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 Mars Attacks
DVD Review by Paul Trombley, M.D |
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"We come in peace", or so the Martians would have Earthlings
believe. Just before disintegrating a hapless human with a beam of red or green, right out
of George Pal's "War of the Worlds". Tim Burton thus presents us his almost kitschy view of a whole scale Martian invasion of Earth; a wonderful throwback to the days of the 1950's and that era's "invaders from space" theme. Interestingly, these films of the 1950's and early 1960's were nothing more than Hollywood's reaction to both the new dawn of science and technology, intertwined and married to the McCarthyism and "Red scare" of the burgeoning Communist menace of that day. Reaching back into the annals of history, Tim Burton culled a little-known and fairly rare set of Topps trading cards from the 1950's, "Mars Attacks!", a set of cards which (in toto) told the story of Mars invading Earth. The trading card set did not go over very well, and was actually soon pulled from the market, secondary to some very questionable art/themes portrayed on the cards. Burton, in his characteristic gothic style and his flair for a retro look, almost an idealization of the '50's and '60's, magically transforms these obscure bubblegum cards into a brilliant and comical movie paying homage to the past genre: "Mars Attacks!" The story line is a simple one, beautifully rendered computer-generated aliens come to Earth to conquer, and conquer they do...almost. Like its predecessors (with the notable exception of the classic parable movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"), the Martians end up having an Achilles' Heel, this one in the form of music; at least a certain frequency of singing....best matched in the high-pitched yodel of a certain singer from the 50's and 60's. Interestingly, this vehicle of mankind's deliverance with wretched singing is borrow, in fact almost lifted directly, from the cult classic "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes". However, Burton does it with a big-budget and his own certain panache that seems to make it alright. The film itself is very clever, with great performances from a high-profile ensemble cast, and much slick humor, which plays better and better on subsequent viewings when one can really pick up on layer after layer of subtleties The video quality of the DVD is phenomenal. This is a great disc to really show off the full majesty of both the DVD format, as well as sing the praises of widescreen. Burton is a master of using the entire film as a canvas for his vision, in that he uses the entire shooting frame to portray the action. For any enthusiast, or just to prove to yourself or doubting disbeliveers in the letterbox format, try watching a scene of wholesale destruction on the widescreen side; then flip the disc over and try watching the same on the P & S side. The difference is incredible! On the P & S side, one misses whole saucers and fleeing people, as well as further background destruction! Scenes look very bland and too highly focused on a single event on the P & S side, which serves only to grossly limit the full scope of this film. The transfer is flawless, colors brilliant; this is of special import to this richly colored film to really appreciate the subtle computer art of the aliens themselves. Overall, the crisp and clear picture is paramount to this film's effect. The sound matches beautifully to the video quality as well. Rich Dolby 5.1 sound thunders and rolls from this disc. The audio and sound effects really take full advantage of the 5.1/ surround channels that the disc is encoded with. Danny Elfman's score, reminiscent of the atmospheric music from "Beetlejuice", accompanies beautifully. Much like in Burton's "Beetlejuice", Elfman's score is underlining and omnipresent throughout the film; and, as an added bonus, Warner foresightedly also included just the score soundtrack as an audio choice for this disc. The remainder of the sounds are just as crisp and lively as one has come to expect from the DVD format. Of course, the disc also includes choice of languages and subtitles, as well as production/ liner notes and cast notes. These notes are actually some of the better ones seen yet, in that they are full of interesting info about the cast and crew, as well as exploring the history of "Mars Attacks!". One of the really nifty touches to this title is that Warner included a bit of eerie music to the menu page as well as some cutesy touches in the selection process from the menu page(s). Overall, this a is great title, and one well worth checking out. Video and sound are flawless, and the movie includes many subtle and clever little touches that really make watching and re-watching this movie continually rewarding. This one goes very recommended.
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Mars Attacks Beautifully rendered computer -generated aliens come to Earth to conquer, and conquer they do... Staring: Jack Nicholson Directed By: Tim Burton Running time: 106 min Bonus Materials
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