AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Sammy-Jo Cervantes 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.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

John Holden I saw parts of this in the 1980s and thought it was the worst kind of TV dreck. Watching it now, I wasn't disappointed: it's still dreck. Yeah, if you're into TV with all the bad acting combined and trite dialogue, maybe it'll seem reasonable to you.But if TV seems an insipid place, you may find this unbearably tediously painfully DD (Monty Python for deadly dull). It so boring you don't even get angry. It's like watching Ponderosa but there's a space colony in Nevada, I mean Mars, and talk and staring and just nothing.There's probably a negative effect eg. it's so bad you lose brain cells. Avoid it. Watch something exciting, maybe a Discovery Channel special about why ice melts more slowly at lower temperatures.Run away from this.

MartinHafer Back when it debuted on TV, I watched and enjoyed "The Martian Chronicles". Now, a bazillion years later (or so my daughters say), I decided to try watching it again for old time sake. Well, if you've heard the expression 'you can't go back', that pretty sums up what it was like watching the film. It just didn't age well and I found myself a lot more critical this go around. The main problem was the cheapness of the film. Even by 1979-80 standards, it was pretty poor and doesn't come close to the qualities of other sci-fi of the time. Poor matte paintings, crappy sets (such as how one colonist home on Mars looks just like any old home you'd see on TV--including the same crappy wallpaper--even though they JUST had started colonizing the place!) and shabby props do little to create the ambiance of Mars. Additionally, the story was VERY inconsistent--and I don't blame this on the Ray Bradbury short stories on which it was based. Some tales are haunting--others (such as the one with Joyce Van Patten and Darren McGavin) are just embarrassingly poor. What we need is a remake--a newer and better produced one. Overall, a very sad viewing experience, as I really, really wanted to like it.

jacksflicks This is a British production, made in 1979. The same time as UK's Dr. Who. The production values are almost identical. Of course, there was whimsy in Dr. Who, that made the cheesy effects campy. But still, there they were. As for the implausibility of a Martian atmosphere and climate like earth's, Bradbury wrote these stories before 1950, when such was considered possible. The producers made a creative choice to retain the conceit that Mars was like Nevada, so the characters wouldn't have to wear space suits all the time.Those who trash this miniseries because of its production values miss its point. What the Martian Chronicles have going for them are terrific story lines, which the technical problems unfortunately obscure. I can't help thinking Rod Serling took a page from them when he came up with Twilight Zone, with its emphasis on people rather than the technology.Also fascinating is how the near future is projected. As in 2001: A Space Odyssey, our advancement into space was wildly optimistic, not because it wasn't possible, but because in reality we've lacked the character to see it through. The fact that we should have settlements on Mars by now, if not manned missions to Jupiter, but don't, speaks to how contemptible we are, in choosing rather to pursue personal gratification, while accommodating the barbarous primitives among us. At the end of the Martian Chronicles is an affirmation of what we could yet be, if only we'd decide to stop wallowing in the gutter and once more reach for the stars. Too bad this message is lost on today's fatuous audience.

lawofcofpl It was you're comments that prompted me to sign up and respond. I was 11 y.o. when the M.C. were released on American TV. To this day, I remember the many different creepy feelings that remained with me for weeks, after each episode. Though I had nightmares every night, of actually living out each episode, I still could not resist watching the next story. Each following day, I would continuously stare up at the sky. I would wonder if each story was real, and if the Martians were using Hollywood, to pass their message. Also, I often wondered if my family was real. It indeed, marked me as well. I have not seen the stories since, but now, I can hardly wait!