This is an odd film in that it's part of the oh so sophisticated Criterion Collection on DVD. You normally would NOT expect an American sci-fi film to be released by Criterion but art and foreign films. Why they are distributing the film is a puzzle, but it is a better than expected film.

The story begins with a space craft orbiting Mars in the near future. The ship is abandoned when an accident occurs and one of the pair of astronauts manages to make it to the surface in one piece. There, he must struggle with the important mundane tasks--such as finding air, water and food. However, while all this is obviously impossible, the story manages to tell it in a way that SEEMS plausible. Not exactly scientific fact, but done convincingly enough that you don't seem to mind. Intelligently written and enjoyable--and an interesting take on "Robinson Crusoe". The only serious drawbacks are the special effects, which look very primitive if you think that "2001" came out only four years later.

During a flight to Mars in the spaceship Mars Gravity Probe 1, Commander Christopher 'Kit' Draper (Paul Mantee) and Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West) are forced to deviate from an asteroid and they leave their spacecraft in pods. Draper lands on the surface of the Red Planet and survives. He learns how to produce oxygen and while exploring the planet, he finds McReady dead in his crashed pod. He finds also the monkey Mona and brings the animal to the cave where he is sheltered. He learns that he can breathe the Martian air for short periods but needs also oxygen. But Mona finds water and an edible plant in the underground. .After a long period alone, Draper feels the loneliness. One day, he sees a spacecraft landing on Mars and he believes it might be the rescue team to save him. But he finds aliens working on the planet and some of them are slaves. One of them flees and stumble with Draper and he names him Friday (Victor Lundin). Now he needs to find a way to be rescued and return to Earth.

"Robinson Crusoe on Mars" is a dated sci-fi based on Daniel Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe". This film seems to be the inspiration to Riddley Scott to "The Martian". Despite the beautiful cinematography, it is funny to see the concept of Mars with the present knowledge that we have of the Red Planet. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): Not Available on Blu-Ray or DVD

I first watched this movie about human survival, yet somewhat palatable as you witness the difficulty of Commander Christopher Draper (Paul Mantee) and his pet Monkey Mona survive the Martian landscape for a food and water. Let me start over by explaining Draper's uncustomary circumstance. Two astronauts, (The other being Dan McCready played by Adam West),and a monkey named Mona are on a collision course with a large meteoriod. Commander Draper and McCready have to abort their ship and enter two separate life pods to avoid an oncoming sphere. Forced down to Mars in a life pods which crash land, Draper and Mona survived but McCready wasn't so lucky. The real problem starts when the air, food and water run out. You follow Draper in his struggles. The cinematography was used with specific camera angles as if you were with Draper all the time. The movie made me feel like I was there along for the adventure. Despite all those obstacles the biggest challenge was solitude, isolation. This movie worked for me on all counts. I wasn't bored even with this limited cast as your waiting for something to happen at anytime. Adequate supporting role by Victor Lunden as Friday. This film sparked my curiosity for the stars.