|
Pub Quiz Lists:
science fiction films with 'Mars' in the title
Our nearest planetary
neighbour presents a kind of paradox: close enough to be accessible and
knowable, far enough away to be mysterious and hidden. Early films in
this sub-genre played on the belief that Mars was inhabited, and on real
fears that we would be invaded. This concern underscored the success of
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds - the subject of at least 3 film
versions, and inspiration for many others. It's easy then to make a connection
between the red flag of the Communists and the red planet, especially
when the post WWII Cold War provided a number of paranoia/invasion-themed
efforts. However, some of cinema's Martian visitors have been benign,
and many of the visitors have been humans going to Mars. Post Berlin Wall,
the Mars films trailed off. The next series will, I suspect, be based
around real scientific exploration and human colonisation.
|
|
A
Trip to Mars (produced by Thomas Edison [pictured],
USA, 1910)
A scientist creates an anti-gravity potion which makes him float
to Mars, where he has adventures. A 4 minute film which is reputed
to be a re-edit of footage from Georges
Méliès 1902 film, Le Voyage dans la Lune (more
here).
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
A
Message From Mars (J. Wallett Waller, UK, 1913)
Adaptation of Richard Ganthony's stage play (pictured) about a benign
Martian who visits Earth to save humans from themselves. A theme
later adopted for The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Remade
in the USA in 1921.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Pawns
of Mars (Theodore Marston, USA, 1915)
A cheat for this list. 'Mars' here refers to the god of war in this
anti-arms-race film about a battle between two nations.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
 |
Aelita:
Queen of Mars (Jakov Protozanov, USSR, 1924)
A visually impressive film about a man who flees to Mars and falls
in love with the queen, Aelita. Alternative title: Aelita: Revolt
of the Robots. More here. |
| |
------------------------------- |
|
|
Flash
Gordon's Trip to Mars (Ford Beebe & Robert F.
Hill, USA, 1938)
Larry 'Buster' Crabbe stars again in this second Saturday morning
chapter-play outing for the comic-book hero.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Flight
to Mars (Lesley Selander, USA, 1951)
A crash landing on Mars brings human astronauts in conflict with
the Martian inhabitants, who want to use the Earth ship to escape
from their dying planet. Not a rip-off of Destination Moon
(1950), but certainly some familiar design elements.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Flying
Disc Man from Mars (Fred C. Brannon, USA 1951)
A Martian arrives on Earth, repairs his ship and prepares for Martian
invasion. Cold War paranoia fare very similar to the director's
own 1945 film The Purple Monster Strikes.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Red
Planet Mars (Harry Homer, USA 1952)
A heady mix of religion and politics in this anti-Communist allegory.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Invaders
from Mars (William Cameron Menzies, USA 1953)
Classic 'golden era' Cold War paranoia fare from the director of the
British classic Things to Come. |
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Devil
Girl from Mars (David MacDonald, UK, 1954)
The eponymous visitor arrives on Earth to find men to take home and
breed with! |
| |
------------------------------- |
|
|
The
Angry Red Planet
[aka: Invasion of Mars] (Ib Melchoir, USA, 1960)
Astronauts travel to Mars to fight the bug-eyed monsters in this B-movie. |
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
The
Day Mars Invaded Earth (Maury Dexter, USA, 1962)
Martians take over the mind and body of humans in preparation for
a Martian invasion. Invasion of the Body Snatchers inspired
Cold War paranoia fare, with War of the Worlds thrown in.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
I
Marziani Hanno Dodici Mani [aka: The Twelve Handed
Men of Mars] (Franco Castellano & G. Pipola, Italy/Spain,
1964)
Inter-planetary immigration begets comedy when aliens arrive on Earth
looking for a better life. |
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Robinson
Crusoe on Mars (Byron Haskin, USA, 1964)
Co-written by Ib Melchoir - who had a go at Mars in 1960 - this
version of Daniel Defoe's classic pits a US astronaut against the
Martian elements. An alien slave ship brings his 'Man Friday'.
|
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Mars
Needs Women (Larry Buchanan, USA, 1966)
A reversal of Devil Girl from Mars (1954). This time Martian
men arrive to find human women to take home and breed with. |
|
|
------------------------------- |
|
|
Mission
Mars (Nick Webster, USA 1968)
1968 film makers are looking beyond the 'race to the moon' to the
next challenge. US astronauts land on Mars to discover a frozen
Russian cosmonaut and a mmysterious orb.
|
| |
------------------------------- |
|
|
Invaders
from Mars (T. Hooper, M. Golan & Y. Globus, USA,
1986)
Remake of the 1953 classic, with an added alien science teacher. |
| |
------------------------------- |
|
|
Mars
Attacks! (Tim Burton, USA 1996)
Often outrageous Technicolor comedy satire based on the trading card
series. |
| |
------------------------------- |
 |
Mission
to Mars (Brian de Palma, USA, 2000)
Shades of 2001. A rescue mission to Mars discovers one astronaut alive,
and a mysterious 'dome of knowledge'. |
| |
------------------------------- |
|
|
Ghosts
of Mars (John Carpenter, USA, 2001)
True to form, this Carpenter film straddles science fiction and horror.
Mars colonists seek rescue when their base is threatened by parasitic
ghosts. Not dissimilar to Aliens (1986) and very close to Terrore
Nello Spazio [aka: Demon Planet] (1965). |
| |
------------------------------- |
There are of course
many science fiction films which feature Mars without having Mars in the
title. The best known of these is perhaps Total Recall (1990);
the remake slated for 2011 may not go to Mars. Others include Capricorn
One (1977), Battle Beyond the Sun (1963), Meshte Nastreshu
(USSR, 1963), El Conquistador de la Luna (Mexico, 1960), Niebo
Zowiet (USSR, 1959), It! The Terror from Beyond Space (USA,
1958), Conquest of Space (USA, 1955), Zombies of the Stratosphere
(USA, 1952), Just Imagine (USA, 1930), and Radio Mania [aka:
M.A.R.S.] (USA, 1923). The 1917 Danish film Himmelskibet,
possibly the first real example of epic space-opera, sometimes goes under
the title A Trip to Mars.
More pub quiz lists
to follow...
|
