TV show from the sixties or seventies, set in the 1800s, about another planet coming close to the Earth

Question

This is a long shot, as I've spent hours Googling this, but I'm hoping someone might know what I'm talking about:

In the late 70s, or early 80s as a child, I saw a fantastic show on German TV. I can't remember if it was a movie or perhaps a mini-series. I also can't remember what the country of origin was, but I'm pretty sure it was not the U.S. or the U.K.

The events unfold in a city in the desert, sometime in the 1800s, that is being besieged by Ottomans or Arabs.

There is another planet that is coming close to the Earth, causing all sorts of mayhem. But all I remember clearly is the Caucasian protagonists being attacked by a wasp the size of a pony.

Any ideas anyone?

Answer 1

This is a bit of a long shot, but might it be the Jules Verne adaption "Na kometě" (1970) by director Karel Zeman, which aired in German TV as "Auf dem Kometen" ("On the comet")? Czech movies were quite popular in Germany. It features dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures, so giant wasps do not seem out of the question (can't remember them, but then I last saw this as a child some 40 years ago).

The movie is set in the 1880s in North Africa, and involves not a planet, but the titular comet that pulls away warring factions of French, British and Arab soldiers into space as it passes earth (the comet is rather planet-like as it supports life; the movie is basically an anti-war satire, since even under absurd circumstance the factions continue their fights instead of banding together against a common threat).

Youtube has a rather sepia tinted trailer and a dinosaur scene, so you can have a look if this seems familiar.

Just found the movie on archive.org (which I assume is legal, so I link it here). The wasp is at around 27.50, although it is bird-sized rather than the size of a pony.