The Martian Chronicles

Amazon.com

With each passing year, this 1980 miniseries becomes more for those who have read Ray Bradbury's landmark novel. The three-part, nearly five-hour series keeps its brainy science fiction roots; this story (and the 1940s novel) is not about laser battles and exciting action pieces. Bradbury's novel is galvanized by the cold war nightmare: at the end of the 20th century, an earth teetering on world war begins to colonize Mars without much knowledge of the new world. Hard science is left for other stories, and director Michael Anderson (Logan's Run) keeps this retrofitting: for example, astronauts arrive on a breathable Mars in leisure suits. The space travel effects are clunky, but the action on Mars--with Assheton Gorton's geometric sets and simple props--are far more effective. There are Martians there, as the unprepared first Earthlings learn. Later, as the planet is quickly colonized, the remaining Martians are near specters--bringing awe and fear to those they encounter. Master sci-fi writer Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) smartly streamlines Bradbury's episodic stories, giving a central role to Col. John Wilder (played by Rock Huston, leading a plethora of solid, yet B-list actors). For those in love with cerebral science fiction, they can enjoy this dated but curious sci-fi miniseries; for those of think sci-fi began with Star Wars, beware. --Doug Thomas

Description

From the mind of science-fiction giant Ray Bradbury springs what is perhaps his most epic vision. Capturing mankind's first venture into the colonization of another planetand its tragic first contact with another species"The Martian Chronicles" is a stunning achievement that will take you from the edge of your seat'to the stars. Earth is on the verge of extinction. To survive, mankind must find another place to live. But when three expeditions to Mars, headed by Col. John Wilder (OscarÂ(r) nominee* Rock Hudson), find suitable conditions for relocation, humans pour in bythe shipload, bringing the old evils of Earth with them! As Wilder begins to heed the lessons of the dying Martian civilization, can he save humanity from repeating its doom? *1956: Actor, Giant

Customer Reviews:

Shame.......2007-08-23

I really looked forward to watching this - having been a great admirer of Bradbury for many years. But "The Martian Chronicles" is a complete waste of time and money. Some of the stories used to make the movie can also be seen in the "The Ray Bradbury Theater" series, though in a much better version. The chronicles were obviously made with a very low budget - the acting is pathetic and the casting of Rock Hudson a blundering mistake. Thats five hours I will never get back.

que intento tan fallido.......2007-08-18

Desilusionate producción a una obra maestra del pensamiento contemporáneo.
Versión muy pobremente producida, y tristemente actuada, que se queda a años luz de la obra maestra de Ray Bradbury.
Imágenes pobres, ambientaciones gratuitas, actuaciones verdaderamente mediocres, interpretaciones prejuiciosas...en fin, mejor me quedo con la lectura del libro y con mis propias interpretaciones a la obra original.

Mmmm Rocky!.......2007-08-14

Well, to say I love this piece of work is to understate the matter. If it were to be remade, the only things needing retouching might be the space-ship sequences, and the glowing globey Martians.The Sand Ships could be reworked, but we do not rework Metropolis (and walk the streets alive) so I just wear it. The Digital Transfer was wonderful, and gave the work a facelift, that brought it back to life. The soundtrack is a bit dated, but that is part of its charm. More features would have helped (maybe an interview with the director, or Mr. Bradbury), but we are all so spoilt for extra features these days. If you love Sci Fi, this is a must for the collection. The Martians stand up even now as characters. This edition has allowed me to retire my old VHS copies (They really needed it), and i shall continue to love this classic of the canon of mid-20th century sci fi.

Love it.......2007-08-10

I had read the novel of this in High School (quite a few moons ago). I personally feel this keeps the "spirit" of the the book if not perfect to the letter. Yes, the special effects are dated, but so what? It is a good story, with a good representaion to TV. This is well worth the watch.

