Red Planet (2000)

Astronauts, and their robotic dog AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion), search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.

Director:

Antony Hoffman

Writers:

Chuck Pfarrer (story), Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay)

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Val Kilmer	...	Gallagher
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Bowman
Tom Sizemore	...	Burchenal
Benjamin Bratt	...	Santen
Simon Baker	...	Pettengil
Terence Stamp	...	Chantilas
Jessica Morton	...	Website Fan
Caroline Bossi	...	Website Fan
Bob Neill	...	Voice of Houston (voice)

Storyline

In the near future, Earth is dying. A new colony on Mars could be humanity's only hope. A team of American astronauts, each a specialist in a different field, is making the first manned expedition to the red planet and must struggle to overcome the differences in their personalities, backgrounds and ideologies for the overall good of the mission. When their equipment suffers life-threatening damage and the crew must depend on one another for survival on the hostile surface of Mars, their doubts, fears and questions about God, man's destiny and the nature of the universe become defining elements in their fates. In this alien environment they must come face to face with their most human selves.

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Plot Keywords:

extinguishing a fire | cold the temperature | mars | survival | environment | 

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Taglines:

The Color Of Fear

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, brief nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Poland] Warner Bros. [Canada]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mars

Filming Locations:

Moon Plain, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,721,296, 12 November 2000

Gross USA:

$17,480,890

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,463,969

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With more than nine hundred effects shots, this movie needed a visual effects team that would be able to create a totally alien atmosphere and a terrifyingly real opponent in the sophisticated robot AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion). "The visual effects will completely elevate the experience of this film," said producer Mark Canton. "In any film today, there's an expectation for fun. The fun factor in this film is going to be large, and the effects are going to be dazzling and what you see on screen will be utterly unique. There's life on Mars, but it's not little green men."

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Goofs

(at around 1h 18 mins) The creatures on Mars are called nematodes, which are unsegmented worms. With jointed exoskeletons and paired legs and arms, the creatures resemble arthropods.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Commander Kate Bowman: [narration] By the year 2000 we had begun to over populate, pollute, and poison our planet faster than we could clean it up. We ignored the problem for as long as we could. But we were kidding ourselves. By 2025, we knew we were in trouble. And began to desperately search for a new home - Mars.
Commander Kate Bowman: For the last 20 years we've been sending unmanned probes with algae, bio-engineered to grow there and produce oxygen. We're going to build ourselves an atmosphere we can breathe. And for 20 ...

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Crazy Credits

In the credits, Pettengill is spelled Pettengil (one "l").

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Connections

References Apollo 13 (1995)

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Soundtracks

A Thousand Years
Written by Sting and Kipper
Published by Magnetic Publishing Ltd.
Administered by EMI Blackwood Music, Inc./Diverse Music Ltd.
Administered by BMG Songs, Inc.
Performed by Sting
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Yet Another Twist On The Trip-To-Mars Idea, But A Good One

This movie was released the same year as "Mission To Mars" and both movies had an interesting twist to them.

While "Mission To Mars" dealt humans "visiting" the planet and dealing with the "face on Mars" and a previous civilization living on that planet at one time, "Red Planet" dealt with humans trying to "colonize" the planet but running into a problem they didn't count --- life still being there.

I would suggest viewing both movies as companions to each other.