Mars Attacks! [Blu-ray]

Director: Tim Burton Tim Burton

Overview

This quirky science fiction comedy is a characteristic feature by iconoclastic director Tim Burton, known to moviegoers for Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The storyline affectionately harkens back to the deadpan sincerity of such '50s and '60s science-fiction films as The Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds. Flying saucers have been reliably seen over the capitals of the world, and the whole world awaits with bated breath to see what will transpire. Among those waiting is the President of the United States (Jack Nicholson), who is assured by his science advisor (Pierce Brosnan) that the coming aliens are utterly peaceful. This advice is hotly contested by the military (led by Rod Steiger), who advices the President to annihilate them. When the aliens land, they are seen to be green, garish, and very cheerful. But appearances prove deceiving when the "friendly" aliens abruptly disintegrate the entire U.S. Congress. Hollywood notables appear in vast quantities in roles (and sub-plots) of all sizes in this zany feature.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/07/2010
UPC:	0883929114412
Original Release:	1996
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	11,881

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jack Nicholson	President Dale/Art Land
Glenn Close	Marshal Dale
Annette Bening	Barbara Land
Pierce Brosnan	Donald Kessler
Martin Short	Jerry Ross
Sarah Jessica Parker	Nathalie Lake
Michael J. Fox	Jason Stone
Rod Steiger	Gen. Decker
Lukas Haas	Richie Norris
Natalie Portman	Taffy Dale
Jim Brown	Byron Williams
Tom Jones	Himself,Sue Ann Norris
Lisa Marie	Martian Girl
Sylvia Sidney	Grandma Norris
Paul Winfield	General Casey
Pam Grier	Louise Williams
Danny DeVito	Rude Gambler
Jack Black	Billy Glenn Norris,Tom Jones Backup Singer
Janice Rivera	Cindy
Ray J.	Cedric
Brandon Hammond	Neville
Joe Don Baker	Glenn Norris
Christina Applegate	Sharona
Brian Haley	Mitch
Jerzy Skolimowski	Doctor Zeigler
Timi Prulhiere	Tour Guide
Barbet Schroeder	French President
Chi Hoang Cai	Mr. Lee
Tommy Bush	Hillbilly
Joseph Maher	Decorator
Gloria M. Malgarini	Nun
Betty Bunch	Nun
Gloria Hoffmann	Nun
Willie Garson	Corporate Guy
John Roselius	GNN Boss
Michael Reilly Burke	GNN Reporter
Valerie Wildman	GNN Reporter
Richard Irving	GNN Reporter
Jonathan Emerson	Newscaster
Tamara Curry	Hooker
Rebecca Broussard	Hooker
Vinny Argiro	Casino Manager
Steve Valentine	TV Director
Coco Leigh	Female Journalist
Jeffrey King	NASA Technician
Enrique Castillo	Hispanic Colonel
Don Lamoth	2nd Colonel
C. Wayne Owens	Stranger
Joseph Patrick Moynihan	Stranger
Roger Peterson	Colonel
John Finnegan	Speaker of the House
Ed Lambert	Morose Old Guy
John Gray	Incredibly Old Guy
Gregg Daniel	Lab Technician
J. Kenneth Campbell	Doctor
Jeanne Mori	Doctor
Rance Howard	Texan Investor
Richard Assad	Saudi Investor
Velletta Carlson	Elderly Slots Woman
Kevin Mangan	Trailer Lover
Rebeca Silva	Hispanic Woman
Josh Weinstein	Hippie
Juian Barnes	White House Waiter
Ken Thomas	White House Photographer
Darelle Porter Holden	Tom Jones Backup Singer
Sharon Hendrix	Tom Jones Backup Singer
Poppy	Poppy
Danny Elfman	Composer

Technical Credits

Jonathan Gems

Tim Burton	Director,Producer
Jonathan Gems	Screenwriter
Larry Franco	Producer,Producer
Joe Donne	Stunts
Michael Lantieri	Special Effects
James Mitchell	Special Effects
Matthew Barry	Casting
Jeanne McCarthy	Casting
Victoria Thomas	Casting
Dennis Maitland, Sr.	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Tim Burton's tribute to the alien invasion flicks of the '50s is so stubbornly zany that it's hard not to like. Burton is a director with an undying penchant for glorifying the kooky, and in Mars Attacks! he constructs what is basically an epic Saturday morning cartoon -- with more cartoonish violence than Tom or Jerry ever dreamed possible. Gibberish-speaking Martians with abnormally large heads arrive in big saucers and, without motive, bring on the destruction of Earth by vaporizing all of Congress (though, in true Burton spirit, one character's first reaction is to laugh and almost cheer). The disparate cast includes every talent imaginable -- from Pam Grier to Pierce Brosnan to Jack Nicholson in a double role as U.S. President and a gaudy casino developer -- and each member plays the big joke so impeccably straight that one might ask whether Burton is lovingly honoring or outrageously mocking the genre. The answer is probably a little bit of both, but even if it isn't, the outcome is irresistibly fun.

Barnes & Noble - Pete Segall

Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, like Barry Levinson's Toys, is a misguided but extremely personal vision. From the opening images of a herd of cows on fire running through a spacious Western landscape (much to the disbelief of stoic local residents), there is never a doubt that the viewer is in the world of Burton's playful imagination. While the film has many good visual jokes, the characters are nothing but caricatures that fail to get any laughs. Pierce Brosnan plays the stiff scientist, forever smoking a pipe. The pipe is as far as the satire has been thought out. The film is based on a series of collectible cards issued by the Topps Company in the 1950s, and the film feels about as thin as one of those cards. Despite some funny gags, the film does not have enough visual wonder to make the viewer ignore the underdeveloped elements that aimed to spoof sci-fi disaster films. Mars Attacks!'s lack of success is due to a personal vision that the director has failed to develop. Since most flawed movies (especially comedies) are terrible precisely because they have been homogenized to reach the lowest common denominator, Mars Attacks!'s individuality makes it an honest failure worth seeing once.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert