Americans

[Vxf111 · 4/10 · 9 April 1999]

This movie was certainly made on a low budget, but I don't hold that against it-- many low budget flicks have turned out to both entertaining and successful. The main problem with this movie is that it stretches what amounts to a 20 minute plot into a "full lenth?!" picture. Also, the musical interludes are painful at best. The message is here, and the God Sun Ra (Who I might add is played by a fellow who actually thinks he is Sun Ra) makes for an interesting character. Lack of plot and depth of writing are what do this movie in. But hey, at least it's short!

Yet another truly strange blaxploitation film

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 4 May 2023]

The blaxploitation genre never ceases to surprise me the number of times it throws up truly crazy films. This one appears to be clearly aimed at the stoned-out-of-their-heads demographic - it's a combination of blaxploitation, sci-fi, concert footage and social commentary. It's also a vehicle for avant-garde jazzman Sun Ra, who, bizarrely, plays himself as a being from outer space who lands his spaceship in the middle of the San Francisco ghetto and tries to convince the black population there to follow him and colonise another planet, leaving the shackles of Earth behind. Sun Ra goes around everywhere donning pharaoh robes and headgear and even indulges in a Seventh Seal inspired Tarot game with a pimp like character in the middle of the desert. The storyline is very strange and loosely told, while the musical numbers involve Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra knocking out their very weird African inflected experimental jazz. It's a pretty baffling experience but one that is worth checking out.

A few good moments, mostly a mess

[dwankan · 4/10 · 22 February 2021]

Aside from a few good musical moments and some fun 70s weirdness, this movie isn't worth much. If you're a fan of Sun Ra, you might enjoy seeing what he did with film, but be warned, his mastery of music does not translate. It's a fun romp from time to time, but too often the dialogue is impossible to understand (either you can' tell what they're saying or what they're saying makes no sense). It becomes porn off and on for long stretches, in an awkward, 70s soft core kind of way. It's just a mess. If you like Sun Ra because he's a kook, you might enjoy this movie because it's full on kooky.

When in mood for that psychedelic socio-political jazz sci-fi...

[oulamies · 7/10 · 15 February 2024]

...there's likely nothing else to watch. This movie is a singular joyride, an expression of the weirdo mind of Sun Ra, a highly prolific (I'm talking 50+ studio albums) jazz-man with a penchant for Ancient Egyptian turnouts and New Age-y speeches about the mystical power of music. While surveying a foreign planet, Mr. Ra lays out his goal: to evacuate the black people of Earth to come live on a planet of their own, never to be hassled by the Man again. By force, if necessary! Sorry Malcom X and MLK, Sun Ra has had it with the civil rights movement. At least we can say racial segregation has never been groovier.

Backed by visuals that would not be out of place in Kenneth Anger's 'Lucifer Rising', Space is the Place is packed wall-to-wall with hilarious dialogue and absurd details, like my favorite, Ra's Intergalactic Employment Agency. Jazz fan or not, this movie is quite simply a cultural artefact not to be missed.