Even more remarkable, for the majority of the film, robinson crusoe on mars is a oneman show. Criterions disc of robinson crusoe on mars offers an exceptionally good transfer, allowing us to appreciate the fine effects work originally done in the 2perf techniscope process. So, naturally, i have a rather soft spot in my heart for the film itself. It was directed by byron haskin conquest of space and featured stunning martian vistas designed by art directors arthur lonegan, hal pereira. Given the scarcity of information then available, the filmmakers did a remarkable job of representing some of the conditions on our nearest planetary neighbor, nearly a year before. It was released on dvd for the first time as a special edition from the criterion collection on. Although it is a thoughtful and surprisingly nonexploitative movie, the title robinson crusoe on mars might conjure up unholy echoes of crosspollinated genre. Robinson crusoe on mars maveric universe wiki fandom. Although its pretty amazing cinema gave us star wars just years later, and after all these years its still so timeless that robinson crusoe on mars looks prehistoric alongside it. But robinson crusoe on mars was made by byron haskin who had made war of the worlds ten years earlier, a 1950s scifi film that took itself very seriously and robinson crusoe on mars does much the same.
So it was quite surprising to view the 1964 film robinson crusoe on mars for the first time in decades and find that it scores most highly for its verisimilitude. Byron haskin directed from a script by ib melchior. See more ideas about robinson crusoe on mars, robinson crusoe and mars. This 1964 hollywood sciencefiction film was released a year before nasas mariner 4. Adam wests ghostly reappearance was a great scene, too. Go to the internet movie database laserdisc database buy posters from buy posters from moviegoods buy this soundtrack from search ebay for robinson crusoe on mars. By and large, genre critics praised the scifi film upon its original theatrical release and soon after, as well. A lot of the fun of 1950s scifi is in their tackiness people being menaced by silly looking space monsters, that sort of thing. Awesome western desert outdoor shoots and a young batman is costar. Jan 11, 2011 in preparing his heavily illustrated first draft of the screenplay for robinson crusoe on mars, a film he intended to direct, melchior was clearly seeking a middle ground. Dated, but fun movie mostly with just 1 character 2 if you count the monkey. Robinson crusoe on mars wikimili, the free encyclopedia. We know mars isnt really like this, but just pretend it takes place on a planet in another solar system. Robinson crusoe on mars 1964 the criterion collection.
With paul mantee, victor lundin, adam west, the woolly monkey. I have enjoyed this movie since i was a kid and saw it on tv in the late 1960s and 70s. See more ideas about robinson crusoe on mars, robinson crusoe and science fiction. Robinson crusoe on mars 1964 letterboxd social film. While the plot is very lowenergy, the film s quaint effects and recognizable adventure template make. Robinson crusoe on mars 1964 was the brainchild of ib melchoir angry red planet, who conceived it as the first in a series of literary classics updated to the 20th century and set in outer space. Victor lundin played the rescued companion of crusoe figure commander christopher draper paul mantee, who dubs him friday in reference to the novel. The 1964 film robinson crusoe on mars recasts the robinson crusoe story as a space adventure. Robinson crusoe on mars original theatrical trailer youtube. Mars, which compares the science seen in the film with what was known about mars in 1964 and what is known today. Oct 17, 2007 clearly, the main problem with robinson crusoe on mars is that the makers of this film tried too hard to maintain the look, rather than the spirit, of defoe character. While the plot is very lowenergy, the film s quaint effects and.
Jasons rating of the film robinson crusoe on mars jason an at least halfway serious contribution to postwar scifi pax americana, the trend already well established, much of robin crusoe on mars was shot on location in death. The premise is that a lone human survivor of a spaceship crash, an astronaut is stranded on mars with only a monkey who happened to be traveling with the humans. By far the most unique version to be made has to be robinson crusoe on mars. A futuristic retelling of daniel defoes classic story, robinson crusoe on mars has gained a beloved cult reputation ever since its debut in the. Even recent, expensive films, like red planet, dont measure. As the title indicates, it is a science fiction retelling of the classic. The alien slavers substitute for the novels cannibals, and of course, crusoes friday is a onetoone corollary with drapers alien friend. Scifi drama 1964 110 minutes color commander kit draper, and colonel dan mcready, are orbiting mars in an exploratory surveyor. Robinson crusoe on mars is almost unsurpassed in its scientific accuracyfor 1964. Specialeffects wunderkind and genre master byron haskin the war of the worlds, the outer limits won a place in the hearts of fantasy film lovers everywhere with this gorgeously designed journey. A malfunction forces them to eject with only draper and a monkey, named mona, surviving.
Oct 09, 2014 scifi drama 1964 110 minutes color commander kit draper, and colonel dan mcready, are orbiting mars in an exploratory surveyor. Robinson crusoe on mars, released in 1964, is not a movie that i would guess anyone has seen, but on a sunday afternoon, it was the only interesting thing on tv. Specialeffects wunderkind and genre master byron haskin the war of the worlds, the outer limits won a place in the hearts of fantasyfilm. Robinson crusoe on mars criterion collection dvd 1964. Robinson crusoe on mars had byron haskin waited a year to shoot 1964s robinson crusoe on mars, it might have been a very different film or gotten scrapped altogether. 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. It was directed by byron haskin, produced by aubrey schenck and starred paul mantee, victor lundin and adam west. While robinson crusoe on mars is more a kitsch curio than a classic movie, there is much entertainment to be had comparing this 1964 story of a lone astronaut pitted against all. Robinson crusoe on mars didnt click with film audiences. He has no humans to keep him company, but rather an animal companion like the captains dog. In robinson crusoe on mars, they never stop being central to the plot.