GREAT SCI FI MOVIE.......2007-08-08

IF U LIKE THE ROCK U LOVE THIS ONE THE ACTING IS GREAT AND THE IDEA IS ALSO GREAT IF U A SCI FI LOVER GET IT FOR UR COLLECTION

Martian Successor Nadesico - The Complete Chronicles

Average customer rating:

One of the best!
You must buy it
Underestimated by being only a parody!
GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the Greats

Martian Successor Nadesico - The Complete Chronicles
Starring: Spike Spencer , Jennifer K. Earhart , Sue Ulu , Mark Laskowski (II) , and Jenny Strader
Director: Tatsuo Sato , and Nobuyoshi Habara
Manufacturer: A.D. Vision
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006CY45
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Amazon.com

Martian Successor Nadesico (1996) was initially criticized in Japan for making fun of both anime and fan culture, but its unbridled and ultimately good-natured silliness won over critics--and large audiences on both sides of the Pacific. It's 2195 A.D. and the "Jovian Lizards" are attacking Earth. Tired of the inept campaigns of the United Space Force, Nergal Heavy Industries builds a super battleship, the Nadesico, which they staff with top people who have "slight personality problems." Ditsy Captain Yurika nurses a crush on the traumatized Akito--despite his skill as a robot pilot, he signs on as a cook. He's won over by the irrepressible Gai Daigoji, a fanatic admirer of Gekigangar 3, a hilarious spoof of '70s mecha series. The story reaches new heights of absurdity in "Let's Go with Hot-Blooded Anime": the casts of Nadesico and Gekigangar watch each other's programs, borrowing ideas and complaining about the plots.

In another episode, the crew holds a "Geki Fest" that satirizes anime conventions, including booths selling special, "limited edition" merchandise. The war becomes a struggle that pits the crew of the Nadesico against both the Jovians and Nergal Industries. Although the conflict hinges on Akito's mysterious ability to move through space and time in a "boson jump," the path to peace lies in Gekigangar 3 ("the thread that ties humanity together!"). In America, only Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Simpsons have dared such outrageous self-parody. (Rated for ages 12 and older: Brief nudity, mildly risqué humor, cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

One of the best!.......2007-09-05

At the risk of trafficking in tired cliches, Martian Successor Nadesico has quite literally something for everyone: Cute girls (and let's be honest, guys too), humor, action, drama, and an intelligent storyline. Plus mecha, of course, and lots of them. What more could you possibly want? It's probably not the greatest place to begin if you're new to anime, given the sheer number of references to other anime series and jokes about otaku culture; but honestly, most of these are so oblique that they'll pass unnoticed, particularly the talent competition near the end of the series, which is a parody of Macross (I didn't catch that one myself, having never seen Macross, or Robotech as it was called in the States).

To be fair, I can see how some otaku (translation for the uninitiated: fanatics) would find the show's characterization of otaku unflattering. But to be honest, that's kind of the point; Martian Successor Nadesico is as much a study of otaku culture as it is a gripping story of political intrigue and space battles, but more than that, it's a chance for otaku to laugh at themselves. Come on, admit it, you'd find cosplay bizarre if you were looking at it as an outsider. I find Civil War reenactors strange, but I'm not about to try to stop them from doing it if that's how they want to spend their weekends. And make no mistake, Martian Successor Nadesico would be hilarious even without the otaku references; my favorite bit from the first episode involves Akito catching a suitcase full of Yurika's panties with his forehead, and if that doesn't make you laugh, I have very little hope for you. (In fact, come to think of it, most of the best jokes involve either Akito and Yurika's "relationship" or Mizumi's predilection for weird, inappropriate puns.)

All of this isn't to say that Martian Successor Nadesico doesn't have its flaws. Every so often the plot seems a little confused about whether it wants to be funny or dramatic; it's not so bad as to make the show unwatchable, but it's definitely jarring when it does happen. I also got the distinct impression that the writers didn't know how to wrap everything up in the final episode; as a result, the story stops dead and many loose ends go untied, particularly the meaning of the metal plate that a certain character drops near the end. (Ruri passes a comment about the unresolved plot points during her end-of-episode narration, so it's possible this was done deliberately. Or maybe it's just a cop-out and they really didn't know how to end things. I'm gonna have to lean toward the latter on this one.) But overall, I'd say that this is one series that every otaku needs to see at least once. As is my wont, I watched each episode in English, then again in Japanese with subtitles, and I highly recommend this technique to get the full effect. You'll get to hear Spike Spencer's spot-on performance as Akito and Kira Vincent-Davis' perfect deadpan as Ruri, plus you'll get to hear all the jokes as they were intended in the original Japanese. (As much as possible, at least, because I'm quite sure that most of Mizumi's puns would be indecipherable to an English-speaking viewer if translated literally.) Because, you know, that's what real otaku do. Or so I'm told.

You must buy it.......2007-08-04

Martian Successor Nadesico takes place in the year 2196 where there is a war waging between the inhabitants of Jupiter called the Jovian Lizards and Earth. The main character Akito Tenkawa is a boy with a mysterious past he was a pilot but is scared to fight so he becomes a cook he gets fired from his job because every time there is an attack on Earth he freezes up and then starts having like a panic attack.So heading home on bicycle he hits this car and the luggage attached to the car falls this girl and guy come out of the car and Akito starts helping the girl pick her stuff up. The Girl asked if they have met before and he says no after that she leaves and he finds a picture of a little girl and him as a kid and then realizes that the girl is a friend he had on Mars when he lived there. He wanted to ask her something so he follows the car. To make a long story short she is the captain of a ship called the Nadesico and he becomes a cook/pilot of a robot called an Aestevalis. My review was probably boring but I can a asure you that this was just the some stuff that happens the first episode and that the anime is really funny has a lot of action and it's a Harem anime where almost all of the girls in the series like the main character.

Underestimated by being only a parody!.......2006-06-01

(SPOILERS INCLUDED!)

You know people, when I first started watching this show I thought that it would be just a very good parody, as most reviewers stated it.

True is that it mixes all sorts of stories and plots inside it: Comedy, drama, action, Mechas, science fiction, romance, an anime inside an anime (it is actually hard to explain but easy to understand once you watch the shows) etc.

At the beginning it is mostly a light-hearted show, making successfully fun out of everything and the main story resolves in three main axes: a) Humans and their forces fighting against aliens, b) Aliens fighting against humans and c) a private company that has the strongest space battleship and hired the craziest crew for this purpose, fights for humanity but has its own agenda. This is how the story mainly evolves till somewhere it reaches the middle of the episodes.

However, it starts to get very emotional and presents itself to have many plot twists such as: one side betrays the other, propaganda and manipulating the truth, political and military power games going on and romance evolving all around it. Not to mention the fact that the aliens proof to be humans as well. People will die by sacrificing themselves for the ones they love and in times it gets very emotional if not dramatic at all.
Yes, the story - according to most reviewers - in my humble opinion, is much underestimated. You will see that it has a solid storyline, great character development and the message it brings across is LOVE (SPOILER!) and the love between the female captain and the Nr. 1 pilot of Nadesico is the one that will eventually safe everyone; and the series have a (bittersweet in a way) happy ending. Additionally, all the twists and questions will be answered in the end.

The animation is not bad at all: In order to get a good picture, imagine an animation that is a little bit better than the one that Evangelion or Cowboy Bebop had.

As for the opening - finish songs they are very good and you will love its music.

In my humble opinion, no matter what kind of anime fan you are, this show will definitely have something for you and you will love the series.

Is it worth buying it? I definitely will answer with a YES!

Either way, if you cannot afford the money for it than at least rent it because it is worth watching it.

Just keep in mind to watch the series till the end and then make your final judgment.

I hope that I could help in a way clarifying some things about Martian Successor Nadesico.

GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-02-13

This anime is so funny, and just overall the best of the best! you should really buy the complete chronicles it will save you money.

One of the Greats.......2005-08-23

It seems as though anime these days is taking a turn for the worst with boring and unoriginal shows like Ghost in the Shell and Full Metal Panic. In my opinion, the golden year of anime was 1999. Why? Just look at a list of anime released during that year and you'll see why. A large amount of the most memorable anime came into existence and captured the hearts of otaku (anime fans) everywhere. And Martian Successor Nadesico was one of them. This show is just absolutely brilliant. Not only does it makes fun of old mecha anime with its series-within-a-series Gekigangar 3 (there's actually a separate movie you can buy devoted to the series), it also makes fun of itself by showing the characters from Gekigangar 3 watching Nadesico and discussing ways it could be better. It may sound corny to some, but to me, it's genius. If only every anime could be this good.

