User reviews

Salyut 7 was something of a surprise discovery for me, just stumbling upon it.I wish it had received a wider attention, This movie feels like it came from nowhere and I lapped it up.Its a riveting and powerful film about human triumph over adversity. And the Gravity-like visuals really intensify the you-are-there feeling I guess you have to forgive dramatic license-this film used,its dramatizations, rather than a documentary, after all. Overall this is a great movie. And two days ago I'd never even heard of it.In any case, anybody who enjoyed either Apollo 13 or Gravity will likely really enjoy this film, it's nice to see Russian cinema demonstrating its ability to measure up to Hollywood and give us a different flavor.

Saw it yesterday in local cinema, in OV. Only one presentation, ever. ^^ OK, the hall was filled half, but the movie was really great, Russian can do this kind of movies very well, very exciting until the last second! The acting was very well, camera too, pictures are great, especially the launch, breathtaking! Worth to see, I hope it will be relased in some other languages, at least with subtitles.

Being am American space geekette all my life, I was understandably drawn to the movie "Salyut-7". Let me start with my overall opinion of this production and then the why's.

Ready?

Outstanding Entertainment.

Make no mistake, this is a dramatized story of the events surrounding the rescue of the Salyut-7 research station after it became unstable and threatened Earth with an uncontrolled ballistic re-entry. It is NOT a documentary by any means of the imagination. This said, please note that the special effects are top notch and show a love of both reproduction the rugged dependability of Russian Space hardware as well as a keeping up with the Jones quality in the overall visual effects in both the captured directly to film footage and the post processing CGI effects. Kudos are well deserved.

The story is delivered in a tightly scripted yet dramatic setting replete with humor and situational challenges to be conquered as if planned on a clipboard checklist. This tone and story telling technique is apparent from the beginning of the movie and it prepares the viewer for a climatic ride where you are indirectly warned to just suspend your disbelief and to just hang on. Once you realize this is not a testament to the brave cosmonauts of the Soviet Space program nor a history of the role that the Salyut-7 research station played in the Soviet pride, it seems that you are invited into the tale being told.

This is a fictional story about men who fly into space and perform their assigned tasks with grit and determination. The classic well trained, stoic cosmonaut is missing from this story replaced by a very human repair crew.

The story is not as absurd as that presented in "Gravity" or so over the top as in "Apollo 13" yet you feel the drama build as each step in bringing the station back to life is met with the inevitable challenges of cold, water moisture, frustrating electronic components, failed servo-motors & sensors, EVAs and seemingly impossible to repair damage. fire and stress. All these challenges are conquered in turn as a cold war of decisions takes place at central space command including some terrifying consequences from the earlier events put to rest.

The crew is made more human with unusual flashbacks into their marriages and estranged relationships with contrived dialog moments, but the acting itself shows the love between these men and their lives with their families on Earth.

Decisions are made, the impossible becomes possible and you are left with a pleasant reminder that ingenuity does conquer all.

Asking for more from this film will simply frustrate you. Simply enjoy the ride.

A film who could have many names, from propaganda to biopic. Significant is the inspired storytelling , the technical work, the performances and nuances and precise build of dramatism. A film who seems, in many points, better than last space films made USA. . Because, it has something defining the characters and situations and tension escaping to demonstration, reminding the essence of humanity. And this detal represents, sure, for me, in profound subjective perspective, a huge virtue.

After watching Salyut-7 which I found well made, well acted, human and tense, I wanted to know the true story. For that, I credit Nickolai Belakovski for his article "The little-known Soviet mission to rescue a dead space station" which can be found on the Ars Technica website. Suffice it to say, Salyut-7 is very much a work of fiction and, to be fair, was not intended to be taken as a true depiction of events.

As far as any shuttle mission to grab Salyut-7, it's complete hogwash despite there being a Russian documentary that promotes US efforts to steal the station. Bart Hendrickx wrote the article "Kidnapping a Soviet space station" for The Space Review website. It debunks the Russian conspiracy theory quite convincingly.

