The multiple Golden Globe award-winning movie based on Mark Weir’s book arrives on Blu-ray to give fans the chance to appreciate director Ridley Scott’s high-definition adaptation of an astronaut stranded on the famed red planet in The Martian (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, $39.99, 141 minutes).
The tale of survival stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney, a researcher presumed dead and left on Mars by America’s Ares III mission crew.
He uses every bit of the remaining technology on the planet as well as his science disciplines to become in his word’s “Mars greatest botanist and space pirate.”
Of course, NASA learns of his dilemma, and it will take a massive, international effort to attempt a rescue. Despite this love letter to scientific ingenuity, I needed to forget the fact that I guessed the best way to save Mr. Watney 20 minutes into the film. Hint: I’m a huge fan of the movie “Apollo 13.”
The supporting cast includes Jessica Chastain as Melissa Lewis, the Ares III commander; Jeff Daniels as Theodore “Teddy” Sanders, a bureaucratic NASA director; Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor, NASA’s Mars mission director; and Sean Bean as Mitch Henderson, the crusty Ares III mission crew director.
The digital transfer highlights Mr. Scott and his effects crew’s pristine, panoramic look at the Martian landscape’s harsh terrain and storms (presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio) and gives a very good reason for home theater owners to upgrade the equipment.
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Extras mainly focus on extending the story of “The Martian” through about 30 minutes of really fun, faux segments highlighting the crew training and at work along with a deeper look at the mission.
Best of the bunch is the tabloid expose, “Ares III: The Untold Story,” covering the behind-the-scenes bureaucracy that nearly sealed the fate of Mark Watney.
An ominous narrator pipes in throughout the 17-minute piece that features intense interviews with Mr. Henderson (describing his ultimate assist to Mr. Watney as stealing the Death Star plans away from Darth Vader), Mr. Sanders and Mr. Kapoor and viewing recently declassified mission photos.
Movie historians will enjoy the 40 minutes of production featurettes starring interviews with Mr. Scott, Mr. Damon, Mr. Weir and many of the actors and crew covering the writing, direction casting, costumes, effects and a bit about the scientific accuracies of the movie.
The behind-the-scenes package also including an enormous production art gallery of 200 images broken into the topics of Earth, Hermes (the name of the massive Ares III spaceship and station), and Mars.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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