Another subtle joke in the episodes is a lot of yelling. If you know anime, then you know that a lot of them contain lots of yelling. While it may seem like a normal part of the anime (and it pretty much is), it's also sort of an inside joke to those who have watched other mecha anime like Gundam Wing. Although sometimes, even to a longtime fan like me, the yelling can get kind of annoying sometimes.

Also, the characters are very memorable. There's the traumatized young pilot Akito Tenkawa, who is reunited with his old friend Yurika Misamaru, an overstimulated nutcase of a girl who can't keep her mind off Akito. Her father is just as crazy as she is, often making comments on the fact that she is "well-endowed". Creepy, but disgustingly funny. There's also little Ruri Hoshino, a child prodigy who views everyone around her as idiots when their antics get out of hand. She's the favorite of many Nadesico fans, and I must say that I am one of them.

Overall, I give this anime a 10/10. This is definitely, as the review title says, one of the greats. One thing I forgot to mention, though: the music is excellent. It keeps the mood going in each scene and the anime would suffer greatly without it. If you're looking for a great, lovable anime to enjoy for years to come while the anime world loses its credibility, then you've found it.

Average customer rating:

Not So Bad - I Liked It
Disappointing Bradbury Documentary

Ray Bradbury: Dancing Among the Muses

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000L42NMI
Release Date: 2006-11-27

Description

Ray Bradbury, Dancing Among The Muses, is the film bio of American literary icon and master storyteller Ray Bradbury. Bradbury, author of such classic novels as The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451 and numerous screenplays such as Herman Melville's metaphoric saga, "Moby Dick". Through intimate interviews with Mr. Bradbury and some of his closest friends and colleagues, the viewer becomes a first hand observer to Bradbury's childhood in Waukegan Illinois, where a mysterious carnival performer changes his life forever. Next as a teenage as Bradbury journeys west with his family to a depression-era Hollywood - a move that puts him in the fantasy world of movies. And finally into the present where Bradbury resides today as the world's premiere storyteller with a list of classic movies, television shows and plays to his credit and more than 50 million books in print throughout the world.

Customer Reviews:

Not So Bad - I Liked It.......2007-06-28

If you disregard the film editing techniques and just listen to the words, I think you will find this program useful and inspiring. As the professor said there are a few things wrong such as missing name/date/location captions and a few stills that don't really make sense, but the content is great. Who cares if Bradbury is not clean shaven, it's ridiculous to use that as a dissent. We're lucky to see Ray speak at all these days. Those who have heard him talk before will recognize many of the same themes and stories that he has spoken of in the past, but at least for me there were a few things I had never heard before. It makes me want to pick up my copies of Dahl, Kneale and Collier, and all the other short story writers Ray has recommended, read them, and get back at the typewriter writing stories every day. And if that's not the most important thing, I don't know what is. As Ray would say to future writers, "Mad Love!" and "Onward!"

Disappointing Bradbury Documentary.......2007-01-04

As a literature professor I view lots of documentaries about authors, from well-produced works to bargain basement photo montages. This is frankly one of the worst I have seen. The disk itself even appears to be a cheap DVD recordable with a label, not a standard commercial DVD. The documentary is a collection of bland recent interview clips and lecture footage of a disheveled and often unshaven Bradbury interspersed with oft-repeated photos and fawning interview comments by others. No one is identified with a screen caption, so while Forrest Ackerman and James Whitmore are easily recognizable, the identities of several other interview subjects are a mystery (although suggested by the context). The camerawork is amateurish and the image jitters from time to time, sometimes inexplicably zooming or panning slightly. The music, such as it is, is comprised of someone strumming on a single guitar. I have seen first year film students put together better work than this. Very disappointing and not at all recommended.

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