In the year 2163, the starship Ikarie XB-1 sets off on a years-long mission to explore the planets of the Alpha Centauri system. Though they will face external threats along the way — including a derelict twentieth-century spacecraft armed with nuclear weapons and a deadly, radioactive "dark star" — the brave band of space pioneers soon discovers that the greatest danger lies within, as the isolation and pressures of space travel sparks a series of shifting alliances and enmities among the forty-person crew. Arguably the high point of the space-opera tradition in Czech science fiction — aided greatly by writer-director Jindrich Polák's adept technical ability and admirable focus on character dynamics rather than special effects — Ikarie XB-1 was re-edited by Roger Corman for its American release under the title Voyage to the End of the Universe; this is a rare chance to see the film in its original version.