I just watched "Marooned".

[brandonakaxerxes]

I have not actually seen the MST3K riff of this film yet (where it's shown under the name "Space Travelers"), but I recently viewed the film uncut, and unMSTied, and....

I don't really get the praise this film gets. Dennis Miller, Joe Dante, and I don't know who else, ranked the Brains for riffing this film, calling this film a classic, untouchable, an Oscar winner, blah blah blah. I know everyone's entitled to their opinion, but.... good god this film is STUPID.

Okay, that may be harsh, but I can clearly see why the Brains were interested in taking on this film. Aside from the fact that the movie is BORING, and moves at an incredibly slow pace (even the rescue scene towards the end is pretty drawn out unnecessarily) I think the plot, characters, and overall acting is uninspiring, and laughable. Gregory Peck, Gene Hackman, and the guy that plays Stone (forgot the actor's name) are awfully hammy a good portion of the time, even during moments when there's no need to be.

Sometimes the actor are completely wooden, even for scenes where them overacting would actually be appropriate. Like the scene towards the end, when the Russian astronaut is trying to reach Gene Hackman, and Hackman floats by to his possible death, the Russian astronaut just sorts shrugs it off, as if to say, "Darn it. Missed him. Oh well." I couldn't help but laugh.

Gregory Peck talks like a malfunctioning William Shatner robot for most of the film.

Gene Hackman's character is pretty annoying. Hackman just was not meant to play a whiney, obnoxious schmuck. I was so glad when his character's oxygen ran out.

The characters do STUPID things. They're told specifically by ground control not to do certain things, which could make the situation of being stuck in space worse..... and the astronauts do it anyway, AND MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE.

I could probably pick apart a bunch of other flaws regarding this film, but the point I was trying to make is I think any person back in the early 90s that hated MST3K just because they riffed this film, really should try and make a compelling argument that this film is good. It really is not.

I look forward to watching the MST3K episode (BTW, do they make fun of the fact that one of the names in the film is "Iron Man"? While watching this film with my dad, I kept cracking Tony Stark jokes).

[geminiman112]

I completely agree with you. Marooned is really bad. Although there is one thing (relatively) interesting about this movie. One of the songs in the soundtrack is the tune that is used in the opening credits of Pod People.

[Mike Flugennock]

Oct 15, 2014 19:52:42 GMT -5 geminiman112 said:

I completely agree with you. Marooned is really bad. Although there is one thing (relatively) interesting about this movie. One of the songs in the soundtrack is the tune that is used in the opening credits of Pod People.

Well, as I recall, Marooned (Space Travelers) was one of those movies re-released through that Film Ventures International outfit, with a new duller title and new, lamer opening title sequences with that boring-assed Danny Elfman music in the background -- like Godzilla Vs The Sea Monster, Pod People, and Cavé Dwellers.

[sol-survivor]

I never understood why when they're down to pretty much counting every single oxygen molecule they pop the friggin' hatch!

[sirsethunriffed]

Is it a great movie?  No.  But is it a bad one?  I would have to answer no to that too. 

Marooned is a pretty average movie, with some very good to great actors giving workmen like performances.  Admittedly, this wouldn't make the Peck or Hackman highlight reel, but that would be a tribute to the greatness of their careers than anything.

The pacing, as well as the abundance of NASA porn, leave much to be desired to a modern viewer.  In the context of the time the film was made, I don't see those elements as being crippling to the overall story.  After 2001 set the bar for 'adult' science fiction, glacial pacing was an element of many serious sci-fi film.  Silent Running, Phase IV and Andromeda Strain come to mind as similarly paced, though overall 'better', films.  The pacing failure in Marooned was matching pace with urgency in the final act.  The NASA porn is forgivable coming on the heels of the moon landing-people were nuts for the technical shots.

I will admit, this is one of the few movies helped by the FVI editing, simply by the removal of the lingering shots of blinking panels and rocket pads.  My disappointment in Marooned comes from my expectations.  This cast shouldn't be that average.

