Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Owen Herring

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection

Special effects wunderkind and genre master Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds, The Outer Limits) won a place in the hearts of fantasy film lovers everyplace with this gorgeously designed journeying into the unknown. Robinson Crusoe on Mars tells the story of U.S. astronaut Commander “Kit” Draper (Paul Mantee), who will have to fight for survival when his spaceship crash-lands on the barren waste of Mars, a pet monkey his only companion. But is he genuinely alone? Shot in immense Techniscope and blazing color, this is an imaginative and beloved marvel of classic science fiction.

Although it is a thoughtful and astoundingly nonexploitative movie, the title Robinson Crusoe on Mars might conjure up unholy echoes of cross-pollinated genre movies such as Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter or Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Well, don’t worry. This 1964 space epic is in fact an adaptation of the classic Daniel Defoe novel, and it plays reasonable by logic and science. After his spaceship crash-lands on Mars, astronaut Paul Mantee will have to figure out how to survive on the hostile planet (shot for the most part in Death Valley), aided only by a monkey from his ship. Director Byron (The War of the Worlds) Haskin’s sober approach brings a freshening special and significant stress to issues of survival–how a heap of space travel movies have you seen where the traveler tests the air of a distant planet and discovers that, by George, he may breathe just fine? Not this one. Mantee’s desperate methods of tracking his air flow and experimenting with methods of breathing are painstakingly explored, and seem like precisely the kind of difficulties a real planetary voyager would encounter. The second half of the picture cleverly mixes Defoe’s plot with sci-fi conventions, and the movie never does “dumb down.”

The Criterion Collection’s DVD of Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a handsome treatment of a minor classic. A commentary track stitches together remarks from a potpourri of participants, including Mantee, Haskin (in a 1979 interview), and basi screenwriter Ib Melchior (disagreements amidst Haskin and Melchoir are included). A featurette, Destination–Mars gives a good deal of of the “science fact” behind the movie, and excerpts from Melchoir’s primary treatment show suggest changes made. And a “music video” puts movie clips alongside a song written and performed by co-star Victor Lundin, a number he produced for his appearances at sci-fi conventions. –Robert Horton

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection Pic

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection Image

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection Photo

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection

Robinson Crusoe Mars Criterion Collection Photo

Most helpful client reviews

116 of 121 people found the following review helpful.
5Classic Sci Fi gets the treatment!
By C. Cervenka
Robinson Crusoe On Mars is one of those films that makes you long for yester-year.

For those who love the older science fiction films with their wide eyed view of the future of science and space, or those who just love a good solo adventure into the wild, this is one of the more well made films from the Sci Fi 60s (the film likewise has an aspect from the soon-to-be TV Batman, Adam West). With a terrifi imagining of Mars and numerous War Of The Worlds like space ships (no wonder as Worlds Byron Haskin helmed this as well) this film is a great addition to any movie buffs library. If you like Forbbiden Planet, this will be right up your alley.

Criterion had offered this on Laserdisc and has been an pricey re-sell on Ebay over the years (between $100 and $200). But now you may own a much better transfer of the film with a few extra features! I have been awaiting this DVD release from them for a long time so this is my Criterion disc of the year!

70 of 75 persons found the following review helpful.
5Robinson Crusoe On Mars…On DVD!!!
By Alan Caylow
I must echo my fellow reviewers on this one: “Robinson Crusoe On Mars” on DVD….FINALLY!!! This has been a longtime favored movie of mine. I employed to watch it all the time on TV as a kid, and I still love it now. As the title suggests, this 1964 sci-fi classic is the “Robinson Crusoe” story set on Mars, with the tale of one astronaut’s survival on an alien world. Like “2001,” “Forbidden Planet,” “The Day The Earth Stood Still” and “Solaris” (the primary “Solaris,” NOT the god-awful remake with George Clooney), “Robinson Crusoe On Mars” is an *intelligent* sci-fi movie. It’s well-written, beautifully shot, expertly directed by Byron Haskin, and acted rather strongly by a very effective trio of actors: Paul Mantee as the stranded astronaut, Victor Lundin as the alien whom our hero names Friday, and Adam West (of “Batman” fame) as a fellow astronaut (even though West’s role is fundamentally a cameo). And the movie also features THE most endearing little monkey in the history of cinema, Mona. I’m utterly delighted to see this sci-fi classic get the DVD treatment at last. And the fact that it’s being put out by Criterion is even better! (They likewise did a marvelous occupation with “Solaris” too, I ought to admit.) “Robinson Crusoe On Mars” is one of the sci-fi greats, a very particular movie that anyone, even non sci-fi fans, may enjoy. I can’t wait to get it!

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
5Finally!
By Kathy
Information on this disc straight from Criterion’s website

Special Features:

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer

- Audio commentary featuring screenwriter Ib Melchior, actors Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin, production architect Al Nozaki, Oscar-winning particular effects architect and Robinson Crusoe on Mars historian Robert Skotak, and excerpts from a 1979 audio consultation with conductor Byron Haskin

- Destination: Mars, a new video featurette by Michael Lennick detailing the science behind Robinson Crusoe on Mars

- Excerpts from Melchior’s basi screenplay

- New music video for Victor Lundin’s song “Robinson Crusoe on Mars”

- Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos, production designs, and promotional material

- Theatrical trailer

- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by filmmaker and space historian Michael Lennick, Melchior’s “Brief Yargorian Dictionary” of firstborn alien dialect, and a list of facts in regards to Mars from his original screenplay

The Transfer:

“Robinson Crusoe on Mars is staged in it is firstborn Techniscope aspect proportionality of 2.35:1. Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format. This new high-definition digital transfer was formulated on a Spirit 4K Datacine from the 35mm 2-perforation A/B interpositive struck from the introductory negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were got rid of using the MTI Digital Restoration System. To maintain optimal effigy quality through the compression process, the picture on this dual-layer DVD-9 was encoded at the highest-possible bit rate for the amount of material included.

The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from a 35mm magnetic full coat master three track, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on surround sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.”

I’m a little disappointed that it appears that Adam West wasn’t even interviewed for this release. But it’s good to have this one on DVD at long last.

When you think of all the crap Paramount has freed while this sat on the shelf….

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