Enjoy the movie but don't rely on it for truth.

This movie really was surprising.The special effects(better than "Gravity" in my opinion),the accuracy of portraying the technology of the time,the soundtrack,the camera work.It's a space- thriller inspired by real events (you can search the mission soyuz t13 or look for documentaries about the salyut 7 to find out that very few moments were actually modified).Unlike the movie "Gravity" physics are respected,so it's spectacular but has that "apollo 13" feeling (with less cheesy moments or fake dialogues),except for the first 20 minutes we spend the rest of the time in space with the cosmonauts trying to repair the salyut 7 and survive to all the unexpected problems.I was never bored until the end.Some people say that the movie has propaganda,not true ,like in a lot of American movies cosmonauts and scientist are the good guys and generals want to save their reputation and the reputation of the country ,it's a pattern we have seen in a lot of Hollywood movies.The movie shows respect to all space heroes ,even the American astronauts and the shuttle program in a particular moment.If you liked  "Apollo 13","The Martian","Interstellar","Gravity" you will love this movie,it feels and looks more real (some scenes are actually filmed for real like the breathtaking launch sequence).All actors are good and human.I hope the bluray will also be released in 3d (in Russia it was an IMAX 3d release). I give it a 8,5.

Salyut-7 portrays astronauts as normal people as opposed to super heroes, unlike Gravity for example with wonder bullock and super clooney

The astronauts in this movie are very human, which feels more historically accurate, and a lot of screen time is invested in showing us their home and family lives. The trip into space is somewhat matter of fact in comparison and not dramatised, to the point where the two crew at times feel more like furniture removal guys than space men

I'd forgotten about this particular event but it stirred memories of news stories about these stranded astronauts that i'd seen on tv during the 1980's

As others have mentioned the movie is a little on the Hollywood side, and this is mainly because of the music which is way to present throughout, telling us how we should feel at every moment. Had the music been dialled back and more sparsely used, I think the movie would have been far better

Still a very solid space movie, and better than Gravity, Apollo 13 etc

A film like this is always going to draw comparisons to Gravity, and while it doesn't contain the kind of hair-raising action scenes of that film, Salyut-7 does manage to offer a sustained level of tension that lifts it far above the average space movie fare.

This is a good dramatic story well told. Initially I found the main character to be a rather stuffy and wooden, but as the film progresses this reveals itself as a reserved stoicism that makes him a well-rounded and likeable character. The photography and special effects are first class and the acting is universally convincing.

I had no expectations when watching this and was pleasantly surprised. That it is based on a little known true story just makes it all the more exciting and engrossing. The short mid-credits footage of the actual cosmonauts is worth sticking around for too. It's a well-deserved 9/10 from me.

I must agree with the reviewer who stated that the movie borrows too much from Hollywood. This could have been an absolute gem if the production did not strive to emulate the typical Hollywoodian formula. I am Eastern European and having lived in Eastern Europe in the early 80s, I can see a lot of hit and miss, but mostly miss when it comes to the character interactions, tone and dialogue. I'll start with the hit - the clothes, the equipment, the little details (example - the woollen ski cap which Viktor wears when the two characters are fishing) are mostly correct and very well executed.

As for the miss, some of the characters are just too unbelievable. Whilst Vladimir (the mission captain) stays close to the typical Russian coolness and rigidity, Viktor and the mission control commander are just too emotional and maverick. In those days, everything was rigid, driven by protocol and (one way) orders from above (the politburo). The movie gives the feeling that the atmosphere was friendly and collegial, when in fact things were much more rigid and controlled from above. Vladimir's decision to dock without authorisation from mission control is a straight take from a Hollywood-style hero / rebel action, but certainly impossible. The salute which the Americans give the two Russian heroes (who are casually sitting on the Salyut) is another unnecessary take from an Air Force One type action movie and nothing to do with reality as there is no evidence that NASA sent a spacecraft in space during this crisis, let alone a close visual encounter of that type. Some of the dialogue is also a tad cheesy and melodramatic, especially the unlikely melancholy in the space mission control room and the mission control commander hammering on the dummy light sensor. It really could have been a great movie if they just made it more Russian and less American.