Paul mantee, a busy tv actor, works hard carrying almost all the dialog as marooned astronaut christopher draper, our robinson crusoe. The book robinson crusoe was written by daniel defoe back in 1719. Draper, colonel dan mcready adam west, and a test monkey look as if they are going to collide with a meteor. Indifferent distribution was blamed, but its also probable that the public preferred to see their astronauts on the 6 oclock news. Certainly one of the great literary classics it has a few times since the birth of moving pictures been told on celluloid. Another weird thing is how abruptly it ends, as if haskin simply ran out of time or money or theyd started shooting before the ending was written and just did.
George pal and byron haskins robinson crusoe on mars 1964 is fifty years old in 2014 and remains beloved by the generation that grew up with it. Strangelove, we knew very little about the red planet that couldnt be inferred by the telescopically accompanied eye, and so it is with a sense of retrospective camp goodness that we grant the film its hellfireconsumed martian landscapes. This film is an adaption of daniel defoes classic tale of a sailor stranded on a deserted island. Byron haskins robinson crusoe on mars on criterion slant. Paramount could have thrown robinson crusoe on mars in with war of the worlds. Robinson crusoe on mars is a 1964 independently made american science fiction film in technicolor and techniscope, produced by aubrey schenck, directed. Despite laudable efforts from all concerned, the film didnt click with audiences. In this version, crusoe is an astronaut who crashlands on the seeminglyabandoned planet of mars. Draper must learn to survive in this hostile environment fighting thirst, hunger, and even hostile aliens, if he expects to see home again. Indifferent distribution was blamed, but its also likely that the public preferred to. Apr 22, 2016 spun from daniel defoes tale of the titular character, this scifi story involves a spaceship commander, chris draper paul mantee in a similar situation to the original robinson crusoe but. Ib melchiors original script adapted daniel defoes classic novel robinson crusoe for the spacerace age, populating it with armadillolike martian beasts and threefingered.
Shot in vast techniscope and blazing technicolor, robinson crusoe on mars is an imaginative and beloved technimarvel of classic science fiction. Mar 01, 2011 robinson crusoe on mars soundtrack from 1964, composed by nathan van cleave. Robinson crusoe on mars is a 1964 science fiction film that adapted the classic novel robinson crusoe to an in space. Im not the first person to notice that andy weirs novel is, in essence, robinson crusoe on mars. Though by no means a genre classic, robinson crusoe on mars is a watchable, sometimes fun science fiction film. One 1964 film, however, stands apart from the others, both. Robinson crusoe on mars soundtrack from 1964, composed by nathan van cleave.
Robinson crusoe on mars 1964 is a spectacular and for its time fairly realistic science fiction adventure about an astronaut paul mantee who must survived on mars after his space ship crashes into the planet. There really is a film called robinson crusoe on mars. Byron haskin, nathan van cleave, irvin talbot, and fred steiner. Almost every critique ive ever read of the film acknowledges the polished look of the martian scenes. Robinson crusoe on mars 1964 feature video dailymotion. A us astronaut finds himself stranded alone on mars, until an alien slave from a nearby planet arrives. Clearly, the main problem with robinson crusoe on mars is that the makers of this film tried too hard to maintain the look, rather than the spirit, of defoe character.
Mars, a new 20minute documentary exploring our fascination with the red planet. I like this film very much, and paul mantee is great in the lead. Robinson crusoe on mars goes to another world to deliver familiar moral lessons. Spun from daniel defoes tale of the titular character, this scifi story involves a spaceship commander, chris draper paul mantee in a similar situation to the original robinson crusoe but. Byron haskins robinson crusoe on mars on criterion. Although some of the matte paintings representing the weird martian landscapes arent very convincing, the film s look is remarkably consistent, with almost undetectable rearscreen effects. It runs just over 4minutes, and is comprised solely of clips from the film. In robinson crusoe on mars, kip draper is marooned on the planet mars, rather than on an island. Robinson crusoe on mars 1964 robinson crusoe on mars. This 1964 hollywood sciencefiction film was released a year before nasas mariner 4 spacecraft took the first closeup images of the planet mars. 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. Apr 27, 2017 the book robinson crusoe was written by daniel defoe back in 1719. Following an american astronaut who has crash landed on the red planet, the plot provides a simple survival story before introducing more characters and getting more interesting. Admittedly, if every film merely dwelled on those issues, wed quickly grow tired of it, but it works extremely well here.
Jul 7, 2019 one of my favorite all time science fiction movies ever since seeing it as a boy. Other bonus features include a new documentary, destination. Man friday, a 1975 british film, retold the story from man fridays point of view. Come on, if warnermgm is going to put the invisible boy on the special edition of forbidden planet, paramount could have thrown robinson crusoe on mars in with war of the worlds. My thinking, in terms of pairing them, was the byron haskin connection. It was released on dvd for the first time as a special edition from the criterion collection on september 18, 2007. Victor lundin wrote a song titled robinson crusoe on mars, and a new music video for that song was created specifically for this dvd release. It was directed by byron haskin conquest of space and featured stunning martian vistas designed by art directors arthur lonegan, hal pereira and al nozaki the war of the worlds. Robinson crusoe on mars is a film directed by byron haskin with paul mantee, victor lundin, adam west. While robinson crusoe on mars is more a kitsch curio than a classic movie, there is much entertainment to be had comparing this 1964 story of a lone astronaut pitted against all odds beyond this. While the mars depicted in the film is inaccurate as we.
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