Favorite "Mars" movies

Torraway · 2005-07-22 16:50:34

Here are some of my favorite "Mars" movies:

Robinson Crusoe on Mars
The Red Planet
Total Recall
The Martian Chronicles

srmeaney · 2005-07-22 17:47:11

Mission to Mars was entertaining

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-07-31 07:04:39

People seem to think 'Red Planet', 'Total-Recall' and 'Mission to Mars' were good

http://www.space.com/news/mars_fun_030824.html
http://www.thespacesite.com/community/i … topic=1252
http://www.rednova.com/news/space/16094 … ture_film/

Stormrage · 2005-07-31 09:11:35

I don't really watch Mars movies because they usually contain "evil green aliens".

But i did see the last 2 episode of Star Trek: Enterprise before the crap finale.

A xenophobic human terrorist organization called Terra Prime who capture an array in Mars and plan to destroy StarFleet command.

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-07-31 15:29:46

Oh, there was this other show - I think it was an American TV show
Babylon-5
http://www.skyvador.com/pbem/b5mars01.jpg
http://www.babylon5.ru/img/Sh_Mars.jpg
http://www.skyvador.com/pbem/b5sinclair12_small.jpg
http://www.mateengreenway.com/b5/s_mars.gif
most of it was in outer space in another part of the Galaxy, but many of the episodes were on Mars

REB · 2005-08-02 11:29:15

Red Planet was good. The book was even better than the movie.

I like the classic, Robinson Crosio on Mars.

I was excited about Mission to Mars. At last a good Mars movie. I was disappointed. The special effects were great, but the story needed work. What killed it for me was the opening where they slaughtered the astronauts. And then at the end of the movie we had friendly looking aliens show us with their sad eyes the destruction of their world. They look so innocent and friendly in an almost Disney like fashion.

Hello! These are the same aliens that slaughtered the astronauts at the beginning of the movie.

Listen, you aliens. You constructed a giant face on Mars to get Earth’s attention. Intelligent Earth life responds. You set up a code, or puzzle, they must solve to enter this face building. Fine. But if they failed to respond in the proper manner, you rip them apart! And then you try to look so caring and concerned at the end of the movie. Yuck! Why not just keep the doors closed until the humans get the code right? At least give some kind of warning.

That killed that movie for me.

REB · 2005-08-02 11:30:29

Oh, there was this other show - I think it was an American TV show
Babylon-5
http://www.skyvador.com/pbem/b5mars01.jpg
http://www.babylon5.ru/img/Sh_Mars.jpg
http://www.skyvador.com/pbem/b5sinclair12_small.jpg
http://www.mateengreenway.com/b5/s_mars.gif
most of it was in outer space in another part of the Galaxy, but many of the episodes were on Mars

Did you catch the last couple of Enterprise shows where they were on Mars. I thought that was cool.

Rxke · 2005-08-02 16:46:54

When I was a kid, I used to watch some fairly weird stuff with humans meeting Martians that used some kind of boats, that rode through the deserts... Too young to really get it. The martians were somewhat ghostlike, dreamlike as far as I remember... Hazy hazy... They didn't do very well, maybe they were a dying species...

Anyone an idea what series or film that was... With hindsight I'd say Bradbury, but not sure at all...

I thought it was pretty cool.

clark · 2005-08-02 16:48:55

Dude. I will beat you with your own arms!

That is Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles".

Argh!

Heathens. All of you!

Rxke · 2005-08-03 01:56:59

Whaddayamean heathen??

I was a kid, barely able to grasp what was happening, still I loved it above anything else that was aired at that time!

It's one of my few hazy memories from childhood, that I cherish, and you call me a heathen?

I'd rather say I'm one of the true believers, heehee!

(off to IMBD, looking for some more info on the film/series...)

