|
By
WAYNE KLEIN
Rock Hudson. And a future
populated by people who wear ill-fitting leisure
suits. These are the things science fiction
nightmares are made of. Although it wasn't
intended to be a camp classic full of stilted
dialogue, inane acting and plain stupid moments,
"The Martian Chronicles" is at times precisely
that. British producer Charles Fries did make an
earnest attempt to adapt Bradbury's novel for the
small screen. But working with a strict budget, a
limited roster of actors and a poor excuse for an
optical effects house, prevented this project from
achieving everything it could have.
Somehow, a talented writer (Richard Matheson) and
an average director (Michael Anderson) managed to
turn Ray Bradbury's classic novel into a rundown
bargain basement version of an epic. Many people
(including this reviewer when he was younger)
liked parts of this miniseries. Surprisingly,
those few strong moments still have resonance,
chiefly because of the source material and an
occasional performance worth noting.
On DVD the miniseries is broken down into its
original three-part presentation running at just
under 5 hours. It's like the Energizer Bunny on
downers -- it keeps going on and on and on and on,
ad nauseam.
Rock Hudson plays Col. Wilder who sits in a chair
that looks like a reject from "Star Trek: The Next
Generation" and watches as Mission Control puts
two ships over two years in harm's way by sending
them to a Mars populated by aliens that have the
ability to project whatever anyone wants to see.
Hudson plays the role as if he is comatose.
Although Hudson had a limited range as an actor,
he did exceedingly fine work in "Seconds" and
"Giant" among many other films. My guess is that
he realized he had gotten himself into another
fine mess and decided to become part of the set
decorations.
The first hour of this "epic" wobbles along but is
still sturdy enough to have some emotional power.
When the first expedition's astronauts are
murdered by a jealous Martian husband, a second is
send. When they land it appears they're on Earth
twenty years in the past. The commander (Nicholas
Hammond, in a smart, nicely textured performance)
suspects something is rotten on Mars but gets
sucked into the illusion when he sees deceased
loved ones from his own past. This single segment
is the most successful and Anderson's direction
gives it added power with his careful use of
optical effects to only enhance what is necessary.
The second successful sequence also in the first
part involves Col. Wilder and a third crew (Bernie
Casey and Darren McGavin among them) who go to
Mars to discover the fate of the previous
missions. When Casey's character discovers the
havoc that humanity has wrecked on the Martian
civilization he goes native, attempting to kill
his crewmembers. Again, the optical effects are
sparingly used and the acting carries the day for
the most part.
The amateurish optical effects (this was done in
1980 and they look like they were done in 1950)
undermine some of the more involved sequences set
on the Red Planet. They're not just bad, but
laughably bad. The production design, though, is
outstanding and the location photography (it was
shot in Malta and on soundstages in England) along
with some strong performances from Fritz Weaver,
Roddy McDowall, Maria Schell and others allow the
awkward episodes to be pretty easily forgotten.
The make-up effects are actually quite impressive
given the time.
My favorite of the latter part of the series
involves a story about the return of a son who was
killed years before. His mysterious reappearance
doesn't spook the family. Instead, they welcome
this stranger that looks, talks and acts like
their son even though they know it couldn't
possible be him.
If you enjoyed the original miniseries be prepared
for a shock. "The Martian Chronicles" doesn't hold
up all that well twenty-four years later but there
are fleeting moments that hint at the missed
potential of this "television event." Hopefully,
someday, someone will actually tackle Bradbury's
metaphorical tale the way it should be done. In
the meantime, if you long to revisit your
television past, one could do a lot worse than
"The Martian Chronicles." |