Back to the positives - the camera work is really good, the colours and overall palette are really spot on and some of the scenes of the space station are truly stunning (especially in 4K HDR).

Having watched Apollo 13, the comparisons are inevitable. If Salyut 7 had come out before Apollo 13 it would have been really good, but given the chronology, Salyut 7 uses too many of the formulas used in Apollo 13 to the point where it makes it too similar when in fact it could have just been its own movie.

I won't discuss politics or patriotism here this is not the subject. I'm working in the space sector for more than 20 years and of course a big fan of this kind of mivie. If we compare Gravity and Salyut 7 I give a 10/10 to Salyut for its technical accuracy. Regarding the movie and story the climax is way much better than several U.S movies about the same subjects. Good to see that not only Americans can do great space movies.

I watched it recently on HBO GO. I've seen it accidentally, never heard of that movie before. I must said I did not expected it to be so good. Very good camera, special effects, SGI, science consulting and so on. You can't really tell where the SGI was used at all. Very good acting and story. I don't know exactly how close the story was to original events. I assume it had to be a little exaggerated but it's ok for me. I guess it could be a little shorter for average audience. The only unrealistic scene was Challenger flyby so close to Salyut-7 crew so they can actually see and (nomen omen) "salute" to the russian cosmonauts. Too hollywood to me.

Available on a streaming service , subtitled, this is a well turned out story. Not knowing how it played out in 1985, it's a true thriller. Actors playing the cosmonauts have the right stuff. FX are good. As for depiction of the USSR in that time, not sure if it's romanticized or factual but the period detailing looks good also. When in space make sure you have a good hammer.

I found this film thoroughly entertaining. Few films follow the truth so I really don't know if it is accurate. I think the Ruskies did a fantastic job with this film. Better than the diarrhea that comes from Hollywood.

I liked it, although with reservations.

The movie it is well made, and in that sense it has seemed enjoyable, as well as it seems well documented with respect to the real event.

In my view, the film loses some credibility in one sense: it is very evident that they have tried to "add drama" where it was not necessary (since the situation is dramatic enough itself). For example the music, which is constant and very exaggerated (they play very emotional music in situations where there is no drama), or the performance of some actor too "emotional", which departs from the usual "russian coldness ", much more credible.

One of the things that attracts me to Russian cinema is precisely that: that it is aseptic. It is devoid of the excess of emotional charge that western cinema usually shows us. And I think Salyut-7 has tried to "look like" Hollywood movies in this regard: adding drama to drama. Although this may seem like a small detail, it is very important, since if there is equanimity in the script, actors, music ... they make me "believe the movie". On the contrary, an overacting actor (unfortunately increasingly common), or "exaggerated music" make me not get involved in the film in the same way (and I hardly believe it). And this is something that not even the best special effects can correct.

One more example of this, is the science fiction movie "Moon". The movie seems 7/10 to me, but it could have seemed 8.5 / 10 to me if it weren't for the egotism of the main actor (Sam Rockwell), who is "acting" as if he were on a reality show TV program (something that is habitual in him).

Relatively realistic, several climax settings are relatively good. Unfortunately, there are a few links in the middle of the transition, and the content of the paving is insipid.

Had a great time watching it. Was really pleasantly surprised with the quality and believability of the world created in this film - both in space and in the 70th Russia. Amazing, breathtaking story and timeless values. Beautiful entertainment that leaves you changed and moved. I wish there was more stories like that portraying real heroes, people capable of such unimaginable courage.

I liked the story, but I didn't like the execution. When you have your own culture, your own way of doing it, there is no point in copying others. I wanted to see a Russian movie not a copy-paste one. There wasn't a second where the movie could make me feel I was not watching a new Hollywood brainstorm. The structure of the story, the way of filming it, the dialogues, the attitudes of the characters and basically everything was just copied and sold as a Russian movie. Too bad, because it could have been a Russian sci-fi classic.