404 Robinson Crusoe on Mars

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Kwyjibo · #26 Post by **Kwyjibo** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:33 am

LOL! Very funny. I love that people think I deserve apologies, but, no worries all. I harbor no ill thoughts or feelings to the skeptics, after all, since Criterion is so prestigious, we want to all make sure the titles being mentioned actually WILL come out from Criterion. Anyway, I'm glad my news turned out to be true and I'm glad I'm now officially welcome on this board. I look forward to staying active in this group and trying to dig up more info for everyone.

Narshty · #27 Post by **Narshty** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:52 am

Jeff wrote:Before people start speculating about every Paramount title under the sun, keep in mind that RCoM was the only title they licensed to Criterion on laser, and that was done as a special favor. I'm betting the same thing happened here.

On the other hand, contacting Paramount and telling them how glad you are about their decision to licence Robinson Crusoe on Mars and hope they could do the same with other specialist back catalogue titles (Ace in the Hole, White Dog, Face to Face) might not be a bad idea at all.

(Unfortunately, Paramount's geriatric site is taking about 10 minutes per page to load at the moment, so I haven't got any feedback/email links just yet.)

TheRanchHand · #28 Post by **TheRanchHand** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:28 pm

I really hope they roll over the same extras from the LD as most of them were so great. The Haskin "commentary" was really informative.

#29 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:08 am

TheRanchHand wrote:I really hope they roll over the same extras from the LD as most of them were so great. The Haskin "commentary" was really informative.

The fact that Turell intends to blog about RCoM on Friday leads me to believe that it will be among the September releases, which should also be announced that day. Regarding laserdisc supplements being carried over, I found this lengthy email from the disc's producer on the otherwise-useless IMDb boards:

Thanks for writing to us with your questions about our forthcoming ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS DVD. Yes, forthcoming! The rumors are indeed true, and I'm happy to be producing this release. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to a couple of you who wrote some time ago, but -- as you'll discover in this e-mail -- the reason is because I didn't have complete answers for you til now.

A few of you asked if the copious supplemental material of the laserdisc will be presented on the DVD, and my answer is "yes and no," with a somewhat lengthy explanation.

On the LD, aside from the theatrical trailer and the terrific audio commentary (both of which will be included on the DVD, with the trailer being presented in a new 16x9 transfer), the supps were presented in the old standby of a stepped-through stills gallery format. For a viewer, this entails a great deal of time reading snippets of text off of the TV screen.

Ideally, I'd like to make all of the information and material included on that LD available again, but not in that (for lack of a better term) "laserdisc-y" mode. So other formats/options will come into play with the DVD release. We're currently at work on a way to present the excerpts from Ib Melchior's original screenplay that's more user-friendly. (Just FYI, the original LD had about 120 pages of Melchior's material to read on screen. That truly is a lot of text to read on one's television, and to blow out one's retinas.)

The other major text piece, Robert Skotak's history of ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, entitled "Retroview", will be made available on our website. I received permission from Mr. Skotak to present it in this fashion, and because a good amount of it is actually summarized by Skotak in his own contribution to the audio commentary, I didn't feel as if I would be robbing the DVD of content. This way, the text can be read and scrolled through on one's computer (granted, someone would still be reading off of a screen, but a scroll bar is considerably more user-friendly than snippets of text that must be stepped through one by one), and the supplement will still see the light of day.

The extensive stills that peppered both of these LD text supplements, along with the production sketches and promo art, will make their way onto the DVD with a certain degree of reformatting and reorganization. I can't say that every single one will make it onto the DVD, because I'd prefer not to include images that deviate from the film itself nor ones that simply present a shot from the film that can be seen if the viewer pressed "pause" while watching it.

In addition, there will be a couple of new surprises, and, most importantly, a truly gorgeous new anamorphic transfer that really does justice to Winton Hoch's terrific cinematography. I feel confident in saying that you've never seen RCoM look this stunning.

I hope this answered your questions (and added fuel to the fire of your interest in this disc). Thanks again for writing.

Best,
Curtis Tsui

CSM126 · #30 Post by **CSM126** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:37 am

The fact that Turell intends to blog about RCoM on Friday leads me to believe that it will be among the September releases

Spine 400? It was one of the late Saul Turell's favorites, no? Putting it in the apparently magnificent 400 spot might be a nice nod to the guy. And maybe his two documentaries (The Love Goddesses and The Great Chase) could be 401?

"September is Saul"? "Saul Good in September"?

