In 1974 along with taking up playing D&D I bought my first Sword and Planet books..the entire NEL edition of the Mars and Venus stories.
I've waited 38 years for this Movie and I can say I was satisfied.roll on the rest of the Trilogy
What you expected me to Comment on the plot and the Special effect..no spoilers here except for.....
Dejah Thoris..PWHOARRRRRR
Oh and Jimmy Purefoy obviously enjoying himself immensely
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I will probably see it soon; it's playing at the 3D-IMAX at the Pacific Science Center and we get 6 free tix to every film that comes through. Probably see the Lorax first, though.
I've never read the books and only have a basic understanding of the character, so I'm only interested in it as a pure sci-fi adventure, not for its fidelity to the character or the books.
Too many clothes, man, too many clothes! Can you imagine the hue and cry that would have gone up from the Tolkien nerds if Pete Jackson had decided the fellowship should run around naked just because that's what the production company and ratings board demanded?
Serious question for Wellard: Did they get into any depth about the inverted emotional/psychological make up for the Green Martians, or did that get glossed over? (Speaking cryptically for the sake of those who haven't read the books.)
Just got back from seeing it and it was awesome. I took my son and he loved it too. I was afraid it was going to be awful because so often that's what happens when books I loved as a child get made into movies, but I was pleasantly surprised. :)
Cool; plan to see it; Rotten Tomatoes deuced on it but I don't care; looks like it's getting positives so far from youse guys.
My favorite is when reviewers say "uuuh.....it reminded me of Star Wars....."
duuuuu.....uuuuuh; what do you think George Lucas read when he was 9, Ramona and Beezus?
Romona and Beezus told many stories about radium pistols, OKAY?!
SUPERFUDGE!!
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Beezus of Gathol......Ramonvia, Maid of Mars.......
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I saw the 3D version with my wife and daughter last night, and highly recommend the movie. I'm not much of a movie goer these days, and this was the first 3D movie that I've seen in several years...very impressed. Somehow, I fear that comes off like the old clip of George Bush, Sr. being impressed by the bar scanner at the grocery store, though. :)
I was a big ERB fan in my teens and have been waiting for this movie for 30+ years. It's been at least 20 years since I read the JC books, and now need to go dig up my box of ERB books, handed down from my grandfather, who bought them new as a kid when they were released, and supplemented by purchases by my dad and myself.
There are certainly some major differences in plot from the original story line, and that often is offsetting for me. I was able to set that aside and just enjoy the movie for it's own sake. I loved it. The artistic design was generally quite good, and I particularly enjoyed some of the moments with the green martians' independent use of their four arms.
I think it would make an excellent study for a student of film and sociology in terms of how the story and characters have been changed for a modern audience, particularly regarding the character of Dejah Thoris.
Just got back from seeing it with my son. We both loved it.
Now I have a copy of Princess of Mars on my bookshelf which I'll be reading here soon. I wanted to see the movie first. I fully anticipate that the super-jumps will be greatly toned down compared to the movie but just as with comic book movie adaptations, I can understand differences between original source material and big-screen adaptations.
I thought the special effects were well done and the actors did a great job.
Also, on a tangent, the actress in the movie wouldn't make a bad Wonder Woman, either. It was my son who pointed it out to me when I expressed that she was Mom's kind of heroine to which he said "Yeah, and she looked like a Martian Wonder Woman".
I saw it last night, great movie, as usual the critics are idiots.
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I'm glad they made this movie; I haven't seen it yet, but regardless of whether it's good or not I'm sure it will make the books more popular again among younger readers. I do booktalks, and I always try to recommend the Mars series (the comic adaptations as well) to boys, but so far with little success. Now that the movie is out, there will be new printings of the books, and it will hopefully be much easier to get new generations to read them. :)
It happened with Hunger Games, too.
My wife and I both loved it. Highly recommended.
Since I have not read the John Carter bookd, yet. I had no idea what to expect. But the thing is, I did really like this movie. Its good to see one of the grandfaters of science fiction have a kick butt movie made!
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I just returned and in my opinion it was fantastic! Now, of course I went into it without reading any of the novels, "A Princess of Mars", but again I thought it was amazing.
And it looks like the sequel is go. The Gods of Mars
Cool; plan to see it; Rotten Tomatoes deuced on it but I don't care; looks like it's getting positives so far from youse guys.
