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skuhn8 wrote:I love this film... but mostly because it blew me away as a kid and I still think it holds up pretty well. But how anyone would 'exalt' RCoM is beyond me. Any specific names you could mention?

Around Janus generally, and it was former president Saul Turrell's favorite film of all time. The release itself is dedicated to him.

I can see where a person would fall in love with this film. I personally REALLY like it for personal reasons but would not assume other people would be as enchanted with it as I was. It has "mood" and certainly touches that "Manly" fantasy of surviving on their own and where more fun than Mars!

Just as there are countless fans of the genre of 50s and 60s sci fi films, there are going to be fans of this.

RCOM is a movie that doesn't have to be pulled apart and examined in order to be enjoyed. It's a simple pleasure.

Matango wrote:RCOM is a movie that doesn't have to be pulled apart and examined in order to be enjoyed. It's a simple pleasure.

Well then I guess it's time to just lock the thread. Maybe we need a list of such films so we don't fuck up & accidentally trip and fall into Friendly Discussion in Prohibited Areas.

First off, this isn't Schreck's long-awaited gushing 'love-it-to-death-changed-my-life-post'! In fact this is a bit of a ramble, so apologies to all those who bother to continue reading.

While watching this I liked it just fine in terms of it being a sci-fi riff on the Crusoe story. What has surprised me is how it has stayed with me in the days since I watched it.

There is something about the scenario of being stranded in such a remote location that gives its protagonist an extra edge of despair and desperation that Defoe's original never had. Maybe its because his chances of being rescued seem so remote while the hostile location means the very basics that we take for granted such as air and water are at first denied Draper.

Even when Draper finds the monkey and then his 'Friday' his joy at finding companionship is tempered by his inability to have any meaningful interactions with them (like previous posters I found his arrogance in blaming Friday for the language barrier fantastic ). In fact the whole film is so chock full of highs and crushing lows that the end seems like a mirage or illusion. I half-expected the rescue ship to be blown out of the sky by the alien slave ships.

Like I said earlier the film has stuck in my mind, it has a strange unnerving quality, but I can't quite put my finger on why.

Nice piece on the evolution of this release's artwork at Eric Skillman's blog:




....etc etc etc

That was very cool. I love this movie and I love to see what goes into the art of cover design. Thanks for linking it.

This DVD is a reminder to me that I shouldn't go around buying totally unfamiliar films just because the description makes them sound really good. Like Schreck, I don't get any really profound meditations on isolation within this film, and I can't believe it would be anyone's favorite, let alone Saul Turrell's.
I was able to take Draper's plight reasonably seriously until about the point when he's shown skipping across the Martian landscape playing "Dixie" on his home-made bagpipes. Maybe if the character had been Scottish or something it might have made just a little more sense. The film seems to fall through the gap between being either an effective comedy or an introspective film with something to say about survival and loneliness, and it ends up as neither.

One thing about it I found extremely funny, however, was that the actor who played Friday uttered words of Mayan derivation as his Martian tongue. I know a couple of people in Guatemala who would be on the floor laughing if I could show them this film. The best line here is when Friday says that his word for Mars is "Huehuetenango," which is a bustling little town in the Guatemalan highlands. I can only imagine seeing a sci-fi film made in, say, Japan and starring a vaguely American-looking actor as a Martian who says that his people's word for the planet is "Pittsburgh."

=D>

I agree, this film contains an awful lot of rampant silliness for anyone to get excited over (at least beyond about a hundred other skillfully done 50's-60's B pics sitting on my wall unit... for which I paid around 8 to 15 bucks).

I'm realllllly surprised there aren't more snickers here, but hey-- vaddaya-gunna-do?

Gregory wrote:This DVD is a reminder to me that I shouldn't go around buying totally unfamiliar films just because the description makes them sound really good. Like Schreck, I don't get any really profound meditations on isolation within this film, and I can't believe it would be anyone's favorite, let alone Saul Turrell's.
I was able to take Draper's plight reasonably seriously until about the point when he's shown skipping across the Martian landscape playing "Dixie" on his home-made bagpipes. Maybe if the character had been Scottish or something it might have made just a little more sense. The film seems to fall through the gap between being either an effective comedy or an introspective film with something to say about survival and loneliness, and it ends up as neither.

One thing about it I found extremely funny, however, was that the actor who played Friday uttered words of Mayan derivation as his Martian tongue. I know a couple of people in Guatemala who would be on the floor laughing if I could show them this film. The best line here is when Friday says that his word for Mars is "Huehuetenango," which is a bustling little town in the Guatemalan highlands. I can only imagine seeing a sci-fi film made in, say, Japan and starring a vaguely American-looking actor as a Martian who says that his people's word for the planet is "Pittsburgh."

I'm thinking that little town in Guatamala with the big name was the intial contact point for Martians and humans, whereupon the former began to rut with the latter and create those insanely hot but tempermental women in Cali, Columbia. Just some thoughts. I don't recall it being pointed out in the commentary though.

Vic Lundin did mention the Mayan stuff in the commentary, though.

Napoleon wrote:In fact the whole film is so chock full of highs and crushing lows that the end seems like a mirage or illusion. I half-expected the rescue ship to be blown out of the sky by the alien slave ships.

