Includes bibliographical references (p. 345-349) and index.

Includes filmography (p. 323-339).

Introduction: pre-flight briefing -- First flights: the early films -- The true frontier: the classic films -- Wild adventures: the melodramatic films -- Ships of fools: the humorous films -- Space frights: the horrific films -- Parallel flight paths: the foreign-language films -- From reel to real: the rebirth and death of the films -- Return to Earth: films after 1969.

"This critical history comprehensively examines science fiction films that portray space travel realistically by having characters wear spacesuits. It discusses classics; innumerable films which gesture toward realism but betray that goal with melodramatic villains, low comedy, or improbably monsters; the distinctive spacesuit films of Western Europe, Russia and Japan; and America's televised Apollo 11 moon landing (1969)"--Provided by publisher.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2011. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.