Space Is the Place |
  • USA • 1974 • 85m •   • Directed by: John Coney. • Starring: Barbara Deloney, Sun Ra, Raymond Johnson, Erika Leder, Christopher Brooks, La Shaa Stallings, Sinthia Ayala, Clarence Brewer, June Tyson, Morgan Upton, Walter Burns, Tiny Parker, Sam Bankhead. • Music by: Sun Ra.     Sun Ra--space-age prophet, pharoanic jester, shaman-philosopher and avant-jazz keyboardist/bandleader--lands his spaceship in Oakland, having been presumed lost in space for a few years. With Black Power on the rise, Ra disembarks and proclaims himself ''the alter-destiny.'' He holds a myth-vs.-reality rap session with black inner-city youth at a rec center, threatening ''to chain you up and take you with me, like they did you in Africa,'' if they resist his plea to go to outer space. He duels at cards with The Overseer, a satanic overlord, with the fate of the black race at stake. Ra wins the right to a world concert, which features great performance footage of the Arkestra. Agents sent by the Overseer attempt to assassinate Ra, but he vanishes, rescues his people, and departs in his spaceship from the exploding planet Earth.
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Review:
Sun Ra maintained that he was from Saturn, although historical documents note that he was born Herman Blount (or Poole) in Birmingham, AL.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.
Review by Joe Castleman from the Internet Movie Database.
Movie Database