Rxke · 2005-08-03 02:10:39

This is unbelievable....: from one of the reviewers:

I saw this in 79-80, when I was 8 years old. It was shown quite late once a week on the BBC. Due to its late showing and married with my tender age, I was the only person out of all my peers who watched it. It left a big impression on me and I can still remember some of the scenes over twenty years on.....The thing is I have asked scores of people over these years to see if anyone remembered it. As the years passed and not one person said they had, I was beginning to wonder if it was a product of my fertile imagination - especially with its dreamy tone. Here we are on IMDB (one of my very favourite web sites) and you have proved to me that I am not totally mad. I hope it will be available in the UK one day so I can see just why it left this mark on me. I won't place a review though as it would be unfair after so long. LONG LIVE IMDB!!!

Well, I couldn't word it better, this is *exactly* what happened with me... (Xcept that I must've been 9-10 yrs old)

The doubt about it being real etc... And yes, despite being a Dutch speaking Belgian, I watched BBC a lot, with my father, who had to translate... But often, I watched it alone, too...

Nowadays, one just has to go to the intarweb to kill off those lingering doubts, but I *Always* doubted I had not imagined /dreamed it all. Weird how my experience turns out identical as that reviewer...

clark · 2005-08-03 03:34:33

That's because it is Bradbury.

John Creighton · 2005-08-03 23:18:44

I would encourage people have seen some of the mars movies to write a little bit about them in the wiki. You can start here:
http://www.newmars.com/wiki/index.php?t … &section=1
and if you are willing create some pages about specific movies, directors, authors, characters and actors.
Rxke has given some tips here to getting started with the wiki.
http://www.newmars.com/wiki/index.php/W … ng_content

I started a bit about the movies but having not seen any of them I don’t feel I did that good a job. From other posts previously on new mars (1 or 2 message boards ago), I got the impression that the movies were a disappointment. It sounds like people like them here so maybe I was off the mark.

clark · 2005-08-12 07:09:07

I watched Red Mars, with Val Kilmer last night. Didn't realize the chick from the Matrix was in it (Neo's girfriend).

Anyway, best line ever, said via narration at the end of the movie, "guess I'll get to know the janitor better."

Yes folks, that says it all.

There is some beautiful imagery, and those suits are pretty neat. But the movie, ugh.

Another great quote, said aas Val Kilmer is escaping from Mars on an old Russian sample return rocket (in the payload, don't ask). "F*ck this planet." Said while giving Mars the finger.

There is nothing to write about this movie, one can only rant. Thank you.

Rxke · 2005-08-12 07:53:17

I *can't* believe it!!!!

Half a world away, Red Mars airs tonight on a commercial channel in Belgium!
And I was looking forward to it, all week long! But now...

"Thanks", Clark!

:evil:

(Heehee, I kid. Saw the previewsnippets, and already knew it would be gut-wrenchingly bad, don't worry!)

Rxke · 2005-08-12 15:36:58

Red Planet...

This kind of movie makes you wonder how they manage to get such budgets for a crappy scenario like that.
It's so silly, error-ridden... Beginning to sum up all the errors would be an excercise in futility.

One gem I just HAVE to mention, towards the end: when she succeeds in reviving our hero, the ships' AI suggest to 'set him upright'
... And that scene is shot in zero-G!!!!

Loooooooooooooosers!

I've seen B-movies with better scenario's, honest.

clark · 2005-08-12 20:33:53

So I tried watching Ghosts of Mars... DVD was cracked, so I can't watch it. Maybe it is a sign.

I think there is some kind of curse... the same one that eats Mars Probes. All Mars related moves are destined to fail.

And the Bradbury Martian Chronicles doesn't count, because that was made for TV.

I recall happening on an indie Mars movie where the crew is stranded on Mars, and end up finding a dead alien civilization, so they can survive. The acting was stilted, the dialogue poor, and the plot lacking. I forget the name of the move... I just wished I could foget the movie. It came out in 2003-2005 sometime, if I recall. Bonus point for the name if some enterprising individual can find it.

