Mars in the Movies

Films about the red planet Mars have been a science-fiction-movie staple for more than a century. Ridley Scott's 2015 smash hit The Martian, based on Andy Weir's bestselling science-techno-thriller of the same name, proves conclusively that Mars is still a potent symbol that touches the film-going p [...]
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Films about the red planet Mars have been a science-fiction-movie staple for more than a century. Ridley Scott's 2015 smash hit The Martian, based on Andy Weir's bestselling science-techno-thriller of the same name, proves conclusively that Mars is still a potent symbol that touches the film-going public worldwide. Nevertheless, there hasn't before been an entire book devoted to the sub-genre of Mars movies. Beginning with Thomas A. Edison's 1910 clever 5-minute short A Trip to Mars, this all-encompassing volume describes the 90 subsequent significant and not-so-significant theatrical films, TV movies, TV miniseries, and straight-to-video productions that focus on the red planet. The book is arranged into descriptive categories, including "Silent Films," "Serials," "Voyages to Mars," and "Invasions from Mars," among others, then lists the films chronologically within these categories to shed some light on the evolution of special effects and cinematic approaches from film to film. For most of the films, the author provides basic cast, crew, and production information, short dramatically opposing quotations from critics who hate the film and those who love it, and a plot summary.He then often provides some historical perspective, while sharing his personal connections with some of the films. In the course of describing these movies specifically as Mars movies and not as science-fiction movies, per se, he sometimes voices views different from most other commentators, while shedding light on some of the more important personalities who contributed to these films, among them producer/director George Pal, writer/director Ib Melchior, and composer Nathan Van Cleave.