Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a 1964 re-imagining of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe story. It is directed by Byron Haskin (War of the Worlds) and has Adam West (TV's Batman) in it. I'm glad they fixed that difficulty about communications so that the astronauts in Mars orbit can get answers from NASA back on Earth in a timely fashion. I like this film, though I admit I expected it to be cheesy as all get out. Much fun, without the cheese.

Available from veoh, but I've consistently had trouble with their required downloadable player. Youtube has it online in 13 segments. They ought to auto-play from part 1:


SciFi.com says,

The film itself is not entirely as silly as its name, however--it is instead a meditative and minimalist bit of decent, humanistic science fiction.

DVDTalk calls it "a unique and serious adventure" and says, "Given the year that it was made, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is scientifically very impressive." Bright Lights Film Journal calls it an "underrated film" and says it "encourages the viewer to face issues that are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s: propaganda, war, and discrimination". The New York Times says, "It's good fun all the way." 1000 Misspent Hours has a review.