The truth is that while Robinson Crusoe on Mars is extremely cheesy in many respects, this is a very fun film, with a gripping, often-suspenseful story and a great sense of adventure. Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He uncovers the rest of the humanoid skeleton and determines that the alien was murdered; the front of the skull shows a hole, and the back shows heavy charring. And so on.On the other hand, if we look at the film as residing more in a realm of surrealism, elements such as the floating fireballs are actually pretty cool, and much of the cinematography and settings are excellent. Even though they often involve plot points based on technical aspects of the sciences--and believe it or not, this film is primarily focused on that--in their broader structures, the stories are usually fantasy tales, and reality is dispensed with as soon as either (1) it doesn't suit what the author considers to be a good story, (2) the author's scientific knowledge/research reaches its limit, or (3) the author engages in speculation (which is fundamental to the genre).Despite scriptwriters John C. Higgins and Ib Melchior frequently engaging in (1) (and very likely (2) plus an added departure point for films--budgetary limitations), the suspense in the first half of the film is propelled by Draper's need for oxygen, water and food. Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)Not Rated | 1h 50min | Adventure, Sci-Fi | June 1964 (USA)Stranded on Mars with only a monkey as a companion, an astronaut must figure out how to find oxygen, water, and food on the lifeless planet.Director: Byron HaskinWriters: Ib Melchior (screenplay), John C. Higgins (screenplay) (as John Higgins) Stars: Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin, Adam West Robinson Crusoe On Mars. It was wintertime, and the skies were deep blue. Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts. An American-led team of International astronauts leave their space station on the first mission to Mars, but the captain's religious beliefs may get in the way. 1 talking about this. He brings just the right mixture of tough-guy ingenuity and vulnerability to the part.Of course, part of the enjoyment of watching the film at this point in time is that much of it is unintentionally funny. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Not long after, Draper sees a spaceship descend and land just over the horizon. Millennials don’t get it. 69 of 78 people found this review helpful. Rent/Buy. It rises above its flaws to merit an 8 out of 10 from me.Actually, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a great example of why science fiction is usually considered to belong to the genre umbrella of "fantasy" (and yes, that's even true of literary "hard science fiction"). 26 product ratings - Robinson Crusoe on Mars - DVD - Criterion Collection. Both The Martian and RCOM are about a isolated individual trying to survive on Mars until he can be rescued. Released by Film Score Monthly in 2011 (FSM Vol. A full color booklet is also included with various facts about the film.[11]. While walking about, Draper comes upon a dark rock slab standing almost upright. On one of his excursions, he finds McReady's crashed pod and dead body. One of them flees and stumble with Draper and he names him Friday. Search for "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" on Amazon.com, Title: Draper finds himself alone, Robinson Crusoe style, and must figure out how to survive.Director Byron Haskin and company spared no expense to make sure that all of the scientific elements of this film were accurate enough to function as a graduate level "motion picture textbook" for planetary sciences courses, and the special effects are so realistic that even Peter Jackson felt that his Lord of the Rings trilogy fell short of the technical wizardry on display here. Despite the flaws, however, this is worth a watch by serious fans of classic sci-fi, and it's interesting to note influences films like this have had on later-generation works in the same vein, such as Red Planet (2000). When a spaceship lands on the moon, it is hailed as a new accomplishment, before it becomes clear that a Victorian party completed the journey in 1899, leading investigators to that mission's last survivor. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures. Byron Haskin: An Interview by Joe Adamson. A dying scientist pushes forward his project to tap through to the Earth's magma layer, with results that threaten to destroy the Earth as we know it. 109min. 1703: Robinson Crusoe has to leave Scotland for a year, but after months sailing, a storm wrecks his ship. Also, some of the attempts to make the exteriors look more Mars like are actually gorgeous. [3] He later complained about the changes made to his screenplay. See more ideas about robinson crusoe on mars, robinson crusoe, science fiction movies. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. One of the slaves escapes, running into Draper; an alien spaceship blasts their area as the two escape. Whitlock provided the matte paintings used in Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Sign In. Der Film basiert auf Motiven des Romans Robinson Crusoe von Daniel Defoe. Commander Kit Draper, and Colonel Dan McReady, are orbiting Mars in an exploratory surveyor. A dangerous, lizard-like creature comes with it and quickly grows gigantic. .After a long period alone, Draper feels the loneliness. ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS is, for the most part, an intelligent and well-made SF movie considering the time in which it was created. Top Rated Seller Top Rated Seller. Certificate: Passed He gives her a salty cracker, but no water. Pre-Owned. It looked like another planet — certainly not Death Valley. Now he needs to find a way to be rescued and return to Earth. Draper lands on the surface of the Red Planet and survives. Was this review helpful to you? The exteriors were primarily shot in Death Valley National Park, and it is beautifully captivating here. Curious, he digs in the ground around it, exposing a skeletal hand and arm wearing a black bracelet. