Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Martian Chronicles Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 12, 2018

“The Martian Chronicles” aired as a miniseries on NBC in 1980. It’s based on Ray Bradbury’s collection of short stories, which were published in 1950, with the producers electing to preserve the author’s sense of mystery and wonder without updating his science. It consists of three episodes, which contain what feels like 100 subplots all heading in opposite directions, making dramatic consistency impossible with this type of source material. However, screenwriter Richard Matheson certainly gives it a try, mashing Bradbury’s ideas into television movie structure, laboring to keep the author’s Big Ideas on the human experience while introducing a faint sense of narrative progression, which is immediately rejected. It’s an ambitious project, but “The Martian Chronicles” isn’t big on smooth transitions and dramatic swell, acting as a more of a sampler plate for Bradbury’s vision of the future.

“The Martian Chronicles” details NASA’s plan to land on Mars for colonization purposes, sending waves of expeditions to the Red Planet, with the first two tries ending in disaster. Rock Hudson is the lead of the miniseries, portraying a senior NASA official who takes the trip to assure success, encountering a civilization that’s existed for millennia, with the few that remain showing curiosity and hostility to the new arrivals. The show attempts to follow Hudson’s character from 1999-2006, tracking his efforts to create a replica of Earth on Mars to welcome arriving colonists, but “The Martian Chronicles” mostly sticks with various perspectives and discoveries made by man and Martian.

“The Martian Chronicles” tries to go big for network television, arranging space travel and planetary exploration, but it has trouble selling the illusion with subpar special effects. It takes some getting used to, but the production isn’t spending serious coin to bring Bradbury’s vision to life, often relying on cheap-looking models on visible strings to simulate rocket flight and landings, while Mars itself is basically a European beach and a few Martian sets, putting pressure on the cast to sell the stuffing out of technical limitations, while the script is often agonizingly obsessed with NASA procedure and Martian enigmas, trying to pad the work as often as possible. Matheson certainly succeeds at creating nearly five hours of television, but he’s not always interested in filling it with nail-biting or thought-provoking material.

The short story foundation of Bradbury’s work is preserved in “The Martian Chronicles.” The show generally does away with connective tissue, and while a few puzzle pieces connect as intended, Matheson mostly jumps around in time to examine human behavior as it’s tested by loneliness, loss, vanity, mortality, and doomsday. There’s strange continuity (Earth is destroyed at the end of the second episode, Hudson’s character visits a perfectly intact Earth at the start of the third episode) and a tenuous grasp on characterization, but the material aims to preserve Bradbury’s assessment of humanity, searching through science and religion, while the Martians also get some screen time to express themselves, though details concerning their history are surprisingly scarce.

Episodes:

“The Expeditions” (98:55)
After the launch of an unmanned probe in 1976 incorrectly determines that Mars is uninhabited, NASA begins to send astronauts to the Red Planet, with hopes of setting up a colonization effort, escaping growing problems on Earth. After a 1999 launch results in failure, a second vessel is sent into deep space in 2000, with its crew subjected to the power of Martian telepathy, resulting in death. Frustrated with another disastrous mission, Colonel John Wilder (Rock Hudson) and his fellow astronauts, including Major Jeff Spender (Bernie Casey) and Sam Parkhill (Darren McGavin), elect to take a trip to Mars themselves, only to discover recent evidence of life and a new threat to their lives, complicating the planned acquisition of the planet.

“The Settlers” (98:25)
It’s 2004, and Mars is beginning colonization, with Earth travelers turning the planet into a copy of their home, establishing First Town as the hub of human activity. While Wilder watches over the organization as the director of colonization, issues arise with the presence of a Martian who initially appears as the recently lost son of a two colonists, while beams of light in a mountainous region bring missionary Father Peregrine (Fritz Weaver) to his knees, believing he’s in the presence of God. While Wilder tries to sort through the rogue Martian business, trouble arises on Earth, which is on the brink of nuclear war, though such planetary destruction doesn’t phase Parkhill, who’s built a cowboy-themed diner, ready to serve the vast numbers of colonists on their way to Mars from Earth.

“The Martians” (97:48)
With Earth destroyed, Wilder returns to his home planet to search for family. Back on Mars, Benjamin Driscoll (Christopher Connelly) is the last man in First Town, dying for companionship. He finds a connection over the telephone to Genevieve Selsor (Bernadette Peters), traveling across the planet to meet with the woman, only to find a spoiled, selfish resident of New Texas City. For Peter Hathaway (Barry Morse), isolation is interrupted by a rocket streaking through the sky, exciting the man and his family, soon welcoming Wilder back to Mars but having trouble accepting his news about Earth. And Wilder manages a new beginning on the Red Planet with his own family, grasping what life on the planet is now going to mean to him and the future of humanity.

The Martian Chronicles Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation provides only a basic view of "The Martial Chronicles," delivering a passably clear view of production particulars, with HD bringing out all the seams of the special effects, identifying models and the wires holding them up, and shifting mattes attract attention. The viewing experience is still on the soft side, but detail is acceptable, delivering texture Martian environments and make-up work, and costumes maintain fibrous qualities, from the flowing robes of the locals to the rigidity of the NASA uniforms. Locations are comfortably dimensional, with the show using distances repeatedly. Color is acceptable, never explosive, with flatter hues found throughout. Livelier outfits show more presence, and skintones are natural. Gold Martian eyes sparkle. Delineation threatens solidification on occasion. Source isn't in bad shape, but many jumpy frames are noticeable, as are hair and debris.

The Martian Chronicles Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't extraordinary, working the limited scope of the TV movie production. Dialogue exchanges are clear, never disrupted by distortion issues once emotions and actions heats up. Martian conversations are softer, but remain intelligible. Scoring is secure, with funky disco rhythms and synth passages. Atmospherics are satisfactory, selling a feel for Martian mystery and travel. Hiss is detected, but not overwhelming.

The Martian Chronicles Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (5:11, HD) with James Faulkner is a very brief conversation about "The Martian Chronicles" with the actor, who portrayed a Martian. Faulkner goes into his motivation process when playing an alien, and the horror show of being fitted for contact lenses, which required a mold of his eyeballs. The thespian details a few of his performance choices, and dishes a bit on Rock Hudson, who would work on his embroidering between set-ups, and played bridge with Faulkner after the shooting day was completed.

The Martian Chronicles Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Martian Chronicles" gathers a professional, talented cast to sell the strangeness of the Martian colonization, which details a telepathic invasion and dashed dreams of rebirth. However, the cast is fighting the inertia of the show over the three episodes, trying to bring some life to scenes that, more often than not, lay flat instead of come alive. There are cheesy design achievements to enjoy, and Bradbury's admirers are sure to fine plenty here to savor, but the average viewer coming to "The Martian Chronicles" expecting a more potent examination of planetary discovery and alien connection might feel underwhelmed with the B-movie production strategy.