6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A group of astronaut explorers succumb one by one to a mysterious and terrifying force while collecting specimens on Mars.
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai, Goran Kostic, Johnny Harris (II)Thriller | 100% |
Horror | 94% |
Sci-Fi | 90% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Director Ruairí Robinson's debut feature, The Last Days on Mars, is a character drama disguised as science fiction. An animator whose 2001 short, Fifty Percent Grey, was nominated for an Oscar, Robinson was attracted to the script by Clive Dawson (based on a short story by British author Sidney J. Bounds) precisely because it was not about the wonders and mysteries of exploring outer space. It was about a weary group of scientists and technicians who have been away from home and family for a very long time and for whom the marvels of the Martian landscape long ago became a matter of routine. Like the crew of the Nostromo in Alien, all they want to do is get home. It's hard for current viewers to appreciate, but thirty-five years ago Ridley Scott took the unusual step of casting Alien with serious actors who were either unknown (Sigourney Weaver) or had no association with sci-fi or creature features (John Hurt, Ian Holm and Tom Skerritt). The result was a dramatic intensity that allowed Scott to get away with allowing almost no screen time for his titular villain. (Seriously: Go back and count the number of seconds that the alien is on screen in the original film. Most of what you see is the cast reacting to it.) Robinson took the same approach, except that his story didn't have a villain comparable to the fearsome predator designed by H.R. Giger. The expedition in Robinson's film does find something hazardous, but the real dangers come from within. The key lies in the title's phrase "last days". Everyone is weary; most are disappointed that the mission hasn't produced better results; a few are still trying to make a name for themselves; and most have grown lax about safety procedures. Judgmental viewers might think to themselves, "Well, I wouldn't make that mistake", but who can say for sure?
Shot on film by cinematographer Robbie Ryan (Philomena), The Last Days on Mars has been heavily processed in post-production both to integrate the visual effects (broken down in the extras) and to supply the various red tints of the Martian environment. Magnolia Home Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced from digital files, and it has the clean, detailed appearance one typically sees in Blu-ray images taken directly from a digital intermediate. The minutia of the production design, some of it practical and some created digitally, are clearly visible when light levels allow; in dark scenes, either during the planetary night or indoors when the power fails, the blacks are stable, so that the viewer sees only what is supposed to be seen from a flashlight or emergency beacon. The color palette for the interiors of Tantalus base is full of cool blues, grays and white, which establish the appropriate contrast with the reds of Mars. By design, however, the Mars of this film is not overly red. Robinson deliberately did not want the supersaturated redness of a film like Total Recall. Despite the somewhat low average bitrate of 22.00 Mbps, compression artifacts were not an issue. The only visual anomaly was some occasional light banding at scene transitions.
The film's lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track complements the film's visuals in a carefully modulated design that shifts between objective and subjective points of view. Vincent's nightmarish visions induced by stress provide some of the most intense sonic moments, which recede into the background as Vincent regains control. Various real events of similar violence and intensity—I cannot be more specific without spoilers—erupt with similar force and impact, although individual sounds are often deliberately obscure, because the crew frequently can't tell what is happening. Dialogue is always clear and generally centered, whether it is spoken in open air or over radio transmitters in space helmets. The score by Max Richter (Waltz with Bashir) is particularly distinctive because of its deliberate tempo and melancholy tone.
Because I'm a fan of well-crafted drama, I enjoyed The Last Days on Mars for what it is. Hardcore sci-fi fans are likely to be disappointed, especially if they expect a trip to Mars to yield new adventures in outer space, because what Robinson shows them are familiar human weaknesses intensified by a perilous environment. The creature feature crowd will be seriously disappointed, because what the crew of Tantalus discovers isn't that interesting in itself. It's how the crew handles it (or, more accurately, fails to do so) that makes the story worthwhile. Depending on where you fit on that spectrum of viewers, the film is recommended or not. The Blu-ray itself is certainly worthwhile.
2009
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40th Anniversary Edition
1979
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1997
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1986
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1986
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1985
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