Review of Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) by Jack B — 28 Mar 2009

It would be easy to make fun of this film. Surprisingly, however, one could defend it for its valiant attempt at using inspired "knowledge" of mars and space travel of the time to create a simi plausible story. In fact, the first half of the film, which devotes itself to a "man vs wild" approach to crash landing on Mars, is actually quite interesting and entertaining. It's a wonder the writer devoted so much detail to the plausibility of the more futuristic elements, but made goofy additions such as Sausage plants, Oxygen beans, and nonchalant igloo making.

The film (surprisingly!) goes down hill when aliens get involved. I'm sure the special effects were stunning at the time, but somebody had to have noticed the excessive "Screensaver-esque" repetition of the same SFX shots. And the inclusion of the slave was just tiring and unnecessary.

I have to say, though, as much as this film is cheesy and unintentionally hilarious, its equally gorgeous and intriguing. The half natural/half blue screen landscapes are sort of breathtaking. As well, I appreciated the director's/editor's good judgment for pacing and rhythm of shots.

It's a serious-campy movie, which is what all good camp movies are.