Mars in Film

As in literature, the fascination with Mars has found cinematic expression for nearly a century. A casual search turns up the following examples, from the thought-provoking to the silly:

  • Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924)
  • Abbott and Costello go to Mars (1953)
  • Angry Red Planet (1959)
  • Capricorn 1
  • Conquest of Space (1954)
  • Deadly Ray from Mars (1938)
  • Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
  • Flash Gordon: Mars Attacks the World (1938)
  • Flight to Mars (1951)
  • Ghosts of Mars (2001)
  • Invaders from Mars (1953)
  • Invaders from Mars (1986)
  • Just Imagine (1930)
  • Lobster Man from Mars (1989)
  • Mars Attacks (1996)
  • Mars Needs Women (1966)
  • Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension (1996)
  • Message from Mars (1912)
  • Mission to Mars (2000)
  • Planet of Blood (1966)
  • Red Planet Mars (1952)
  • Red Planet (2000)
  • Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
  • Rocketship X-M (1950)
  • Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
  • Total Recall (1990)
  • War of the Worlds (1953)
  • The Wizard of Mars (1965)

    There's an annotated list available from the Calspace site, and new and upcoming Hollywood releases are played up here. See also the Golden Age of Red Planet Film.

    A few scenes will illustrate some of these movies:




    Marsfest | Bill Keel | UA Astronomy | Dept. of Physics and Astronomy | University of Alabama

    keel@bildad.astr.ua.edu 
    Last changes: August 2003