This blog was begun last night but was not completed due to tiredness, so I am finishing it now. I will be back again this evening at my usual late-night hour :
(from 7/23/19) : Tonight I stayed in Sci-Fi mode with a Criterion release called "Robinson Crusoe On Mars" (1964). I'd heard of this flick a while back but it always flew under my radar. Perhaps the title sounded hokey, in the same way as a cheapie horror flick like "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein". Nothing like putting a historical or literary figure in a ridiculous context, as the makers of "Abraham Lincoln, Zombie Hunter" can attest. But about a week ago, "Crusoe" popped up as a recommendation somewhere, either on Amazon or the library's website, and when I saw that it was now released on the prestigious Criterion label, I figured I'd give it a try. I've been watching (and reading) a lot of sci-fi this summer and have wanted to keep the vibe going.
It turned out to be a pretty decent movie, much better than I expected. Paul Mantee stars as an astronaut aboard a "gravity probe" headed for Mars. The other astronaut on board is Adam West, who was soon to become "Batman" (and then you could've had "Batman on Mars"), but at any rate, they are holding steady in Mars orbit when they discover a giant meteor heading straight for them on a collision course.
So far the sci-fi quotient is looking good! Captain Adam West manages to avert a catastrophe, dodging the fireball, but in doing so he has maneuvered off course. Now the ship has been thrown out of orbit and is being pulled by Mars' gravity toward an eventual crash on the surface of the Red Planet. Astronauts Mantee and West have only one alternative - to eject into the hazy red Martian sky. They do so - Mantee going first.
He lands somewhere in the mountains of Mars (actually Death Valley), along with Mona the Monkey, the test animal brought along on the mission. The first thing Mantee must do is find shelter, which he locates in an underground cave. Once he is set up, he begins to recite into a tape recorder the catastrophic developments in the mission's directive. He also notes his limited supplies of food (in toothpaste tubes), air (in his oxygen tanks), and water in his canteen. And these he has to share with Mona. He calculates that he has 50 hours to live.
The next morning he sets out to find Adam West, who had ejected from the rocket a minute behind him. Crossing a barren landscape (reminiscent of scenes in "The Martian" with Matt Damon), he ends up discovering West's ejection capsule, but the result is not pretty. West is dead. Mantee is now alone on Mars, with only the company of Mona for companionship. However, she will come in quite handy as things progress.
The first hour of this film was reminiscent of "Cast Away" (with Tom Hanks), which is also, in part, a Robinson Crusoe story. The astronaut Paul Mantee needs to survive first and foremost, therefore much time is spent in his pursuit of air and water, with Mona providing assistance.
Finally she has helped him to find a food source as well (think seaweed), and now survival is no longer an imminent problem.
But Mantee is isolated, and as we saw in "Cast Away", isolation is the most grievous affliction of all. Tom Hanks had "Wilson" the volleyball to keep him company, and Paul Mantee has Mona, a real live monkey who is very smart. But he is still alone as a human being.
And this is what "Robinson Crusoe On Mars" is really about : isolation, the survival instinct, loneliness and the need for human companionship.
In the end credits, there is none for script or screenplay. It says only, "from a story by Daniel Defoe", which is of course the original "Robinson Crusoe" book.
I don't wanna give any spoilers as to what happens in the second half of the film, but I will say that this is when the sci-fi kicks back in, big time. Before that, it had been an adventure film more than science fiction - but now another character is introduced, one who is involved in an adversarial relationship with a Martian enemy. Suddenly, space ships arrive - many of them - and these animated scenes are a highlight of the film. They resemble Harryhausen effects, or maybe those of George Pal, but they look and sound great. My only complaint regarding the effects is that the same attack scene appears to be used multiples times, maybe due to budget limitations. Still, the production design looks great with it's red Martian sky and craggy landscape, and the swift, streamlined Alien attack ships.
One thing I really liked about "Robinson Crusoe On Mars" was it's human story. The script is very intelligent, and the one relationship that does develop is based on cooperation rather than conflict. There is empathy between the characters and also self-sacrifice.
Overall, there is still a feel of a kid's matinee for a Saturday afternoon, as in something like "The Adventures Of Sinbad", though the two films are unalike in every other way. But it has that "boy's adventure story" quality, and is shot in Technicolor which reinforces the effect, which sets the film apart from the more sinister, dread-inducing feel of the black and white sci-fi films from the classic 1950s era.
I will nevertheless give "Robinson Crusoe On Mars" Two Thumbs Up, because it looks good for the most part, has some awesome Flying Saucers, and a thoughtful, compassionate story.
See it for a different type of sci-fi experience. //////
Well, this is me again, cutting in this afternoon (Wednesday July 24, 2019) just to remind you that I'll be back again tonight as usual. Hopefully I won't fall asleep this time, haha. Did you watch the Mueller hearings? I saw part of the second one. Not sure much will come of it, but the committee got some good monosyllabic responses out of Robert Mueller. At least it was revealed that the FBI is still investigating Trump. Maybe they will go after him when he leaves office. Now wouldn't that be poetic justice?
Now I am gonna head back out into the blazing heat. Gotta go to Sprouts for watermelon and avocados. See you tonight at the usual time, have a great afternoon. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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