Every review by someone who has read the books has been positive, although they note that the beginning of the movie is a little slow. The only negative reviews have been people going "durrr this looks like Star Wars"
Personally I loved the idea of connecting the books directly to the film...those who have seen it know what I'm talking about.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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The only negative reviews have been people going "durrr this looks like Star Wars"
I've wondered if they should have included in the trailers quotes from Lucas, Cameron, etc etc saying they were inspired by John Carter growing up.
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The wife and I liked it.
Plus it is good to see caesar and mark antony made it to mars.
HAHAHAHA I had the exact same thought when I saw it. And at the risk of piling on, I thought it was great as well!
Sadly, it looks like Disney may have lost thier shirts on this one though, and I do not think there will be a sequel. I went in the middle of the afternoon on opening day and I was one of maybe 20 people in the theatre.
The problems seem to be a combination of terrible marketing and idiot reviewers.
I haven't seen the movie but I've heard many so-so reviews here in Canada from critics for whom I have high esteem. Most were going there with good heart and fair knowledge of what John Carter was and what to expect of it as a movie.
Most were comparing it to Star Wars I-III when they wanted to compare it it to Star Wars IV-VI
One of the main element of deception was that the publicity made for the movie didn't match the movie itself, trying to sell the film for something it wasn't. Too bad 'cause the commercials were really good...
According to Yahoo:
"The little bit of good is in "John Carter's" international numbers. The movie grossed $70.6 million outside of North America, for a worldwide opening weekend above $100 million."
Not so bad...
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Yeah, $100M for opening weekend should mean that it's a money maker, even with all the special effect stuff. I don't know what it cost to make.
One thing when talking about my small audience: we were in the 3D version...there was a concurrent regular production version at about the same time. Not everyone wants to pay the upcharge, or even likes 3D. My kid complains of headaches. I know I tended to stop blinking and found my eyes drying out. But, I'm old and this was my first 3D movie in the new technology.
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Cost $250 mil, that is probably before advertising, so probably north of $300 mil.
About 3-D, I hate 3-D movies so much, I drove the next town over just so I could watch it without 3-D, damn local theater was only playing it in 3-D.
The only negative reviews have been people going "durrr this looks like Star Wars"I've wondered if they should have included in the trailers quotes from Lucas, Cameron, etc etc saying they were inspired by John Carter growing up.
The overall Marketing of this very expensive film was bad.
(For instance, the way it was titled ...)Right now, the poster/title/etc. seem kind of bland.
I get the feeling that Disney isn't going to ditch the franchise on one bad flick.
I'm wondering, though, where the merchandising is. I'd like a few tharks to fight my kids' jedis and clone troopers and stuff.
I get the feeling that Disney isn't going to ditch the franchise on one bad flick.
The thing is John Carter is not a "bad flick." Disney Marketing failed John Carter, not the other way around.
I meant "a flick that didn't perform well at the box office" by way of bad.
Looking forward to seeing it.
I actually went on project Gutenberg and read Princess of Mars before I went and saw the movie...I wanted to know what they changed and what they kept.
They did a VERY good job modernizing it. Burroughs was a product of his times, and including women in a fight was just something they didn't do. Women on Barsoom are completely ignored in combat, for the most part...they don't fight.
They went overboard on the leaping, but hey, it's a 3D world.
I don't know what book the moving city was from. I don't remember it. There were certainly multiple cities in the series. Did they just retask the name of the primary 'bad' red city from the book?
Introing the Thrain (?)was a nice way around the semi-psionic way he got there in the novel, and actually makes more logical sense.
Beginning and ending fairly spot on, although the Apaches were portrayed more sympathetically.
All in all a good movie, worthy of the name. Love John Carter.
I still haven't read the Carson of Venus series. I wonder if they are on Gutenberg? I've been waiting to read them almost thirty years...
==Aelryinth
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I am hoping this movie gets good word of mouth and continues to make money overseas, because I'd kill a hobo to get a Gods of Mars movie.