I want to side with you on this, but the film simply doesn't seem to be aware of its own drama-- the astronaut walks around with perfect posture as if he's still eating the same meals he was on earth-- that good old American can-do attitude would take a hit if he was living on less than adequate oxygen and martian turnips for months. I only bring this up because the film would have been more satisfying had the main character not been so humble about his circumstances, or they not been resolved in such a predictable rhythm; at the end of the film it's as if instead I only witnessed an unpleasant camping trip. But I'm glad others can see it differently.

I keep reading horrible things about this film. I blind bought the film because of my love for classic sci-fi and because interest sparked in me when I first read about this about four years ago.

I'd like to defend it by stating it is one of the most intimate films I have ever seen and is a PERFECT study and meditation of desolation. The creation of an "American home on a planet so far away" hit me strongly, I had never seen this accomplished in a film so flawlessly and so beautifully. The first thing anyone would try to do when stranded in a new place unfamiliar to them would be trying to make it more reminiscent of their comfort zone or something they are familiar with.

He tried to adapt and every tiny little thing he did to help him survive like (SPOILER) finding oxygen in the rocks (SPOILER END) felt like a giant leap.

(SPOILER)
The evolution of "pet" to humanoid character with Mona was genius as well. I know for a fact anyone watching the film did NOT want anything to happen to the monkey, but not because they don't want to see a poor animal die, but because the film would become even more frightening with one less member. So the film evoked fear and stress without even a death of a very-familiar character.
(SPOILER END)

Look past the "B movie" similarities and see it for the gold it really is. The examples I listed are only a few. Haskin made a FANTASTIC film that evokes so much emotion from the audience. Haskin puts you right in the film and makes you feel like you are lost on that planet with them, although as some kind of ghost watching them, and on top of everything you can't do anything to help them.

Matango wrote:

TheRanchHand wrote:I bet this trailer came off the laserdisc. If I remember right, they had a second audio commentary over the trailer with RCOM #1 fan. Or maybe it was the RCOM theme song by Johnny Cymbal. Either way, hope they include all that notalgic goodness on the DVD.

The theme tune hasn't carried over from the laserdisc.

There are two alternate audio tracks featured on the trailer - the first is the interview with the memorabilia fan, the second is the mind-boggling theme tune (different from the new Victor Lundin one that Criterion blessed with a music video, though which is more diabolical is hard to say). I'm glad Criterion had the good sense to hold onto these tiny artifacts.

i'm really surprised at how little attention is given here to how fucking PRETTY this movie is. the color is just fucking awesome. it blew me away as a kid, and I just smile watching it today. the landscapes are awesome, Friday is the perfect Star Trek guest star before star trek existed, and as the short doc explores, it offers a fascinating look at our own meditations on what exactly was going on up there on that mysterious red planet.

I think the last point gets closest to what herrshreck so desperately wanted someone to voice: What makes this movie so fucking cool is its relation to the space program and our fascination with other worlds, especially the one closest to us. In many ways the movies is itself a document of history in how it reflects what we thought we knew about the planet and the possibilities of sustaining human life. To give credence to that idea in such a fabulous technicolor form as Robinson Crusoe does was an utterly captivating accomplishment. Throw in some not fully understood alien ships and we maintain an aura of danger and mystique while making the real dream a reality: Life On Mars.

Apparently Criterion released this film at some point on DVD, because it is now receiving a Blu upgrade.

swo17 wrote:Apparently Criterion released this film at some point on DVD, because it is now receiving a Blu upgrade.

LOL My first reaction: "Who exactly was asking for this on Blu-ray?"

Yeah this was definitely released before and I owned both the LD and the DVD. This is awesome news!

I always find it interesting the way some people question a release of a film on this label. I would love to see what they think should be given a bluray treatment and what "shouldn't". I can just imagine the powers that be at CC going "we only sold 50 copies of Crusoe, so let's release it on Blu!!"

Somebody is asking for aside from me and I imagine it is a lot. Have to say, I imagine this is going to look better in Blu than say even Breathless (which does nothing for me BTW, but understand why they released it on Blu).

I wasn't questioning the release of this film by Criterion. I was questioning whether it even exists in the first place.

I was questioning whether it deserved to exist and am actually suggesting, sight unseen, that all existent copies of the film be destroyed

domino harvey wrote:

swo17 wrote:Apparently Criterion released this film at some point on DVD, because it is now receiving a Blu upgrade.

LOL My first reaction: "Who exactly was asking for this on Blu-ray?"

It looks lovely on DVD, even if the film might not be a traditional classic, the Blu-ray is going to look fantastic.

I'd say it's an obscure equivalent to Fantastic Planet, which makes it more than deserving of some respect. For people looking for great pre-exploration Sci-fi I can't imagine much better. Should look gorgeous on blu too (sadly I don't have the money for pre-order).

part of me wants to run out and sell my DVD...part of me wonders just how much of an upgrade it will be over an upconverted DVD. it already looks amazing. This is one I just don't fully get the upgrade when so many older titles are in desperate need of one are hanging their in the wings. Same goes for Army of Shadows for that matter. They simply did such an amazing job with the DVD, this feels like overkill. And I have most of their blu-rays, so I'm not one of those philistines who claim they can't see the difference.