The Martian Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The Martian Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 20, 2016

Note: Fox provided only the 4K UHD version of this release, one which includes the two "standard" Blu-ray discs included in this particular release. I am assuming that the disc contents are identical, aside from packaging issues.

Just in case Mark Watney’s stay on the so-called Red Planet wasn’t quite interminable enough in The Martian, Fox has gone back to the drawing board (and/or launching pad) and is now offering this so-called “Extended Edition” of the acclaimed film. The fact is, none of the ten or so minutes added to this new version really provides anything overwhelmingly thrilling or meaningful, instead doling out a few more tidbits on Watney’s predicaments on Mars as well as the shenanigans taking place back at NASA. While the material added to the film may not amount to all that much, this new release does also provide some new supplemental material (detailed below), and for those who didn't pick up the first release, that fact may be the true selling point of this new version, especially since both the original Theatrical cut as well as the new Extended Cut are included on this release.

For my thoughts on the film (which equally pertain to this new version as well), please see our original The Martian Blu-ray review.

The Martian Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There is no discernable difference in the video presentation of this new version, with the added moments looking completely homogeneous with regard to the rest of the video presentation already assessed in our original The Martian Blu-ray review.

The Martian Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video, the audio on this release reproduces the excellence I detailed in our original The Martian Blu-ray review.

The Martian Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Theatrical (1080p; 2:21:37) and Extended (1080p; 2:31:20) Versions


• Audio Commentary with Ridley Scott, Drew Goddard and Andy Weir

Disc Two

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 4:26)


• The Long Way Home: Making The Martian (1080p; 1:19:21) is a fantastic in-depth piece that covers a ton of material, with some especially fun footage of SFX sequences being developed.


• Investigating Mars

  Dare Mighty Things: NASA's Journey to Mars (1080p; 14:47)

  The Journey to Mars 101 (1080p; 2:02:18) is another great piece that merges the film's fictionalizations with real life exploration, including some good comments from actual NASA folks.

  Ridley Scott Discusses NASA's Journey to Mars (1080p; 1:31)

• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 11:09) provides more than just the single trailer offered on the original release.

Additionally, all the supplements detailed in our original The Martian Blu-ray review are included, with the exception of Signal Acquired and Occupy Mars, which have now been made part of the longer The Long Way Home.

The Martian Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one "extended edition" where the actual extensions are no great shakes, but the additional supplementary material is really excellent, helping to boost this release's allure. Double dipping may not be an absolute imperative here, but the good news is for those who do choose to buy this again, there is copious new material here, even if the bulk of it is extracurricular, as it were. For those who didn't pick up the first release, getting this should be a no brainer, since both versions of the film are here, and aside from a couple of missing (as separate entities) supplements which are now subsumed within the bounteous new supplements, the bonus material is also fantastic. Technical merits are first rate, and this version of The Martian comes Highly recommended.