The Angry Red Planet
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Movie Reviews of The Angry Red Planet
Movie Review: The Angry Red Planet
Summary: 3 Stars
The 1960's would be a transition decade for science fiction films. The special effects and storylines would reach new heights in the 60's-The Time Machine, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Planet of the Apes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc.
Unfortunately, The Angry Red Planet is not a great film. The plot is thin; the female scientist is too hysterical to be believable and the special effects are not that good. One exception would be the freeze rifle that was a nifty touch.
I know that Cinemagic was supposed to be the revolution in special effects. Sorry, it wasn't. However, it deserved credit for attempting to elevate the art form.
I don't mind a film using futuristic drawings, etc, but when drawings are the primary special effects than a film loses its appeal. I remember when the Adventures of Superman premièred in the 50's, they actually showed Superman flying-no cartoon drawings like the movie serials.
Low budget takes on a new meaning in this film. I know that a number of people like this film, and it does have some moments.
However, those moments are not enough to carry 83 minutes. So, is it a bad science fiction film? No. There are many bad ones out there.
The reason that I bought it was that I watched it one Saturday afternoon in the 70's on television. I did remember the giant rodent and the sea monster plus the green Martian hiding behind rocks.
You would think that an advanced civilization which had been monitoring earth for centuries would be a bit friendlier to visitors. The Martians could have come up to the rocket ship and plainly stated - Go home. We don't want you on our planet.
Instead, the plot unfolds. The first and final message from the Martians is as hostile as anything that man could utter.
This may sound contradictory, but I don't regret my purchase. It is a nice addition to my science fiction DVD library.
Movie Review: The Slightly Disgruntled Red Planet
Summary: 3 Stars
Sid Pink and American International Pictures produced it. Ib Melchior wrote it. It had a cast of virtual unknowns, and a gimmicky new photographic process called "Cinemagic" that was nothing more than solarizing the film with a red lens. It had a Paul Blaisdell-designed three-eyed, antennaed Martian, man-eating plants, a giant rat-bat-spider-thingey and an enormous protoplasmic Martian sea-amoeba with eyes that roll in opposite directions. And it played at the drive-ins...in 1959.Come on! What's not to love?
This is easily one of the cheesiest movies ever made, and one of the most fun.
PLOT?! What are you, some kind of purist?
Okay, okay. The world's first quartet of astronauts to land on Mars - consisting of three older men and one knockout female redhead (it was 1959, remember?) - is overdue for return, and not answering our hails. The military brings it down by remote control, to find one astronaut missing, another dead, a third dying of some unknown alien gangrene, and the knockout redhead completely amnesiac. The mission tapes all appear to be wiped as clean as the redhead's mind. What happened? Only the redhead can tell them, who consents to undergo narcosynthesis to provide their answers. While on Mars, she and the other brave voyagers encountered all the various perils recounted in the first paragraph of this review - which we, the audience, get to relive in all the solarized red terror of...CINEMAGIC!!!
Oh! I forgot the best part! The end credit music abruptly turns the eerie electronic synthesizer theme into a 1950's jazz number! Ya gotta hear it, to disbelieve it!
Any questions? So, enjoy, already!
Movie Review: The Angry Red Planet is P.O.'d! Red Hot Space Adventure.
Summary: 3 Stars
The Air Force space agency finds and lands "by robotic control" a ship they had earlier sent to Mars but presumed lost.
Good story and a break from the usual space sci-fi formula. They find two survivors including the biology doctor, Iris and the captain, who has a growth on his arm that the medicos can't figure out how to kill.
In a desperate attempt to figure it all out, they have Iris recall what happened. The majority of the movie is her recall of what happened.
We have the goofy radio man, the strong captain, the wise professor and Iris who turns her toe and puts on perfume during the flight. Oh brother. There are some clearly dated and stereotypic characters.
The bright spot for me was the "cinemagic" technique of making super-saturated red color of the matte paintings that were the Martian surface. The bright orange was almost neon in effect and quite striking.
The glimpse of the Martian city with its tall spires was something out of the Jetsons.
No real space suits, a professor smoking a pipe on board the ship, and the funny space monsters made this an unintentionally funny voyage. The Rat-Bat-Spider thing, it is said, was the inspiration for the Cloverfield monster!
The final warning from Mars is basically stay off the planet because of your immature attitude and wanton destructive nature of your species. Gee, warn a guy, will ya?
Not a bad job for an American International film. You should rent it!
Movie Review: FANTASTIC 4 INSPIRATION NEEDS SOME COLORIZATION
Summary: 3 Stars
I don't have proof, but I believe this movie inspired Stan Lee and whoever else to create The Fantastic 4 comic book. Let's compare and contrast. First off there are four astronauts. Three men and one woman. Second the leader of the expedtion is played by Gerald Mohr who eventually went on to provide the voice of Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic in the original Hanna-Barbera Fantastic 4 cartoon series. Then there's the somewhat friendly low brow comic book reading character named Sammy. Probably the best live action portrayal of Ben Grimm with out even knowing there would be a Ben Grimm/Thing. The female which coincidentally happens to be the love interest of the First character is not exactly the Sue Storm/Invisible girl type, but she is a confident intelligent woman. The only real difference is the fourth person. Instead of the elderly doctor/ scientist they opted for a young teenager. Johnny Storm/Torch. I basically like the movie as a fun weekend rainy day film, but if anything was in need of some colorization it's the overly drab reddish brown tint used when outside on the surface of the planet. I can accept the intended glowy effect, but the creatures and main characters should have been given separate colors so it would make for a nice contrast and much more palatable for the eye. Who knows maybe Legend Films may see this review and attept the idea.Movie Review: This kind of reminds me of something you could see on Mystery Science Theater 3000
Summary: 3 Stars
It's cheaply enough made, but it's actually above average from what I expected. This was about a trip to Mars in which the rocket is 3 weeks late returning, and when they do return there's no recording of the experiences of the trip, and one returns with a green growth on his hand and arm. It's left to the memory of the female person on the trip to tell the story of thier experiences on Mars. The idea of using an unpainted, or undrawn background, and placed under a red light may have been sounding like a cutting of the corners, but it's made impressive with close-ups. The music by far was the best especially at the end. I don't know if Paul Dunlap has any albums out, but if he does I'll look into them. This is a assembly line written story, and cheap special photographic effects, but somehow it works, and works pretty well here. Not necessarily an Oscar movie, but it'll make for some interesting memories. I know I'll wonder if I have a nightmare about a Batratbabyspider tonight.