Astronauts have to fight their way to safety in the ill-fated Mars mission in Antony Hoffman’s troubled Red Planet, available in a new Arrow Video 4K UHD Limited Edition.
THE FILM:
Let’s state this out of the airlock: Antony Hoffamn’s Red Planet, from the fall of 2000, is not a great movie. But despite its obvious flaws, it’s an interesting one, one where you can see the better movie within that got lost along the way, flittering and floundering in and out of director Hoffman’s hands. It’s a cult curiosity, where you can see the something shining within the muck, draw that out to find enjoyment and appreciate the heart of the story: folks surviving a terrible situation, with a series of dangerous sequences, and clever ways out, a fun robot companion, some interested creatures, and it does look astounding due to highly credentialed cinematgoaphy by Peter Suschitzky of Empire Strikes Back and the best of the cults: Rocky Horor. It’s a much better film than its reputation, and if you’ve not seen it for that reason or vaguely remember it from 25 years ago, I implore you to check it out.
While the features get into it more, the troubleswe’re dealing with: What started as small “strugle to survive” of two people on the surface of the semi-terriformed Mars was approached by the sudio as a big blockbuster inflating into something else, much of the behind the camera crew leaving due to the studio interferences, director’s wishy-washy direction, and the troubles of those in front as Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore squabble as they do. Kilmer was at the end of his “I’m an asshole but I bring money” (narrator: it didn’t here, being the second Mars movie to bomb in 2000 after Brian DePalma’s Mission to Mars), and Tom Sizemore was never a fun person on set. The two, who make up the two men trying to get home, made filming hell for everyone.
In addition, Carrie Ann Moss, trying to figure her career out post The Matrix, does what she can, but is saddled with a thankless role of the one left in orbit, with little to do but provide exposition (with Blade Runner bad opening and closing voice over) and let the audience know what Earth is thinking. Terrance Stamp slums his way through, a little wasted in the small role. Also around are Benjamin Bratt and Simon Baker, but here’s the thing: there is so little character, it’s infuriating. We’re told in that bad voiceover the basic character traits, but none of it is seen in the film or matters.
But that’s enough negative, let’s look at what works. I can approach Red Planet by looking at the rest. I loved the little monsters in the plants. AMEE the robot is an impressive creation for her time, and how she is used in various ways, as her programming is screwed, she’s unpredictable, making her interesting. And I was genuinely concerned about how the astronauts were going to work their way back, even if it’s treated by the actors and directors in a ho-hum lack of tension. It’s a visual treat overall. Suschitzky’s shots set up a wondrous landscape. He turns the deserts of Jordan and Australia (near where the similarly plotted Pitch Black was filmed) of Earth into an otherworldly spectacle. As seen in the special features, a hell of a lot of work went into making it look great and providing awesome special effects. And they do work, mostly. The fire in the spaceship is awkward, but to be fair, CG fire is always off-putting, especially in the earlier rough edges of figuring out the computer effects process.
For as much as they bickered off-screen and lacked character notes, Kilmer and Sizemore both do well. Kilmer was always a charismatic actor, and his star power was undeniable. Props to editors Robert K. Lambert and Dallas Puett for making Sizemore and Kilmer flow together, especially a they were often filmed separately, with effects coordinators splicing them together as well. You’d never know.
It’s interesting looking back at the details of it: a science crew stranded on Mars has to get back to the ship before it’s too late. I can’t help but think of The Martian, both Andy Weir’s wholly engaging book and Ridley Scott’s edge-of-your-seat adaptation took the concept and made it work on gangbusters, by keeping it the smaller heart in the big body, “science the shit out of it” true from start to finish.
Red Planet is a little oddity; it’s not a bright, shining flick, but despite the production issues hampering the overall film, there’s something noteworthy within. Too bad X quit directing features after Red Planet was a one-and-done, I’d be interested in seeing what he could do without troubles.
The Disc:
The Arrow LE is a single disc of 4k UHD in a hard shell and outer box. The internal sleeve has reversible artwork: the original poster and a new art by Matt Griffin. It also contains a booklet with essays. I have not read it. This edition is limited to 3000 copies. This release does not have a Blu-ray option.
Video: The 4k transfer looks great, using the sci-fi spectacle to great effect. Some of the effects, especially AMEE, do look composited in, but as it’s been 25 years since I’ve seen the movie, I can’t say if that’s how it looked then as well (guessing so).
Audio: The audio track is only in English, with lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 as the only option. Subtitles are English only.
Special Features
While a smaller collection of features than normal for Arrow, the little over an hour we do have is so fascinating and perhaps better than the film itself. It’s a great collection in does make me reflect on the film and see it in a slightly different way; enough that I was tempted to rewatch the flick. They are presented in English with no subtitles. All but the deleted scenes and trailer are new to this release.
There is no commentary, but I’m not surprised; the folks below covered what they needed in their interviews, director Antony Hoffman made just this movie, soured after the experience, and went back to commercials. The writers Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin had everything rewritten over time, and the two lead roles were filled by actors who have since passed. But the features below do more than enough to fill in for it.
“Martian Chronicles” Interview with visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A Okun.
Fascinating and honest. Okun is a great interview subject, and freely discusses falling into his job backwards, the myriad of times they asked him to work on the film (28 times before he said yes), trying to fix what he can, and the troubles of it all. Forthright but not slamming the movie, I loved his reflection on filmmaking and even title designs. I rather liked his point of view and how he came to it. (22m)
“Suiting Up”: Interview with helmet and suit designer Steve Johnson.
Like Okun, Johnson has had a bunch of jobs in around film industry, as a make-up artist and monster sculptor for films like Ghostbusters, Big Trouble in Little China, and Fright Night (look at his IMDb and you’ll see credits for so many things you’ve loved). He talks of running his own company/unit and ultimately working on Red Planet, mostly as a space suit and helmet designer (as the title suggests). Like Okun, he’s open about the issues of the production. I side-eye how much he’s leaning into AI. Sigh. (11m)
“Angry Red Planet”: a visual essay by Heath Holland – 19m
A nice overview of the culture of Mars on film, and the late 90s renewed interest in Mars that led to the film, along with the shift in the genre post-2000. Also, a solid look at the film itself, distilling a whole commentary worth of topics into a short period. I could probably listen to him speak throughout the full film.
Deleted Scenes
Fourteen minutes of cut bits, mostly little bits cut from existing scenes. Glad to see the first half heavily feature Terrance Stamp, as he’s a bit lacking in the film itself. As these are ported without updating, they are fuzzy, dark, and faded, but it’s okay.
A Trailer for Red Planet is also included.
Red Planet is a messy film that doesn’t quite accomplish its goals for various reasons, but it’s not bad, nowhere near its reputation from being in the orbit of the other Mars movie of 2000. Give it a look, or a revisit, if it interests you. The assortment of features gives a nice new look at the film and all that led to the product it is.
A solid 4k UHD release from Arrow, due for release on November 18th.