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and filmed in Technicolor and Techniscope. Paul Mantee Victor Lundin Adam West (1964) An astronaut (Paul Mantee) stranded on the red planet risks his life to save a runaway slave (Victor Lundin) from alien masters. They inadvertently put themselves in a position for Mars' gravitational pull to take over, and they're running out of fuel. Jul 7, 2019 - One of my favorite all time science fiction movies ever since seeing it as a boy. One day, he sees a spacecraft landing on Mars and he believes it might be the rescue team to save him. There isn't much effort in many shots to keep the settings looking like Mars. It is a science fiction retelling of the classic 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. He approaches cautiously and sees human-looking slaves being used for mining by equally human-shaped captors wearing spacesuits, helmets, and bearing weapons. A lot happens in the last ten minutes or so of the film, without the suspense it could have had with a longer running time. Draper lands on the surface of the Red Planet and survives. In Robinson Crusoe on Mars, they never stop being central to the plot. Buy. [11], Despite positive critic reaction at the time, Robinson Crusoe on Mars did not do well at the box office. Buy It Now +C $5.00 shipping. [7], Paul Mantee was chosen out of approximately 70 actors (including Vic Lundin) based on his being an experienced unknown,[8] and by director Byron Haskin, because he resembled Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Jetzt bequem online bestellen. Though by no means a genre classic, "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" is a watchable, sometimes fun science fiction film. https://mavericuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe_on_Mars But he finds aliens working on the planet and some of them are slaves. … He learns that he can breathe the Martian air for short periods but needs also oxygen. But Mona finds water and an edible plant in the underground. The European Space Exploration Council sends two astronauts to explore a planet similar to the Earth but located on the opposite side of the sun. The aliens bombard the mine area that night and then depart. 12 product ratings - Robinson Crusoe on Mars (Blu-ray Disc, 2011, Criterion Collection) C $45.88. As the days grow into months, Draper slowly begins to crack from the prolonged isolation, at one point imagining an alive, but unspeaking, McReady appearing in his cave. A high-definition video image transfer was performed and color corrected using the film's original 35 mm film negative, while the original monaural soundtrack was digitally remastered in stereo at 24 bit. They are forced to use up their remaining fuel in order to avoid an imminent collision with a large orbiting meteoroid; they descend in their one-man lifeboat pods, becoming the first humans on Mars. Admittedly, if every film merely dwelled on those issues, we'd quickly grow tired of it, but it works extremely well here.Even more remarkable, for the majority of the film, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a one-man show. Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a 1964 independently made American science fiction film in Technicolor and Techniscope, produced by Aubrey Schenck, directed by Byron Haskin, that stars Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin, and Adam West. This time, Gen. Thayer approaches Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation ... See full summary ». During an orbital exploratory mission to Mars, Commander Christopher Draper (Paul Mantee) and Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West) are forced to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a large meteor. He also watches helplessly as his mothership, an inaccessible "supermarket", periodically orbits overhead; without fuel, the spaceship cannot respond to his radioed order to land. Draper lands on the surface of the Red Planet and survives. 5) containing music from Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). Variations on the theme include the 1954 Miss Robin Crusoe, with a female castaway, played by Amanda Blake, and a female Friday, and the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars, starring Paul Mantee, with an alien Friday portrayed by Victor Lundin and an added character played by Adam West. The film was originally to be titled Gravity Probe One: Mars, but Paramount's sales manager Charles Boasberg thought that title sounded too much like a documentary. It is a science fiction retelling of the classic 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. We get purple and blue rockscapes against smoky skies, and we often see nice nods to classic sci-fi illustrators such as Frank R. Paul (whose work often graced the covers of fiction magazines like Amazing Stories) in features such as bright red skies. Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a 1964 American science fiction film directed by Byron Haskin and produced by Aubrey Schenck that stars Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin, and Adam West. "Some scenes of spacecraft in motion were created with the kind of flat animation seen in official NASA promotional films". I can’t think of any other film I’ve made, unless it was The War of the Worlds, where I had such complete autonomy ... that I had as much genuine pleasure and fulfillment from as Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Draper names his new acquaintance "Friday," after the character in Robinson Crusoe, and begins teaching him English. Even then I knew it was a movie, not a scientific documentary. Film reviewer Glenn Erickson opined, "Despite laudable efforts from all concerned, the film didn't click with audiences. There is one scene with Ed Wood-style changes back and forth from night to day. Start Shopping. Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Now he needs to find a way to be rescued and return to Earth. Stranded on Mars with only a monkey as a companion, an astronaut must figure out how to find oxygen, water, and food on the lifeless planet. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and filmed in Technicolor and Techniscope. Play. "Original print information: Robinson Crusoe on Mars. It is a science fiction retelling of the classic 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. He does so easily. Blu-ray Special Edition Features Restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Play. Discover some of our favorites from the wide range of films the Academy chose to honor with a recap of the big winners at the 2021 Oscars. Shot in vast Techniscope and blazing Technicolor, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is an imaginative and beloved techni-marvel of classic science fiction. Audience Reviews for Robinson Crusoe on Mars Jan 04, 2014 an entertaining, cheesy, dated, and stellar (or should i say inter-stellar) film. The two survivors safely land on Mars and figure out how to breathe, drink, and eat on the inhospitable planet. Indifferent distribution was blamed, but it's also likely that the public preferred to see its astronauts on the 6 O'Clock News".[2]. Draper saws off the bracelets with a wire saw. The first U.S. spaceship to Venus crash-lands off the coast of Sicily on its return trip. [citation needed], Criterion added a number of bonus features on the releases of the film: a "stills" gallery from both the film itself, as well as behind-the-scenes shots. Draper finally succeeds in cutting off Friday's bracelets shortly before a low-orbiting meteoroid crashes into the ice cap; the resulting explosion and firestorm melts the ice and snow, saving them from freezing to death. Ib Melchior was the original screenwriter, but had to drop out to work on other projects. Scientific discoveries shortly thereafter confirmed neither was the case. 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