For some reason when I was a kid, I read Thuvia, Maid of Mars first. That's the movie I'd love to see down the line. Of course, it's some 15-20 years down the line, timeline speaking. :-)
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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@Aelryinth
Carson of Venus was written later, so I don't think it will be in the public domain anytime soon. Maybe we'll get reprints of them. His method of reaching Venus is more 'scientific' than John Carter's method. Some of the civilizations on Amtor are very cruel. Carson of Venus also reflected advances in technology, with Carson building Venus's first airplane (anotar), and R-rays and T-rays, which are similar to the Thern superweapon in the movies.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Re: Carson of Venus
I stand corrected, it's public domain (except for Wizard of Venus) in Austrillia
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Just got back from seeing this movie tonight, and I'll echo all of the favorable reviews. I thought it was very good, the princess Deja Thoris was indeed sizzling HAWT (my teenage son said he thought he caught a little nipple slip in one scene; if so, I missed it). The races were interesting, and much about their culture was implied by the tried and true "show, don't tell" method; we learn a lot without any heavy blocks of exposition.
I liked the framing device and the ending as well.
I saw it on a 6-story, 80-foot-wide IMAX screen in 3D, but interestingly I didn't think the 3D effects were all that strident or intrusive, as I usually do. They were done subtly, almost in-frame, rather than trying to go for the "oooohhh, the thing is stabbing out at you" BS. Which is to say, I disliked the 3D in this movie much less than I usually dislike 3D.
Nice work, Disney. I hope you make back enough to continue the franchise.
I'll be seeing this one myself. This is a movie I've wanted to see for a long time; my biggest worry was that it would be "Disney-fied" to the point where they might as well have gone with a completely original title.
And one more question: have any reviewers actually said anything like "this Burroughs guy should be ashamed, he's totally ripping George Lucas off"?
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Saw the movie last night (Wednesday, 3/21). Critics are a pile of dung! This may be one the best works of Heroic Fantasy in film ever made. Comparing it to Star Wars is not a bad thing, and not far off the mark. The main difference is that JC has much better acting and one of the best heroes I have seen in quite a while. I will be going back to see it again, if for no other reason than to help increase the sales with the ultimate hope that a sequel could be made.
If you have not seen JC yet, then shame on you. Get you butt to the theater. :)
Later,
Mazra
And one more question: have any reviewers actually said anything like "this Burroughs guy should be ashamed, he's totally ripping George Lucas off"?
None that I heard. The references I heard were more about similitude of genre and fantasy/sci-fi mash-up of swords, guns and flying ships (with more techno-babble in Star Wars, more He-Man barbarianism in John Carter).
After watching the movie myself, I personally find the reference to Star Wars far fetched; the major themes of Star Wars were either absent or secondary in John Carter. Even the "chosen hero saves universe against quintessential Evil" isn't that clearly cut.
Although I give JC a "good" review, I agree that like Star Wars episode I, it is a "wow, imagine how awesome this film could have been" rather that a "wow, this film was awesome".
'findel
Went and read Gods of Mars, which is the 2nd book, where they introduce the Thern. Wow, it has been a long time since I read these books, and I'm not sure I ever actually read Gods of Mars in the past.
Reading Warlord of Mars on Gutenberg, which is the followup to Gods of Mars. :)
they have it on audiobook, too, for those of you interested!
===Aelryinth
And one more question: have any reviewers actually said anything like "this Burroughs guy should be ashamed, he's totally ripping George Lucas off"?
I've heard reviewers say that it was "cashing in on the success of Star Wars and Avatar" which is not technically the same thing, or even technically incorrect, but also somewhat misleading.
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Just to be clear, George Lucas credits Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter saga as inspiration for Star Wars. The same is true for James Cameron, as he credits Burroughs works for his inspiration for Avatar. In fact many of the great science fiction writers credit ERB as inspiration. It is amazing that no one previously made a theatrical release based on the Barsoom books.
Disney is owed a very great debt of gratitude for bringing one of the great works of science fiction/fantasy to cinema life and doing so in a way that is though not perfectly true to the book, is very respectful to Edgar Rice Burroughs original visions.
Later,
Mazra
It's amazing that every production company up till now couldn't get past the fact the everyone's just naked on Barsoom!
But seriously, glad that Disney released the movie.
(Ciaran Hinds? That dude's just in crappy scifi movies, nothing to do with Jane Austen.)
The movie took me back to being a 9 year old boy with these books. It even felt like reading an ERB novel. I hope they go crazy with it...
And then down to Pellucidar!