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Stars:
Rock Hudson, Gayle Hunnicutt, Bernie Casey, Roddy McDowall, Darren McGavin,
Bernadette Peters, Maria Schell, Joyce Van Patten, and Fritz Weaver
Writer:
Richard Matheson
Based
On The Novel By: Ray Bradbury
Director:
Michael Anderson
Executive
Producers: Charles Fries and Dick Berg
Feature
length: 4 hours and 53 minutes
Languages:
English Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 16 Per Episode
Sound:
Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1979/DVD Release: 2004
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Ray
Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” is actually an anthology of stories
that Bradbury published early in his career and later put together to become one
of his most acclaimed books. I read “The Martian Chronicles” in college and
I think it is easily one of the best sci-fi books I have ever read. My personal
favorite science fiction writer is still Isaac Asimov. The man was simply
brilliant, but Bradbury has done a lot to broaden the fantasy genre in general
and in the process he has encouraged people to read and have an open mind and as
far as I am concerned if an Author can use fantastic fiction to make people of
all ages discover or rediscover books and enhance their lives and the lives of
others then more power to them.
Like the book that inspired it, “Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles” television miniseries was a series of poignant interconnected stories held together through the odyssey of Col. John Wilder (Rock Hudson) whose encounters range from the heartbreaking to the profound as humanity’s first contact with an extraterrestrial species leads ultimately to both tragedy and a new hope for both species to live on in harmony with nature on Mars. Director Michael Anderson did a pretty good job presenting the stories considering the budget limitations that hamper the miniature effects shots and much of the makeup effects as well. What elevates the miniseries above these shortcomings is Richard Matheson’s screenplay and some of the supporting character roles that include Bernie Casey, Roddy McDowall, Darren McGavin, Bernadette Peters, and Fritz Weaver. Many of these Actors were still considered movie stars and say what you want about Rock Hudson, but it was a big deal back in 1979 to have him in something like this. Hudson was a far better Actor than I think people have given him credit for. Rent out John Frankenheimer’s “Seconds” on DVD or VHS and I think you will agree that he delivered one of his best big screen performances ever in that film. The presentation of some of the short stories has been rearranged for television, but the feeling of the book remains intact. The manner in which the enigmatic Martians appear differs slightly from the way they were described in the book and one of early expeditions that ends up with the Astronauts being placed in a Martian insane asylum does not appear in the miniseries however that story was produced as a part of “Ray Bradbury Theater” in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In fact several of these stories produced for “Ray Bradbury Theater” were released on VHS under the title “Ray Bradbury’s Chronicles: The Martian Episodes” with dramatizations of “Mars Is Heaven,” “The Martian,” “The Concrete Mixer,” “And The Moon Still Be Bright,” and “The Earthmen.” In many ways these are superior adaptations to the miniseries. Hopefully those will appear on DVD soon as a companion to this DVD release.
Divided
into three parts entitled “The Expeditions” (98:08), “The Settlers”
(97:44), and “The Martians” (97:03) with each segment getting it’s own
single layered side complete with a recap and preview for each episode when
appropriate across two DVD-10 discs. There are supposed to be an additional 20
minutes that were not broadcast back in 1979 in this DVD presentation, but I did
not notice anything that I did not recall seeing in previous home video releases
so I am not to sure about that. Cinram Digital Media Services did a pretty good
mastering “Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles,” which is presented in
the original (1.33:1) aspect ratio of their original television broadcast with a
clear English Two-Channel Monaural Soundtrack along with English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language
Subtitles encoded onto both discs as options. The picture quality is not
perfect. Some scenes have some video noise from the original sources and at
times the clarity does reveal the low budget effects to the detriment of the
show as a whole. Yet in my opinion this still the best home video presentation
of “Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles” I have seen and for a suggested
retail that is less than $20 dollars I think it’s a good deal.
Unfortunately
there are no extra value materials related to the miniseries included in the
set, which is a shame. The menus on both discs are standard interactive still
frames and all are easy to navigate. “Ray Bradbury’s The Martian
Chronicles” will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, September 7, 2004 at retailers
on and offline from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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