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Roving Mars
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Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Find all by Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Directed By: George Butler (II)
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Theatrical Release: January 27, 2006
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
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Retail Price: $29.99
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Starring: Paul Newman, Stephen Squyres, Rob Manning (IV), Charles Elachi, Wayne Lee (II)
Experience it all as you join the mars rovers spirit and opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet. Through the eyes of these two intrepid death-defying rovers and with nasa scientists and engineers at your side youll see mars in a way no one ever has before. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 07/31/2007 Run time: 40 minutes Rating: G
User Submitted Roving Mars Reviews
August 28, 2008
Exactly What I Expected.
What a beautiful documentary! Kudos to the creators. I have been in love with the space program since the early 60's and to view a Mars project in High Definition is a dream come true.
July 17, 2008
Bonus features alone make it a good value.
When the original broadcast of the bonus feature "Mars and Beyond" was aired on ABC in 1957, Sputnik was the first man made satellite. Televisions were black and white, had 12 possible channels, and no solid state components. Yet there it was, a vision of a Mars landing vehicle almost identical to what became the Apollo lunar lander when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon.
In this same 1957 Disney feature, we learn why space exploration is important - "over population and the consumption of Earth's limited resources" make expansion beyond our planet a necessity.
As a lesson in our capacity to imagine and create, and as a lesson in our ability to ignore unpleasant facts, this Disney show is a must see.
Roving Mars itself is an enjoyable documentary. Ponder a bit on what humans are capable of. Find reason to be optimistic that we can solve incredible challenges if we put our minds to it.
April 30, 2008
Pathetic!
I bought this documentary thinking I was going to see images and footage of Mars from the two rovers during their explorations...however...99% of this documentary is COMPUTER ANIMATION! So very little of this "documentary" is actual images and footage from the rovers I can only say one thing. This documentary is PATHETIC! It runs slightly less than 40 minutes! If you followed the stories of Spirit and Opportunity in the news...then you've already seen more rover images from that source than what you will see in this documentary. AN EXTREMELY HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! Don't waste your money.
April 19, 2008
Origami space craft
Well designed documentary on two Mars rovers (Spirit and Opportunity.) We get just enough information and visuals to feel that we are there and part of the project. We are informed of the purpose. The crew looks tad polyandry.
Unlike movies that should concentrate on the story line with visuals coming in as a secondary attribute this documentary benefits form the Blu-ray treatment. One plus is the narration by Paul Newman.
Do not forget to look at the extras on the DVD.
April 4, 2008
Rent It First
First of all I was disappointed not by the fact that there was very little scientific information like one of the reviewers but by the fact that there is almost no actual Mars footage! My guess is 60 percent is about the troubles of building the rovers, and then perhaps 35 percent is CG images of the rover landing on Mars, coming up to a rock, etc, and maybe only 5 minutes of this film (if that) actually contains any actual footage of the planet itself -- the real reason I wanted to watch this film! The movie that I would love to see is one without any narrator, but with just images capturing the sublime grandeur of space (in this case Mars) paired of with some kind of subtle music by someone like Brian Eno.
That said, the CG images were nicely done, and some of the scenes of them building the rovers were interesting. My final advice, rent it first (I did) before you decide if you really want to buy it. I'm going to save my money for something else.
March 7, 2008
Great Movie Offers Basic Rover Concepts
UPDATED 5/17/08: This is a great movie to introduce people to the story of the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Ages of interest probably start at pre-teens to adults! Young children may get lost in some of the science, the dialogue, and the movie's pacing. This IS NOT a "child's" cartoon, and NO, it is NOT a grand Martian photo / footage feast either! :D The movie does contain a considerable amount of expository CGI and modeling, but I found them fascinating and educational in the context of what the movie was trying to communicate. People who want a wealth of real Mars views and Mars facts should visit NASA's official websites and see the rovers' "Postcard" movies, which show images of surface features.
For me, what makes this movie worth watching is the human connections that are made: Spirit had to work hard to achieve its success; Opportunity landed in an area where success was guaranteed. The "teaching" analogy here is some folks have to work hard for what they get while others seem to have the cosmos handed to them on a string. :) Yet, both types are important because they contribute to the whole of humanity.
In the movie, I saw the scientists' affection and enthusiasm for the rovers and how the rovers seem to develop their own personalities based on their experiences on Earth and Mars. After seeing the movie, I was ready to explore more of the "real" Mars and Martian features given on NASA's webpages.
Roving Mars may not be everyone's cup of tea. However, I enjoyed it because I am a fan of the Red Planet and its media and myths. In a world full of negative news and war, it's an uplifting 40 minutes. Don't we all need somethings uplifting?
February 19, 2008
Roving Mars
I played this many times and it was taken to school by my granddaughter and the class loved it, too. It really wowed the kids, because I took them outside at night and showed them Mars in the sky and how far away it was. Gave them perspective for the closeness of the moon.
February 17, 2008
Too short
I give this three stars because it is way to short. The content is absolutely great. However I have to say that at 40 minutes, yes you got that correct, it is not worth 20.00 dollars. I do like the movie and find how they blend real and cgi seemlessly together. I loved the documentary but again at 40 minutes is it worth 20.00
January 3, 2008
This Exit: Mars Toll: Twenty-Bucks
I don't know how anyone could rate this film lower than five stars; unless they watched the film on a cheap TV with a small screen. `Roving Mars' on blu-ray blew me away by the quality of the IMAX HD cinematography focusing on the manufacturing of the rovers. I was captivated by a realistic depiction of what it takes to get a spacecraft to make a 300 million mile hole-in-one landing.
I had read a review on Netflix where the wannabe critique stated that they didn't like all the CGI; they probably didn't know that some of the extraordinary footage of the mars terrain was actual footage from the HD-quality cameras on-board the rovers. It might have helped the common laymen if the filmmakers had indicted where the CGI stopped and the actual footage from mars began. I've been so engrossed by the rover missions (NASA made all the rover stills, panoramas and video available for download to the public, ever since the missions began http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html) I knew when I was when observing actual film-footage from mars, but I hadn't witnessed the utter clarity of the videos by playback on the computer. I'm astounded by the fact that the rovers are still up there working after four years, and this DVD will have a special place in my heart and in my imagination for the rest of my life imprisoned here on the earth.
In reference to the low ratings listed here: pretty much all IMAX documentaries are less than 60 minutes because of the giant-size of the actual IMAX film used for projection in IMAX theaters. I think its well worth twenty-bucks. It's something you'll proudly enjoy showing to your friends; providing you have a quality TV screen or projector.
December 11, 2007
Too Diluted
I'm very excited about science and engineering. We can't take for granted the courage and brilliance it took NASA and its contractors to design, implement, and deploy the equipment for this mission, then exercise the robots for this mission. And they did it all for less than what we pay for a baseball stadium!
This 40-minute film is disappointing, however. It's short on science; there is no discussion of the launch planning, the path of the rover as it travels to Mars, or any interesting facts. What is its weight? How did the timing work? How did the engineers design the rover, and measure its performance? What materials were used in its implementation? What diagnostics did it have? How much power did it use? What challenges were involved in surviving the harsh Martian atmosphere, its cold, the dust, and its chemistry?
The questions I have are simple, and endless. This film addressed none of them, I'm afraid. Worse, as others have pointed out, there's very little actual footage from the rovers. Most of the CGI scenes are flawed -- seeing stars through the shadowed surface of the moon, for example.
I admire the engineers and explorers in our space programs as heroes. This film does them disservice by failing to tell their wonderful story.
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