Robinson Crusoe on Mars (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Special-effects wunderkind and genre master Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds, The Outer Limits) won a place in the hearts of fantasy-film lovers everywhere with this gorgeously designed journey into the unknown. When his spaceship crash-lands on the barren wastelands of Mars, U.S. astronaut Commander “Kit” Draper (Paul Mantee) must fight for survival, with a pet monkey seemingly his only companion. But is he alone? Shot in vast Techniscope and blazing Technicolor, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is an imaginative and beloved techni-marvel of classic science fiction.

Blu-ray Special Edition Features

• Restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary from 1994 featuring screenwriter Ib Melchior, actors Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin, production designer Al Nozaki, Oscar-winning special effects designer and Robinson Crusoe on Marshistorian Robert Skotak, and excerpts from a 1979 audio interview with director Byron Haskin
• Destination: Mars,a featurette from 2007 by Michael Lennick detailing the science and dreams behind Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Music video for Lundin’s song “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” from 2007
• Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos, production designs, and promotional material
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: An essay by filmmaker and space historian Michael Lennick, Melchior’s “Brief Yargorian Dictionary” of original alien dialect, and a list of facts about Mars from his original screenplay