The Martian, starring Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on the red planet, is the latest in a string of movies set on Mars. The movie opens here on Thursday (Oct 1).
Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie is based on Andy Weir's supremely entertaining adventure story which is both a celebration of the science nerd as hero and a remodelling of the classic Robinson Crusoe story.
The planet just next door to Earth has fascinated storytellers from the late 19th century, from passing mentions in Jules Verne's short stories to Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp John Carter series, to the modern day.
Similarly, movie makers have loved the idea of Mars as a setting. Inventor Thomas Edison's studio actually made the earliest science fiction movie set on Mars titled, what else, A Trip To Mars (1910). The silent film, only about five minutes long, actually boasts rather sophisticated effects with giant half-men, half-tree monsters and multiple exposures.
