Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Robinson Crusoe on Mars Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 15, 2015

Byron Haskin's "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc an original trailer for the film and new audio commentary with visual effects artist Robert Skotak. The release also arrives with a 28-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by author Paul McAuley and archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Red Planet

Commander Christopher 'Kit' Draper (Paul Mantee, A Man Called Dagger) and Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West, The Specialist) are orbiting Mars and collecting valuable data in their spaceship. A malfunction, however, forces them to eject -- and though both land on the surface, only Draper and his pet monkey, Mona, survive.

Draper immediately finds shelter in a small cave. While burning a few rocks to keep warm, he accidentally discovers how to generate enough oxygen to refill his almost empty tank.

Draper’s next challenge is finding water - which Mona solves when she leads him to a large underground aquifer. There, he also discovers an edible plant of some sort.

With the basic supplies needed for his survival secured, Draper begins exploring the area. Not too far away from his cave he stumbles upon the remains of an unknown creature, which he quickly determines was murdered. Puzzled and concerned about his safety, he attempts to dispatch a signal to his spaceship -- still orbiting around Mars -- to active a self-destruct mechanism.

A spaceship lands on Mars. Draper approaches it and sees a group of slaves working on a giant minefield. One of them (Victor Lundin, Promises! Promises!) escapes and meets him. Moments before the spaceship leaves, the minefield is destroyed and the rest of the slaves exterminated.

Back in the cave Draper names his new friend Friday and then proceeds to teach him how to speak his language. He also attempts to take off the big black bracelets Friday has on his wrists, both of which are sophisticated tracking devices allowing the aliens from the spaceship to monitor their slaves.

When Friday learns enough words to be able to communicate with Draper, he tells him about his home planet and the type of life he has been living. He also shows Draper his "air pills", which can produce oxygen directly into one’s lungs.

Eventually, the aliens return and destroy the cave. Draper and Friday are forced to go deep underground and enter a massive system of dangerous canals. They manage to pass through them and reach the polar icecap just before a giant meteor hits the surface. With the icebergs starting to melt and only a few "air-pills" left, Draper and Friday realize that they have very little time left to live.

Loosely based on Daniel Defoe’s novel, Byron Haskin’s Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a charming little film that entertains various fascinating speculations about the Red Planet and its resources. Though many of them now feel dated, in 1964, when the film was made, they were approached with a great dose of justified interest. For many years NASA’s scientists for instance pondered the same questions Draper does in the film.

Considering that at the time when the film was made there was very little unclassified footage available to give its creators a good idea what the conditions on the surface of the Red Planet might be, the detailed visuals and various theories introduced in it are indeed very impressive.

The film’s only weakness stems from Haskin’s decision to end it with a finale in which conventional themes about freedom, friendship and appreciation are hastily lumped together.

Note: From 1937 to 1945, Byron Haskin was head of the special effects department at Warner Bros., where he supervised such films as Michael Curtiz’s Gold Is Where You Find It (1938), Dodge City (1939), Essex and Elizabeth (1939) and The Sea Hawk 1940), as well as Anatole Litvak’s City for Conquest (1940) and Raoul Walsh’s Desperate Journey (1942). He is, however, best known for directing the classic The War of the Worlds (1953).

Robinson Crusoe on Mars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC an granted a 1080p transfer, Byron Haskin's Robinson Crusoe on Mars arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release has been sourced from the same master which Criterion accessed in 2011 when they prepared their Blu-ray release of Robinson Crusoe on Mars. The film really looks quite wonderful in high-definition. Clarity is very pleasing and depth vastly improved in comparison to previous DVD releases. Colors are lush and very well saturated. There are a few very small discolorations (typically visible as light pulsations), but they appear to be inherited. There are no traces of problematic degrainig and sharpening adjustments. Image stability is very good. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Robinson Crusoe on Mars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Clarity is very good. Van Cleave's score, which has an important role throughout the entire film, is also well rounded and vibrant. I think that depth could be slightly better, but the explosions and some of the audio effects that are used for the spaceships are impressive. The dialog is stable, clean, and always easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Robinson Crusoe on Mars. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, Oscar-winning Visual Effects artist Robert Skotak explains how he entered the film business, and discusses his first meeting with screenwriter Ib Melchior as well as his life and career in Denmark and the United States, the script of Robinson Crusoe on Mars, the funding of the film, the various dilemmas the main protagonist faces on Mars, some of the special effects that were used, etc. The commentary is moderated by Michael Felsher from Red Short Pictures.

• Booklet - 28-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by author Paul McAuley and archival imagery.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of the observations at the end feel quite dated now, but the film still has a tremendous atmosphere. To be honest, I find it a lot more enjoyable than the various flashy blockbusters from recent years that have tried to outdo each other with all sorts of different special effects. Eureka Entertainment's upcoming Blu-ray release of Robinson Crusoe on Mars is sourced from the same master which Criterion prepared and used in 2011 for their release of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.