Robinson Crusoe on Mars [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Byron Haskin

Overview

This film is an adaption of Daniel Defoe's classic tale of a sailor stranded on a deserted island. In this version, Crusoe is an astronaut who crash-lands on the seemingly-abandoned planet of Mars. Soon, he meets Friday, who is an alien slave who recently escaped from his captors.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/11/2011
UPC:	0715515067416
Original Release:	1964
Source:	Criterion
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:50:00
Sales rank:	9,474

Special Features

Audio commentary featuring screenwriter Ib Melchior, actors Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin, production designer Al Nozaki, oscar-winning special effects designer and Robinson Crusoe On Mars historian Robert Skotak, and excerpts from a 1979 audio interview with director Byron Haskin; Destination: Mars, video featurette by filmmaker and space historian Michael Lennick detailing the science and dreams behind the film; Music video for Lundin's song "Robindon Crusoe On Mars"; Stills gallery; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Paul Mantee	Cmdr. Christopher 'Kit' Draper
Vic Lundin	Friday
Adam West	Col. Dan McReady
Vic Lunden	Actor
Nathan VanCleave	Composer
Fred Steiner	Composer

Technical Credits

Ib Melchior

John Higgins

Lawrence Butler	Special Effects
Aubrey Schenck	Producer
Aubrey Schenk	Producer
Ib Melchior	Screenwriter
John Higgins	Screenwriter
John Wilkinson	Sound/Sound Designer
Harold Lewis	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Although its title suggests that this is a film to avoid, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is actually surprisingly good. Although a considerable financial failure at the time (despite general critical approval), Crusoe has gained quite a cult reputation over the years and is deservedly beloved by science fiction aficionados. Remarkably faithful in spirit to the Daniel Defoe novel, Crusoe benefits from an intelligent screenplay that celebrates the human spirit and its resilience without becoming arch or preachy. It also tells an exciting story, with carefully drawn characters (even when one of those characters talks very little). Director Byron Haskin does an excellent job of conveying the loneliness, isolation, and desperation that the Robinson Crusoe character (actually one Commander Chris Draper), feels, as well as the pride and pleasure at his accomplishments in surviving. Haskin also sensitively handles the relationship between Commander Draper and runaway slave Friday, so that it develops into a friendship rather than a master-servant arrangement. Winton Hoch's excellent cinematography is a decided plus, giving a low budget film a very believable look and making Death Valley resemble a very credible Mars. And Paul Mantee turns in very solid work as Crusoe, anchoring the film in a crucial way. A delightful and uplifting film, Robinson Crusoe on Mars deserves a much wider audience.