Marooned, like many others riffed on the SOL, is a decent to good film.  You have to take off those MSTie-colored glasses when give them a watch.

[Afgncaap5]

This is one of those films that I've still never seen, either riffed or unriffed, and as such I can't have much to say directly. However, it does interest me that I've heard more people defend Marooned than I've heard defend This Island Earth (which, on its own and unedited, is actually a pretty good sci-fi movie. Not untouchable by any means, and certainly goofy at times, but still.)

[Mike Flugennock]

Oct 15, 2014 19:35:13 GMT -5 brandonakaxerxes said:

The characters do STUPID things. They're told specifically by ground control not to do certain things, which could make the situation of being stuck in space worse..... and the astronauts do it anyway, AND MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE...

Oh, man, tell me about it. I saw it right after it came out and to this day, I'm still gobsmacked by the scene where Richard Crenna, in direct disregard of Mission Control, suits up to go out and visually inspect the service module engine, and totally forgets about the high-gain antenna mount sticking out right there next to him, just waiting for him to rip his suit open on it...

...never mind the horrific technical inaccuracies in that scene, but that's just too heavily space-geeky to go into here.

[brandonakaxerxes]

Oct 22, 2014 19:46:31 GMT -5 Afgncaap5 said:

This is one of those films that I've still never seen, either riffed or unriffed, and as such I can't have much to say directly. However, it does interest me that I've heard more people defend Marooned than I've heard defend This Island Earth (which, on its own and unedited, is actually a pretty good sci-fi movie. Not untouchable by any means, and certainly goofy at times, but still.)

The main issue I have with "This Island Earth", is Exeter's trip to Earth just seemed really pointless. Even if Cal and Ruth got brainwashed into helping them save their planet, I'm not sure how much good it would have done, or if they'd have even had time to do it. The planet Metaluna is already in disarray once they arrive, and dies out very shortly after they escape.

That aside, I would say "This Island Earth" is a better film than "Marooned", just on the basis that it is a more interesting film, plot-wise, and visual-wise. If anyone is ever able to find the unriffed version of the film, give it a watch. It's really not bad (although that doesn't mean I disapprove of it being riffed. )

[Afgncaap5]

Oct 22, 2014 22:29:45 GMT -5 brandonakaxerxes said:

Oct 22, 2014 19:46:31 GMT -5 Afgncaap5 said:

This is one of those films that I've still never seen, either riffed or unriffed, and as such I can't have much to say directly. However, it does interest me that I've heard more people defend Marooned than I've heard defend This Island Earth (which, on its own and unedited, is actually a pretty good sci-fi movie. Not untouchable by any means, and certainly goofy at times, but still.)

The main issue I have with "This Island Earth", is Exeter's trip to Earth just seemed really pointless. Even if Cal and Ruth got brainwashed into helping them save their planet, I'm not sure how much good it would have done, or if they'd have even had time to do it. The planet Metaluna is already in disarray once they arrive, and dies out very shortly after they escape.

That aside, I would say "This Island Earth" is a better film than "Marooned", just on the basis that it is a more interesting film, plot-wise, and visual-wise. If anyone is ever able to find the unriffed version of the film, give it a watch. It's really not bad (although that doesn't mean I disapprove of it being riffed. )

Right. And it's that question of quality that makes the defense of Marooned so interesting to me. It almost feels like there's something like a reversal of the Uncanny Valley effect, where people feel like they have to defend the movie more fervently because its good points aren't as obvious.

(But yeah, Metaluna was really grasping at straws for survival when they sent the mission to Earth, I think.)

[kansas]

I'm old enough to remember when Marooned came out (although I didn't see it until the MST3K version), but it got a lot of praise from some people for showing the Russians as good guys. Any movie that seemed to promote east-west cooperation automatically got bonus points from some critics.