Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
Director: Byron Haskin
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Intelligently imaginative sci-fi version of the Defoe classic, in which an astronaut and his monkey are stranded on Mars, and later joined by the humanoid slave of an alien race. Haskin and producer George Pal provide the same excellent camerawork and special effects that marked their earlier War of the Worlds and Naked Jungle (the hostility of the Martian landscape is spectacularly evoked in California's Death Valley); but here, harnessed to a surprisingly faithful rendition of Defoe's conception, the result is an economical, subtle study both of Crusoe's will to survive, and of the hesitant growing friendship between the astronaut and his futuristic Friday. Most remarkably, Haskin avoids sentimentality even when dealing with the monkey, such is the assured sensitivity of the film.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Byron Haskin
Producer: Aubrey Schenck
Cast: Paul Mantee, Vic Lundin, Adam West full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Duration: 109 mins
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke






What do you think?
Post your review now