Science fiction fans from all over the world are eagerly awaiting Prometheus.  Considering that Soviet citizens were behind the Iron Curtain when Alien was released in 1979, you may be surprised to learn that a large number of Russians love both Alien and Ridley Scott.  Like us, Russian fans eagerly await Prometheus by keeping track of the latest news updates.  Recently, I found a Russian Prometheus blogsite that resembles prometheusnews.com.  One article in particular caught my attention.

According to the editor, the spacesuit design in Prometheus is based on the spacesuits from the 1961 Soviet sci-fi movie, Planet of the Storms (Planeta Bur). Read the article below and decide for yourself.

I've translated this article into English for the board's consideration:

It appears that the design of the Prometheus spacesuits is not original but based on spacesuits from the USSR developed in the early 1960's. Spacesuits of a similar design were first shown in the 1961 Soviet science fiction film, Planet of the Storms directed by Paul Klushantsev  with Vladimir Emelyanov and George Zhzhenov in the lead roles. It was purchased by the American studio, Roger Corman Productions.   Roger Corman reedited the movie thus cutting out a large number of scenes. In 1965, Corman released the revised version under the title, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet.

The Soviet origin of the film was never mentioned.  To add insult to injury, the film's Soviet actors were given English names, thus uncredited for their roles. In 1968, Corman released the film, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, which was essentially a second reedited version of Journey to the Prehistoric Planet. 

Planet of the Storms ??director, Paul Klushantsev may not be recognizable to the (Russian) general public, but among film critics, he's known as the founder of Russian science fiction film shorts.  He is also fairly well known in the west. For example, both Kubrick and Spielberg were influenced by his work. During his visit to the USSR during perestroika, George Lucas called Klushantsev, "the godfather of Star Wars".

In 1992, Robert Skotak (special effects director of Terminator and Aliens) specifically sought out Paul Klushantsev in St. Petersburg.   Klushantsev gave Skotaku descriptions, photos and drawings that illustrated dozens of his movie stunt technology. Skotak used some of Klushantxev's stunt techniques for the filming of the movie Titanic.  In the photo below, you can compare costumes from Prometheus to those from Planet of the Storms. There's little doubt that Rapace and company are sent to conquer space in modernized Soviet spacesuits.

The following are comparison photos:

Do you believe there Prometheus borrowed from the Klushantsev's designs? 

Before reading the article, I noticed a similarity in the Prometheus 8x8 vehicle and a Soviet BTR-70 troop transport:

But then again, the Prometheus vehicle also resembles the Big Trak toy that I received for Christmas back in 1979:



Russian Prometheus News Site