This gloriously odd 1974 flick showcases the music and vibes of the possibly alien jazz musician and arranger Sun Ra. Shot on 16mm, the raw surrealism in Space touches on Seventies Black Power chic, Afrofuturism, Blaxploitation, and interdimensional battles, all resting on a singular blend of big band structures, innovative composition, and improvisation that made Ra a figure whose cult has endured long after his 1993 passing. The Golden Dawn Arkestra, a costumed crew that is itself a tribute to Ra’s Arkestra, opens with a set of psychedelic, big band funk. – Joe Gross