The lander crashed on mars, the one guy in the orbital ship ditches the crew because they all assume they are going to die anyway, and then the crew draw lots to see which two will get to stay in the lander and try and survive for the rescue (not enough air for all of them). So 3 them go wandering off to explore Mars (down the Trench), one of em dies (the one that really loved Mars) and the other two find the alien civilization. But then, one of these two dies in the tunnels because he goes down the wrong corridor. Meanwhile, the back in the lander, the engineer decides that this would be the best time to hit on the female in the lander.

So pathetic.

Rxke · 2005-08-13 01:11:27

That engineer was nicknamed 'janitor' too?

The scenario sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it? (give or take a few details, like civilization --> bugs, heehee)

srmeaney · 2005-08-13 06:05:36

The lander crashed on mars, the one guy in the orbital ship ditches the crew because they all assume they are going to die anyway, and then the crew draw lots to see which two will get to stay in the lander and try and survive for the rescue (not enough air for all of them). So 3 them go wandering off to explore Mars (down the Trench), one of em dies (the one that really loved Mars) and the other two find the alien civilization. But then, one of these two dies in the tunnels because he goes down the wrong corridor. Meanwhile, the back in the lander, the engineer decides that this would be the best time to hit on the female in the lander.

Saw it! About as interesting as Mission to Mars. Red planet was slightly better for all the wrong reasons. Rocket Man was even more enjoyable for all the worse possible reasons.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Best film about humans on Mars will be the three hours of crappy footage from a helmet cam of some idiot human falling down the ladder of the first Mars lander and dying there...looking up at the hatch. His only companion having just realized that due to budget cutbacks, it takes two people to launch for Earth, staring down at him.

clark · 2005-08-13 09:34:41

Found the name...

"Stranded"

Avoid at all costs.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-15 20:05:34

Whatever happened to the KSR trilogy that Scifi was going to make?

clark · 2005-08-15 20:54:53

SciFi Channel lists it as "in development" (2002). James Cameron owns the rights (since 1999).

These two things mean that Cameron is waiting for some time in his schedule to develop it, or that SciFi and Cameron are still haggling on specs and costs.

Word isn't out on if the book will form the basis of the mini-series. Usually "in development" means they are sitting on it till they get the funds lined up, a decent script (hard to do given the material to work with), and can market the premise effectively.

Of course, Cameron has his little IMAX Mars project, and I think the idea was to do both pieces at the same time to save on set pieces and actors. From what I've seen, Cameron plans on directing the IMAX, but producing the mini-series. Zubrin is rumored to be a co-author of the IMAX. Of course I'm not sure how up to date this stuff is, since names change in a blink of the eye.

My bet is that the mini-series will take the premise of the trilogy, without staying true to the actual story.

Cheers.

Rxke · 2005-08-16 04:36:10

I hope they squeeze in the subplot of Michael Duval (sp?)
You know, the whole longing to go back to Earth thing. The loathing for that cold planet that got worse and worse....I thought that was a nice touch, the psychiatrist on duty having the most fundamental problem. Having no one to talk to...

Wonder how hard homesickness can hit someone in such a case, sometimes. It's a step further than emigrating to a strange country...

(Not that I feel I'd be prone to it, HAH!)

srmeaney · 2005-08-16 09:37:43

Just chanced a view of Marooned! the Gene Hackman/Gregory Peck film with a bunch of Rocket jockeys stranded in space after retro fails to burn. That is one nasty little film.

I can see why Astronaut Hackman fails to take his "Sleeping Pills".

Rxke · 2005-08-16 09:47:15

Totally offtopic, but when I saw Red Planet on one of the commercial channels, I found myself hollering with anger because *every thirty minutes* they just stopped the film for lame commercials (about 10 minutes, aaargh!)

How bad is this practice in other countries? And to they air say, a comm. for laundry products at 1AM too? (wrong target audience anyone???)

I grew up with 'official' channels, and BBC stuff, then came MTV, which was kind of addictive, but in the end i fugured out it was more commercials than music (used to stay up late to see the 'alternative' stuff, but it was like 60/40 commercial/music... And I heard that MTV Europe was considered almost communist-like in America, not enough commercials, too wide a range of musical styles :shock: )

Erm. Oh yeah:

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