FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Owlwise Anyone coming to this 1980 adaptation of "The Martian Chronicles" for the first time will undoubtedly be put off immediately by the special effects, which were so-so even then, and the slower, more cerebral pace of the narrative. And that would be a shame, because the heart & soul of Bradbury's book is alive & well here, and still both thought-provoking & emotionally satisfying.Of course, it was never hard science to begin with, so complaining about the unscientific depiction of Mars & the behavior of the Earthmen is utterly beside the point. This is as much fable, parable, allegory as it is anything else: a study of the human propensity to opt for the crass over the sublime, the material over the spiritual, ugliness & power over beauty & harmony. It is, in fact, a sometimes scathing, sometimes sorrowful exploration of the human condition, and particularly human weakness.And yet, both in the idealized Martians, and in the few humans who respond to the wonder of the Martian landscape & philosophy, we're shown what we could be, if only we could transcend our own pettiness, greed, and driving fears. This is shown to especially good effect in the slow growth of Colonel Wilder (a quietly effective Rock Hudson), whose initial misgivings about what Earth will do to Mars leads to his own eventual transformation. And in the final two stories - "Night Meeting" & "The Million-Year Picnic" - this is depicted in scenes that have stayed with me for close to 4 decades now, for their sheer beauty & wisdom.Again, not everyone will be able or willing to make the leap & overlook the flawed surface of this mini-series. But if they can, then they'll experience science-fiction at its best: not CGI explosions & battles & endless action, but the interplay of ideas & emotions, inviting the viewers to look at their own lives, and to think about what they really want from the gift of existing, however briefly, in this miracle of the Universe.

buckikris The Martian Chronicles is a three part mini-series based on a Ray Bradbury Novel. I never read the novel nor did I catch the mini-series back in 1980. I was 8 at the time, but never caught this one on T.V.. In fact, if I hadn't listened to Bradbury's interview from Fahrenheit 451, I would be clueless still. It has 3 parts about 90 minutes each. It involved various time periods from the first expedition in 78- to the first manned expedition in 1999 all the way into the early 2000's.The First part called The Expeditions to me is the best. NASA sends two crewmen to explore Mars to see if life exists; and also to study the terrain. We catch a glimpse of Mars and Mr. K, a jealous husband that does not want anything to come between him and his wife. When the crew gets closer the wife communicates; with one of the crew of The Zeus 1 telepathically. This sends Mr. K into a rage The first mission is about to meet it demise. The Commander of the Zeus program is skeptical and wonders if it's worth sending up another crew to see what is going on. The 2nd expedition, Zeus 2, sets out; it includes 3 members. Once landing on Mars it looks as if they have landed on a second Earth. It looks exactly like Earth. The 3 look at each other and wonder if Mars could evolve the same way Earth did. The only difference is that the air is different. The crew Commander Black, Commander Lustig, and Commander Himston, see people they know from the past. They are unaware they are pawns. The Martians are playing with their heads and eventually Black discovers this; but it is too late. They all are sacrificed, and are buried on the red planet. The third expedition is the most crucial. It is with the most experienced crew. The crew Major Jeff Spender(Bernie Casey), Colonel John Wilder(Rock Hudson), Sam Parkhill (Darrin McGavin), Briggs, Cooks, Wilder. They are there to see if they can find out what happened to the first 2 expeditions, study the terrain, and see if life is sustainable. Once their they set up camp, eat, and wait for Spender to return from some of the Martian settlements. Once he returns and reports his finding to John Wilder. He explains that their was once Martian settlements that thrived, but they have been disseminated. Wilder asked how and Spender tells him from a virus, to be exact the Chicken Pox virus. Col. Wilder noticed that Spender has changed, like he has been taken over in a way. The remaining crew is clueless and vulnerable . Spender has been transformed on the inside into a Martian, but he still looks the same on the outside. While Parkhill and Wilder are away, Spender kills the rest of the crew. Spender's rampage reason , because his people do not want Earth to colonize and destroy the beautiful ancient Martian history/settlements. Wilder and Parkhill eventually kill Spender; and relay their findings to Earth's Command Center to General Halstead.The second part The Settlers is good, but some of the effects are laughable and could have been done much better. For Example, the sand ship chase, and Parkhills wig. The sand ship chase, is cheaply done with action figures. The 2nd part is about Earthlings coming and making settlements on Mars. They know that Earth is on the brink of a Nuclear War. The colonist build their city, name places after the men who lost their lives in the expeditions. In about 3 years the town is built, homes are made, it like a mall in a way. It is filled with plenty of people going about their business. We met a family who lost their son in the 2nd expedition The Lustig's. It seems David has returned, but it isn't really David. It is a Martian that can shape into anyone at anytime it wants, living or not. To the Colonist Mars is beginning to be more of a danger than a brand new world. Most of the settle's take the shuttle out and go back to Earth. The last part deals with the remaining people left the remaining settlers have to with making Mars their new home. The ones left behind some accidental, among them Ben Driscole, Colonel Wilder and Family, Sam Parkhill, and a family that realizes escape or rescue has failed. The remaining settlers now have to learn that they will never escape no matter how hard they try. It is time for them to come together, learn about the planet and continue to survive.This mini-series is good, but some of the special effects just sucked. I look beyond the effects because this had a great storyline. It included factual with fantasy. The man real life situation at the time was the Cold War. What if a Nuclear War would break out? I think we all wondered what we would have done if one broke out back then. The colonization on another planet is Sy-Fy, but it made for a hell of a story. I liked this movie because it combines everything; from Space Exploration, War, and life after wards. I recommend this movie to anyone, it's not just a Sy-Fy movie. Please look beyond some of the cheesy effects and take in the message that is being explained.

bkoganbing 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.

pninson Ray Bradbury, author of "The Martian Chronicles", was reportedly deeply disappointed in this TV adaptation of his work, and it's not hard to see why. Perhaps he expected an A-list production, and it's clear from the look and feel of this brief miniseries that it was a low budget production. The visuals --- effects, costumes, and props --- are cheap and stagy; some of the dialogue is hokey, and the characterizations are thin.In spite of all these flaws, there's an atmosphere of mystery and tragedy suffusing the story that almost manages to overcome the cheap feel of the production. At its best, it's like watching a stage play with few props, using your imagination to fill in the blanks. Rock Hudson is much better than you might expect --- he certainly tries his best, and he has a few good moments.Bradbury's book was a collection of linked stories, not a novel (in fact the British edition originally deleted two stories and substituted two other Bradbury tales in their place --- one of those is dramatized here, starring Roddy McDowall). So it's hardly surprising that an adaptation of it would be equally episodic and would have some inconsistencies.Still, you get a good feel for the lost Martian civilization, dying in the shadows as Earthmen take control of the planet. Some of the best of Bradbury's stories survive, and this is a lot of fun if you accept it on its own terms.