Flight To Mars (1951) - Film Detective

[WaverBoy]

I finally got round to ordering this. Once again though — why the holy hell aren’t previous extras being ported over? No theatrical trailer, no Cameron Mitchell interview. I suppose there could be rights issues preventing the inclusion of David del Valle’s Cam interview, but major demerits for leaving off the trailer, Film Detective; there’s absolutely zero excuse for not including that.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

I finally got round to ordering this. Once again though — why the holy hell aren’t previous extras being ported over? No theatrical trailer, no Cameron Mitchell interview. I suppose there could be rights issues preventing the inclusion of David del Valle’s Cam interview, but major demerits for leaving off the trailer, Film Detective; there’s absolutely zero excuse for not including that.

On the other hand, we get an infinetly superior presentation of the film.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Killer Meteor

On the other hand, we get an infinetly superior presentation of the film.

Oh I get that, and happy for it of course, but there’s still zero excuse for leaving off the most important extra, especially when it was on the previous bloody release and easy as hell to port over. A wretched practice, not including an easily includable trailer.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Oh I get that, and happy for it of course, but there’s still zero excuse for leaving off the most important extra, especially when it was on the previous bloody release and easy as hell to port over. A wretched practice, not including an easily includable trailer.

You could always keep the DVD? It's a SD extra.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Killer Meteor

You could always keep the DVD? It's a SD extra.

I know, I have the DVD, and now I hafta hang onto it. I always like to save shelf space and give my hand-me-downs to friends when I upgrade; it’s just annoying that at least the trailer wasn’t ported over especially for those who don’t already have the DVD, as there’s absolutely zero reason for it. Just stupid. I’d much rather have the trailer than the commentary that keeps ragging on the film’s same flaws over and over in a repetitive and annoying manner.

C’mon, Film Detective, get a clue, and repeat after me: the original theatrical trailer is ALWAYS the most important extra, and its omission is especially unforgivable when it’s readily available in an existing DVD release.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

C’mon, Film Detective, get a clue, and repeat after me: the original theatrical trailer is ALWAYS the most important extra, and its omission is especially unforgivable when it’s readily available in an existing DVD release.

The trailer is far from the most important extra, and I think you've beat this dead horse long enough anyway. At this point, I doubt anyone reading these boards is unclear on your opinion.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by sandman slim

So after 3 pages of Rocketship XM & Wade Williams, nobody's going to talk about the actual disc when it's released?

This is a really odd looking disc. The opening scenes have a strange blue-ish tint overall, except for the skin tone of the four male leads, who look like they've been covered in that orange fake tan spray. By contrast, the female lead looks like a ghost; in some shots she's so pale she looks like a special effect. Film grain is distractingly heavy, too. And then around the 23 minute mark, it suddenly looks fantastic, almost like you've switched discs and are watching a different transfer from a different studio. No idea if this is a botched transfer, negative damage or a film stock issue. The first third is DVD level, back two thirds are fairly spectacular.

Still well worth owning, a wonderful 50's sci-fi film with some great extras, just temper your expectations.

The film does change in color temp and grain structure at exactly the 21:06 mark, but I don’t think any expectations need to be tempered — I think the first twenty minutes look just fine, certainly not botched — considering the limited elements they must have had to work with I think they did a superb job. The grain is heavier, and there’s a subtle fluctuation of color density, but it certainly doesn’t look rough to me, and since Cinecolor has an otherworldly look about it to start with, I’d say we’re all good here. I was expecting the first twenty minutes to look terrible from what I read here, but I’m very much relieved that’s not the case. Very happy with the restoration overall; it’s a zillion times better than the scratchy faded old DVD transfer.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Batgirl911

Enjoyed the movie not the commentary. Justin Humphreys has a few facts but mostly goes over and over ( As I said... As you can see... Again...) his disdain for everything about Flight To Mars. It was quick, it was cheap and they didn't hire a science advisor. We get it. I'll listen to a critic who cheerfully points out the shortcomings of a movie but not one who sounds like he's having a bad time.

Thank you. One of the most tiresome repetitive unenjoyable commentaries ever.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

The trailer is far from the most important extra, and I think you've beat this dead horse long enough anyway. At this point, I doubt anyone reading these boards is unclear on your opinion.

Sorry to have offended your delicate sensibilities, but we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one, shall we? Cool. Cheers!

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

I know, I have the DVD, and now I hafta hang onto it.

First world problems, even by this forum's standards!

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Killer Meteor

First world problems, even by this forum's standards!

First world problem yes, but not by this forum’s standards, surely. I’ve seen much much more trivial things complained about here.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Sorry to have offended your delicate sensibilities, but we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one, shall we? Cool. Cheers!

You didn't offend me, and nowhere in my comment did I say you did. Your disproportionate response to my comment speaks to your over-the-top level of anger about such a small issue.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by NovaKane

Definitely, the first 20 minutes of this release is quite rough in comparison to the last 50 minutes, as far as video PQ goes. Criterion’s release of the original BLOB had something similar, where most of the film looks great, but one section (reel?) was a bit dodgy.

For FLIGHT TO MARS, at first I was thinking, ‘What the hell? This looks nothing like the trailers I’ve been seeing.” Colors were a bit off, contrast was either too bright, or too dark, and there was a field of grain that looked as if it were artificially introduced to make it look like film (at least that’s what I thought at the time). And then, like when Dorothy opens the door to OZ, the picture looks pretty damn good for a low budget Sci-Fi movie of the 50s. Most of the previous issues are gone (and so is the feeling of buyer’s remorse!).

Does the PQ of this film fall short of Warner Archives’ QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE? Most definitely, I would say. But FLIGHT TO MARS has never looked this good…and will probably never be improved upon, so if you need this film to flesh out your collection of Atomic Age Sci-Fi, don’t hesitate to purchase it.

I now have it on extremely reliable authority that when Paramount went to partial rights holder Wade Williams to access original color separation elements for the restoration of FLIGHT TO MARS, they found that he hadn’t stored them properly and that some reels were unusable as a result, so they had to resort to prints for those sections. Also, The Film Detective unfortunately compounded the issue by not taking the time to do proper color correction across the board, hence different color temp on different reels. However, that said, this release is still very much worthwhile despite its flaws, and agree that it’s likely the best we’ll ever get on this fun flick.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

You didn't offend me, and nowhere in my comment did I say you did. Your disproportionate response to my comment speaks to your over-the-top level of anger about such a small issue.

Not at all, it’s just that bonehead responses from wannabe edgelords tend to be annoying, and sometimes bring out the worst in me. Apologies. And we’ll continue to agree to disagree about the importance of including the original trailer on a release if it’s readily available. Kiss kiss.