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Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
Sensationally entertaining escapist sci-fi. This is a clear-cut example of how to correctly invent and use "cine-fact" (no, that's not a real word- but humor me). The film comes up with halfway-bogus explanations about how things work on Mars, but it does so in a way which is completely logical for the space in which the story takes place- that is, diegetically there are no plot-holes. This is only after a little bit of belief suspension, but if you're not doing that when you watch this kind of stuff anyway then you don't know how to watch it and I don't know why you picked up a film called 'Robinson Cruse in Mars' in the first place. The lush Technicolor brings forth a rich mise-en-scene; Death Valley is transformed uniquely into the planet's barren surface, and volcanic infernos rise around every corner, isolating our hero on a planet which has little oxygen, little food and water, and no one to talk to...and it's hot as hell. As far as sheer entertainment, this film is top-notch; refreshingly, the special effects are on the backburner, while the study of a brave man and his struggles and successes on the planet Mars are explored mezmerisingly. A character study of a HUMAN on MARS? Where are the ALIENS?! It makes one long for the sci-fi of yesteryear.
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