#31 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:52 am

CSM126 wrote:Spine 400? It was one of the late Saul Turell's favorites, no? Putting it in the apparently magnificent 400 spot might be a nice nod to the guy. And maybe his two documentaries (The Love Goddesses and The Great Chase) could be 401?

I almost suggested that possibility in my post above, but decided against it for fear of setting off another bout of silly speculation. It's supposedly a favorite of Jonathan Turell too. Now that we've acknowledged that, let us never speak of centennial spine numbers again.

What A Disgrace · #32 Post by **What A Disgrace** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:45 pm

Just in time for my dad's birthday.

miless · #33 Post by **miless** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:16 pm

New music video for Victor Lundin's song "Robinson Crusoe on Mars"

I wonder what the music video is like?

Matango · #34 Post by **Matango** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:38 am

Is this the first time Criterion had released a DVD with fewer extras than the previous laserdisc?

unclehulot · #35 Post by **unclehulot** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:59 am

They should run the cool variant of the old Criterion logo start-up graphics that the LD had....even if it's after the new-styled logos!

#36 Post by **Jeff** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:02 am

Matango wrote:Is this the first time Criterion had released a DVD with fewer extras than the previous laserdisc?

What's missing?

Matango · #37 Post by **Matango** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:10 am

At first glance it looked like more was missing (early morning browse, no coffee), but apparently just Skotak's article on the history of the making of the film, which will be available online instead.

#38 Post by **Jeff** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:15 am

And of course there are two brand new supplements as well:

â€¢ Destination: Mars,Â

Matango · #39 Post by **Matango** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:18 am

That's right, kick a guy when he's down #-o
Although it's not listed on the laserdisc cover, there is a music video of sorts on the LD, but as I recall (my player is dead), it's over a montage of stills. Cool song though...Robinson Crooooosow on Maaaaaaaaars!

TheRanchHand · #40 Post by **TheRanchHand** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:14 pm

September can't come fast enough. What a cool flick.

I wonder if they will include the audio commentary on the trailer with the RCoM collector? Wasn't much if I remember just him talking about being a big fan (sold the LD awhile back so can't quite recall).

Great cover too.

Suzukifan · #41 Post by **Suzukifan** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:47 pm

This is a great selection and the crossover appeal of the film should make it a good seller.

I suppose you could call it a "feel good" film" stressing a lot of wholesome values but it does that very effectively and I think when compared to say Bunuel's cynical treatment of the Crusoe story this film holds its own.

Great selection.

miless · #42 Post by **miless** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:51 pm

Suzukifan wrote:I suppose you could call it a "feel good" film" stressing a lot of wholesome values but it does that very effectively and I think when compared to say Bunuel's cynical treatment of the Crusoe story this film holds its own.

but the cynicism is what makes BuÃ±uel's vision so lasting.

Suzukifan · #43 Post by **Suzukifan** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:03 pm

Yes, Bunuels is going to have a lot of staying power and he has to be attended.

In this case though he may just have been trumped and I think that goes to just how good this little sci-fi gem was.

stroszeck · #44 Post by **stroszeck** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:51 pm

what the hell was so cynical about Bunuel's version? I found it completely straightforward without any hint at all of bunuel's darker vision.

Suzukifan · #45 Post by **Suzukifan** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:47 pm

Bunuel still holds onto his belief that human nature is unchangeable and Crusoe primarily sees Friday as an inferior.

I call that cynical.

oldsheperd · #46 Post by **oldsheperd** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:27 am

Here's a link to a pretty sweet looking trailer.

Yellow oxygen rocks!!! Water!! Loneliness!!!

CSM126 · #47 Post by **CSM126** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:19 am

oldsheperd wrote:Here's a link to a pretty sweet looking trailer.

Yellow oxygen rocks!!! Water!! Loneliness!!!

FIRE SWAMPS
Sweet Jesus that's great.

monkeybrow · #48 Post by **monkeybrow** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:05 pm

oldsheperd wrote:Here's a link to a pretty sweet looking trailer.

Yellow oxygen rocks!!! Water!! Loneliness!!!

wow....

Steven H · #49 Post by **Steven H** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:45 pm

"The Holocaust of searing hell". I might have to break my "watch no film with a monkey" covenant (already broken last year for the Sellers Casino Royale.)

Jean-Luc Garbo · #50 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:02 pm

I never knew that Adam West was in this movie. I can now rest knowing that he is finally a part of the Criterion Collection.

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404 Robinson Crusoe on Mars