1964 science fiction movieRating: 16/20
Plot: See Dafoe's Robinson Crusoe. Except it takes place on Mars. And the main character might be a homosexual. And he has a monkey. And he passes his time by playing the bagpipes.
A lot of the special effects in this, specifically the ones used to make whatever desert they filmed this in look otherworldly and Martian, are a complete mystery to me. I'm not sure exactly how they got the look they got, but I sure liked it. Great jagged landscapes, great unnatural colors, great weird non-scientific crystalline structures that you'd expect to see on Superman's planet rather than on Mars. There's a bit of 2001 in this, both in its lonely, introspective flavor and the cool visuals. It's pretty quirky but played sincerely enough, the performances of Paul Mantee as the protagonist especially strong in one of those roles where he's mostly forced to convey emotions and advance his character without anybody else to bounce lines off. Victor Lundin as Friday is less stellar. I definitely liked the movie more before he came along, especially since, arriving with him were these really silly swiftly-moving ships that I never could figure out if I liked or not. Adam West also has a small part. And there's a monkey in a space suit! In my opinion, all film adaptations of classic literature could use a monkey in a space suit. Little Women? Anything by Shakespeare? Don Quixote? The Count of Monte Cristo? Moby Dick? Those could all use a monkey in a space suit. This is definitely worth seeing. Unless you're a scientist. I reckon this stuff would really piss off a scientist.
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