Disaster in space seems to be a theme we’re working through in the Film at 11 podcast at the moment, at least in recent episodes with my son Joseph. Moving on from Apollo 13, this week we tackle Ridley Scott’s adaptation of the sci-fi bestseller The Martian, in which Matt Damon plays an astronaut stranded on the red planet.

I had read Andy Weir’s novel The Martian long before I watched the movie version. Even though I’d heard good things about the film, my ambiguous feelings toward Ridley Scott’s career left me a little wary of it. I of course love Scott’s masterpieces Alien and Blade Runner, but most of his later work has left me cold. Honestly, I don’t even think all that highly of his Oscar winner, Gladiator. I consider his 2012 Alien prequel Prometheus a filmmaking atrocity.

Fortunately, The Martian is a considerable return to form for the director and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Even so, the movie is a little too much of a workmanlike product. It’s a very visually striking package, consisting of lots of elements that all work well together – a good source novel, a strong script, a great cast, and Scott’s tremendous technical proficiency behind the camera – but it never feels like any single artist’s personal vision. I liked the movie a lot and I’ll surely watch it again sometime, but I just can’t consider it in the same class as Blade Runner or Alien. Perhaps that’s not entirely fair, but Ridley Scott set a very high bar for himself early in his career and, in my opinion, has never quite reached it again.

Thankfully, Joseph was able to watch the movie without any of that baggage nagging at him, and may have a less biased evaluation of the film.

Title:	The Martian
Year of Release:	2015
Director:	Ridley Scott
Watched On:	Blu-ray
Also Available On:	4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Various VOD rental and purchase platforms

The Blu-ray

Following its successful theatrical run in 2015, The Martian was released on physical media the next year in several distinct choices. First, in January, the 144-minute theatrical cut hit Blu-ray in both 2D and 3D options. A 4K Ultra HD disc trailed slightly behind in March. Almost as if to punish fans for the foolishness of actually buying any of those, a 151-minute Extended Edition came along just a few months later, in June 2016, on Blu-ray or 4K (no 3D for that version).

Because I wanted a SteelBook case on my shelf, I waited until October to import one from the UK. That release contained both the theatrical and extended cuts seamlessly branched on a regular Blu-ray disc – no 4K or 3D.

The Martian was filmed in native 3D using a mixture of 4K and 6K cameras, but the whole thing was conformed down to a 2K Digital Intermediate in post-production. The eventual 4K version was upscaled from that, and at the time I bought my copy, I felt that Blu-ray would be sufficient. I also prioritized the Extended Edition over 3D. I’m not sure that I still agree with all that logic, but I never upgraded to additional copies and don’t feel like buying any now.

As it turns out, the Extended Edition Blu-ray looks plenty great on its own. The 2.40:1 image is quite sharp and detailed, with nice contrast and rich colors (especially the deep reds and oranges on Mars). In outer space scenes, the crisp white of the astronauts’ spacesuits stands in striking relief against the inky blacks of the void. While it’s entirely possible that HDR could add some further improvement, I don’t feel that I’m missing too much after watching the Blu-ray.

Frustratingly, distributor Twentieth Century Fox made a conscious decision to withhold immersive Dolby Atmos audio only for the 4K edition. whereas the Blu-ray is limited to DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. (The Blu-ray format is perfectly compatible with Atmos, should the studio bother to utilize it.) That said, the difference in this case is mostly a matter of principle. The 7.1 mix has a lot of aggressive, directional surround activity, and expands well to height speakers with Dolby Surround Upmixer processing. The track also has a respectable amount of bass, though the film isn’t especially showy in that regard.

The SteelBook edition I bought is a two-disc set. Both discs are coded for Regions A, B, and C. Disc 1, with the feature, also offers an audio commentary by director Ridley Scott, author Andy Weir, and screenwriter Drew Goddard. Disc 2 contains a few minutes of deleted scenes, a 79-minute making-of documentary by Charles de Lauzikira, a 15-minute NASA promo, a two-hour panel discussion (hosted by Andy Weir) about potential Mars exploration, a very brief Ridley Scott plug for NASA, a gag reel, a really dumb and irritating half-hour fake documentary in which Neil deGrasse Tyson pretends this movie is a true story, an art gallery, and four trailers.

Related

• Ridley Scott (director)
  • Blade Runner: Workprint Cut (1982)
  • Legend (1985)
• Chiwetel Ejiofor
  • Serenity (2005)