A PEEK AT THE ANGRY RED PLANET (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

For anyone who had the pretty awful DVD in the wrong ratio, you are in for a big ol' treat. I thought I'd just be happy to have it in 1.85 no matter what, but this new transfer is something else again. I really doubt this looked this good back in 1959 when I saw it on my twelfth birthday. The color is absolute perfection. It's sharp (save for the opticals, of course, before someone denigrates those shots), and the Cinemagic stuff looks quite good considering how quite weird the process was and is (there's a Wikipedia entry on Cinemagic that explains what it is). Stanley Cortez, the cameraman who gave us The Magnificent Ambersons, The Night of the Hunter, The Three Faces of Eve, and almost Chinatown, not to mention Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss (and one of the greatest hours of television ever produced - An Unlocked Window on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), shot this movie, although he's completely undone by Ib Melchior, the director, who wouldn't know an interesting set up if it hit him in the face and who apparently got no help from Mr. Cortez. The Mars stuff is certainly interesting and looks really good in this transfer, but it's just a wacky, low-budget gimmick that grows tiresome after a few minutes.

The script is pretty bad, although very amusing in its badness at times (I borrowed from this film a couple of times for The Creature Wasn't Nice) - the cast gives it what they've got - I've always enjoyed Gerald Mohr, kind of a poor man's Humphrey Bogart - he never really got to A roles, and did lots of television ultimately. He died very young, 54, after his last film appearance, in Funny Girl. Nora Hayden is kind of a stick but pretty in a late 1950s way - she just passed away four years ago, in her 80s. I've always enjoyed Les Tremayne and also like Jack Kruschen.

There's a huge nostalgia factor for fans of Grade-Z sci-fi and this film certainly delivers on it. I'm a fan of any movie that's shot in ten days for $200,000. But the transfer is, IMO, a wowzer.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I concur - I watched it the other night and was bowled over by how good it looked. Even the Cinemagic stuff sort of worked.

 

[Flashgear]

Very happy to hear that the new Blu is excellent...I'm still waiting for my copy...I too have an appreciation for Gerald Mohr...his many appearances on 1950s-early '60s WB shows, especially MAVERICK, where he played Doc Holliday twice, come to mind...on those shows he seemed to delight in playing menacing characters with a sarcastic comedic edge...good to know about the Cortez cinematography connection to the ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR final season episode 'An Unlocked Window', I have the R2 Fabulous Films DVD sets to complete my AHP/AHH collection...I think I'll watch that episode in the meantime...two other favorite players in that one...Dana Wynter and Louise Latham.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Thanks for the review. As a big fan of 50's sci-fi I shall upgrade my DVD.

 

[Rodney]

Put me down as another Gerald Mohr fan. I know him more as a radio actor. What a great voice he had.

 

[Richard V]

I personally think ARP is a laugh riot, and was not going to purchase this, but after so many positive reviews, I think I will change my mind. BTW, I too am a Gerald Mohr fan, and I think the description of "a poor man's Humphrey Bogart" is perfect.

 

[RolandL]

Comparison of Blu-ray to DVD. Correct AR and more picture info on the sides.

DVD

Blu-ray

 

[BobO'Link]

I was on the fence with this one until I pulled out my original Midnight Movies DVD (I couldn't find my newer "Movies 4 You" release to see if it's the same transfer) and gave the first 30 minutes a viewing. While the zoom function worked well enough for a WS image (it looks to be open matte on the DVD) it's a dark image with lots of random damage. It also reminded me how much I really like this title and that there should be no question - so it's ordered for ~$14 after sales tax was applied. I have to wonder just why these old, cheaply produced films, which realized returns on the initial investment decades ago, sell for such prices when newer product routinely sells for half that.