Note: I will be in California from April 11 - 19 and only able to process a limited selection of orders until my return
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Digitally mastered in widescreen from the famed Criterion Laserdic edition: on DVD!
NOW SHIPPING!
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There probably aren't too many of you who have a laserdisc player hooked up to your video setup. In fact, I'll bet that 95% of you have never seen a laserdisc, and probably 50% of you have never heard of a laserdisc! But until now, the only place you could see this movie in glorious widescreen with commentary from many of the major players in its creation was on a laserdisc. But not just any laserdisc. This is the famed Criterion laserdisc version of Robinson Crusoe on Mars; the laserdisc that usually sells for upwards of $150 today on collector sites. Why such a high price? Because Criterion put a huge amount of work into this edition (the LD version comes with two laserdiscs) and saw fit to corral many of the creators of the original movie to do the commentary.
The problems of how to preserve the spirit of the Criterion edition while transferring to DVD were many. For those of you who've never watched a laserdisc, the picture is vastly better than anything ever put on VHS and was the DVD of its day, but was pretty much embraced mainly by rabid videophiles. The discs had chapters that you could skip through, like a DVD, but sometimes you had to turn the LD (laserdisc) over to play the other side, like a vinyl LP. You could have alternate audio tracks, but it was a fairly involved process to select between them (there were no onscreen menus.)
In the Criterion LD version of RC on Mars, the two discs were arranged so that while viewing the movie, you could switch between the commentary track and the non-commentary track. I have preserved this feature, although you can't do it mid-stream. In the Criterion version, what I have recreated as optional subtitles that you can watch with commentary on or off, was in the form of a slideshow, with text on a blue background that you had to click through to advance. Needless to say, clicking through these somewhat large blocks of text was tedious, to say the least. In this DVD version, I've arranged it so that it runs, like subtitles, along the bottom of the screen. It is not matched to the action on the screen, but rather as an adjunct to read while you watch the movie. These subtitles are the actual text directly from the laserdisc and describe many facets of the making of the movie and the personalities involved. They run about two-thirds through the movie (a little over an hour.)
Actual screenshot from DVD
Here are some notes from the Criterion LD that also pertain to this DVD edition:
About the transfer:
This exclusive digital transfer was made from a 35mm duplicate negative, struck from the original 35mm Techniscope intermediate positive, and the original 35mm three track mono magnetic track. This film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
Special features
 Commentary by screenwriter Ib Melchior, actors Paul Mantee and Vic Lundin, production designer Al Nozaki, plus noted special effects designer Arnold Skotak
Excerpts from a rare interview with director Byron Haskin
Robert Skotak’s article on the history and the making of the film (presented on the DVD as the subtitle track).
More stuff:
This disc also lovingly preserves all the original Criterion chapter markers, accessible either from the chapter menu or by simply clicking "Next chapter" on your remote control. At any time, use your remote control to turn on/off the subtitles.
You're going to love this disc! Region-free, should play on any NTSC player. Disc comes in DVD case with full-color artwork and description in attractive DVD sleeve. Replacement disc or money back if you have any problems at all!
Yes! I want the Criterion transfer DVD for $49.95 (the laserdisc version regularly sells for more than $150 on auction sites and you are probably never going to see this as an official reissue) plus $6 shipping and handling.
Yes! I want the Criterion transfer DVD, but without commentary and extras, for only $39.00 plus $6.00 shipping worldwide.
Email with any questions. See the other DVDs I have!
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