Les Chroniques martiennes

I remember seeing this series when it was first shown circa 1980 in the UK, and could not wait till the next part was shown.

Of course the special effects weren't that special then - but I really don't think this takes much away from it. The sequences I like the most are the lights that appear to the monks, and save one when he tests them by throwing himself off a cliff on Mars. Very spiritual overtones here - makes me shiver now just to think of it.

Also, I love the way the Martians dress - the loose-fitting robes, and those masks - excellent. Their lack of cranial hair and gold eyes, also make for a very other-worldy effect.

I borrowed the video tape "version" of this film, but was dismayed to find that about 20 minutes had been cut out - beware! I read the superb Ray Bradbury novel this was based on (originally entitled The Silver Locusts) after I saw the series, and was suitably impressed. A great atmosphere in both, but much more in the novel, I think.

The miniseries, based on the book of the same name by Ray Bradbury, is as faithful an adaptation as it could get. Unfortunately, it was a bit bland. Since it was made in the early 1980's, the special effects weren't very good, and the scene where the Martians chase Darren McGavin across the Martian landscape on the sandships comes across as almost comical. I will say this: the people who made the film did the best with what they had.

I remembered seeing this mini-series when I was ten or eleven. There were some scenes that were ever etched in my mind, and there were others which immediately raced to my mind as I began reliving my past watching it once again. This mini-series is extraordinary in many ways, yet problematic and flawed in many ways too. The whole concept is a huge undertaking when you consider when this was made. There were no CGI effects. The special effects are the things which have aged the poorest in this series. Some of the effects are probably even crude for 1979, but the design of the sets and costumes helps overshadow that now glaring flaw. The set designs, when you consider budget, etc..., are very innovative and even dream-like. The Martian landscape does seem to have a life of its own in this set of tales loosely connected about expeditions sent to Mars, the colonization of Mars, the realization that Martian life exists, the destruction of Earth from human vice, and some small anecdotal stories of people living on Mars. The thing which does bind all these together is the character of Rock Hudson. Hudson does a serviceable job, albeit a bit bland in his role. The script by legendary writer Richard Matheson is pretty good when considering how difficult Ray Bradbury's works are to film or televise. Matheson injects humour, heart, and hope in his teleplay about the human spirit and its quest to survive. Matheson also added some very nice narration that tries, if not always successful, to bring cohesion to the varying plot elements. In the end, the story is successful for its spirit. It is a thoroughly entertaining story. It has some good character acting by the likes of Roddy McDowell, Darren McGavin, Barry Morse, Bernie Casey, and Bernadette Peters. In fact the story that I seemed to remember best from my adolescent days was the one concerning Miss Peters. Hmmm....I wonder why. Anyway, if you like a pretty decent science fiction story, The Martian Chronicles will fit the bill. Its message about living life for the joy of being is a strong one, and one not to be taken too lightly.

Probably another chapter might have been needed for The Martian Chronicles mini-series to have gotten in all of what Ray Bradbury had to say in his epic science fiction work about first contact. It certainly wasn't like Star Trek's First Contact to say the least.

After a couple of failed expeditions that did not return to Earth from Mars in what was projected in 1980 to be the last dozen years or so right now, Rock Hudson the head of NASA heads the third expedition himself. He finds a presumably dead planet, but are these Martians really dead?

The 'Martians' we do meet seem to be at all levels of human development and way in advance of us on Earth. I can see where Gene Roddenberry got his ideas for the Talosian characters who can change appearance and for the incorporeal Organians for Star Trek. We'll meet both kinds in The Martian Chronicles.

Two characters really stand out for me. First is Fritz Weaver as Father Peregrine who together with Roddy McDowall has come to bring Christianity to Mars. But how do you explain religion to beings way in advance of your development. In fact though it's the Christian religion that is used here, all religions on Earth don't take into account other beings on other worlds. Every founder of every religion only had a view of the world he was on. When 'Jesus' played by Jon Finch appears to Fritz Weaver the Martians can't even grasp the nature of Weaver's conception of him. Makes for a very interesting scene.

Secondly Bernie Casey does in the old English colonial term, 'goes native' on Rock Hudson, he so identifies with the Martians as a race potentially to be exploited just as folks originating in his part of Earth were. Casey raises some interesting questions about the morality of what the Earth people are doing. There is war threatening on Earth to annihilate mankind. How many science fiction movies have as their premise a dying race coming to Earth to take it over and enslave mankind? Food for thought.

There's still enough of Ray Bradbury's ideas in this mini-series to make The Martian Chronicles good viewing. One thing I would like to say, as advanced as the Martians are, you would think that what killed them is something they would have taken measure to prevent a long time ago.

I saw "The Martian Chronicles" as a child during its first UK transmissions between 1980 and 1984 then didn't see it for many years but so many moments from it stuck with me.

Now I've just had my video tapes of it out and watched it again for the first time in 8 years or so. The series looks very dated now in terms of special effects, photography, costumes and even in the acting - typical of late seventies US television rather than what we see today. The dates of man's arrival of Mars are now known to be rather ambitious and of course the whole "cold war" idea is something that film & television has moved on from nowadays.

Despite these faults, I still found the three episodes to be highly enjoyable. Its certainly not Star Wars or even 2001, but The Martian Chronicles gives us a refreshingly different kind of science fiction. The series is not so much about martians as about humans and many human feelings are explored - loneliness, bereavement, faith, nostalgia, vanity, greed...

What I really liked was the realization of the martian landscapes - even watching it now there's a real feeling of it being an alien planet and the strange stone monoliths and spheres linger in the memory.

Rock Hudson I found okay as the lead. Some say he's too bland but he's not meant to be a big hero or even a particularly dominant character. It's a relaxed performance that allows the story lines, rather than Mr Hudson himself, to come to the fore.

Although each episode lasts 90 minutes, they're broken up into shorter stories which are more easily digestible, although a couple of sequences are played out a little too long. The direction is functional for the most part but there are some nice touches along the way - for instance when the second expedition lands and the fog slowly clears to reveal the ship to be in what appears to an American town is very well done, and then there's a very Prisoner-esque shot early in episode three when Rock Hudson opens the double-doors of the base back on Earth and finds it deserted.

The music's quite good too!