A review of Criterion Collection’s “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” booklet

Written by Matthew Long

Edited by Anthony Nijssen of APT Editing

A review of the booklet included as part of Criterion Collection’s DVD release for Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), released in 2007. Criterion’s booklets are included with every printing of a release.

The front cover of the booklet for Robinson Crusoe on Mars, which was released by Criterion Collection in 2007 on DVD and in 201 on Blu-ray.

Professionalism and production quality

The booklet has saddle stitch binding that works well for its size. The front and back pages make up a stunning full-sized image of the DVD cover. There are no obvious or distracting grammar or printing errors. The text size is very readable and the layout is clean. The final pages contain plenty of details about the transfer and the DVD production, as well as special thanks, acknowledgements, and a specific dedication to the memory of Saul J. Turell.

Score: 4 (out of 5)

Text-to-image ratio

There are no pages devoted to only images except for the front panel. The essay is presented in full, and space is not wasted. A still from the movie could have enhanced certain parts of the essay by illustrating the ideas discussed.

Score: 4 (out of 5)

Content

The DVD case and the booklet both feature the same image of lead character Commander Draper’s companion, a monkey named Mona.

The booklet includes one essay titled “Life on Mars” by Michael Lennick. The essay is short but it manages to capture a large scope of information. It’s a nice combination of academic and personal perspectives, but not especially revelatory. Lennick discusses the evolution of human thought around Mars and how this movie fits in with other depictions of Mars in movies. The essay discusses the experience of the lead actor, who had to play on his own for the middle section of the movie and alternatively was co-starring with a monkey, so it was interesting to learn more about his experience.

Unfortunately, there are questionable depictions of race relations in the third act of the movie that bring the whole movie down. I believe a critical view of the movie outside of some of the special effects issues would have elevated the booklet by addressing the issues head on and discussing how it affected the actors. The audio commentary provided Victor Lundin with an opportunity to discuss how he disagreed with the way his character was depicted, at least.

The other content in the essay (detailed more in the Creativity section below) is interesting for a one-time read and provides context into the making of the film and the mindset of the writer, but it wasn’t content that I would return to often, if ever.

Score: 6 (out of 10)

Creativity

In addition to Lennick’s essay, Criterion included two pages of extra content. There is a chart called “Everything you always wanted to know about Yangorian… But were afraid to ask,” which includes a dictionary of translations for the language spoken by an alien in the original screenplay. The feature film has the actor speaking altered lines with “dialect mirroring Mayan phrases and terminology” instead of the language provided, but it’s an interesting look at the extent of the world-building that was done for this movie. There is also a page showing the details about Mars that were included in the original screenplay, with sections titled “facts about Mars”, “Astronomers have observed…”, and "Astronomers believe.” In the final section, “Astronomers believe…”, it’s stated “that a low form of animal life exists, such as insects.” Strange stuff.

I appreciate the extra effort to include interesting details from the original screenplay that would have been otherwise lost or potentially unwatched if they were included only as images in a gallery on the DVD.

Score: 3 (out of 5)

The total score for this booklet is 17 (out of 25)

This movie is available for purchase at Criterion.com. The booklet is included with the physical release of the movie, and a version of the essay is available on Current, an online magazine published by Criterion.section of Criterion.com.