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Stars:
Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, James Franciscus, Gene Hackman, and
Lee Grant
Writer:
Mayo Simon
Based
On The Novel By: Martin Caidin
Director:
John Sturges
Feature
length: 129 minutes
Extras:
Trailers
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Japanese Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1969/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: G
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Sometimes
life imitates art just as much art imitates life. “Marooned” is sure to
remind viewers of Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13,” which itself was a
dramatization based on real life events. I am not certain, but I would guess
that Author Martin Caidin based his story on possible occurrences or at the very
least was inspired by the space program enough that he researched the great
risks and problems can occur with a manned space flight. Above the Earth, a
space capsule containing three astronauts, (Richard Crenna, James Franciscus,
Gene Hackman), is malfunctioning as the ship slowly begins to enter a decaying
orbit. As the astronauts struggle to cope with anxiety, claustrophobia, and a
diminishing air supply while waiting for a rescue, doubts below and above create
feelings of paranoia with the media spinning rumors of their own to a world
eager to learn their fate.
“Marooned”
is a bit long, but never the less quite interesting for those interested in the
space program and in late 1960’s science fiction drama. As far as DVD
transfers go, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment’s DVD edition looks pretty
darn good. In fact it looked a lot better than I was expecting it to with
detailed textures, solid colors, and no compression grain. Some scenes have a
few flecks here and there from the source print, but overall this is a good
transfer for a somewhat mediocre movie. “Marooned” is presented in an
anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio that presents the film on DVD as
close as possible to the way the film was theatrically exhibited for home video
viewers. The packaging states that the film features a Dolby Surround
Soundtrack. This is not the case. The film features a clear and full English
Stereo Soundtrack, but not a true surround soundtrack. English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Japanese Language
Subtitles are encoded onto the DVD as options.
There
are no extra features directly related to the feature. Bonus trailers for “20
Million Miles To Earth” (2:01), “The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad” (1:48),
“Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers” (2:17), and “First Men In The Moon”
(2:22) are included on this DVD, but no trailer for “Marooned.” On the
insert detailing the scene selections, whoever produced the artwork accidentally
placed a photo from “First Men In The Moon.” It is not a big deal, but I
thought I’d point it out anyway.
The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Marooned” will
debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline
on
Tuesday, August 18, 2003 from Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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