I feel the CGI works in this movie as almost kind of a nod to the B-movies of the 1950's, as well keeping with the look of the trading cards that the movie was based on. I think the boxer was Jim Brown,who was in The Dirty Dozen.
@@clearsmashdrop5829 you could say the same thing for any case of bad cgi. Just because it was intentional doesn't make it better and you really have no evidence of it being the intent as well cause most movies of this era had cgi like this.
@@ShanWatchesMovies No, not actually. It just adopts and spoofs enough of the tropes regarding Trek that fans have kind of adopted it as an unofficial Trek film.
@@ShanWatchesMovies - Many Trek fans lovingly regard it as one because it revolves around the cast of a beloved show that is essentially meant to emulate Star Trek. And a fitting adventure ensues.
@@Menaceblue3 If comedy aliens blew up the congress maybe it'd be a plus, but I would hope you don't think what happened yesterday a plus. Well, unless you support that kind of thing I guess.
@@lampad4549 7 months and you didn't bother to do any research? A) "Mars Attacks" was a trading card series from 1962. B) From Wiki (which didn't have the best reference links but it does have references for this): "Burton, who was busy preparing Ed Wood (1994), believed that Mars Attacks! would be a perfect opportunity to pay homage to the films of Edward D. Wood Jr., especially Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), and other 1950s science fiction B movies" C) They originally WERE going to use stop-motion, but the budget didn't allow for it so they switch to computer animation.
Mars Attacks is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders
Fun trivia:When people had their flesh vaporized from their bones, the remaining skeletons were either red or green. Tim Burton explained this had been done because the movie had been scheduled for a Christmas release. Also, the red and green skeletons were first seen in Beetlejuice (1988). When Barbara and Adam were in Juno's office, you can see them with other ghouls looking at the screen. Fun trivia:Producer / director Tim Burton visited Tom Jones backstage after one of his Las Vegas shows, to ask him to appear in this movie. Additionally, Jones' actual back-up singers at the time, Darelle Porter Holden, Christi Black, and Sharon Hendrix, played his doomed back-up singers in the movie. Fun trivia:When Gen. Decker (Rod Steiger) shouts at the Martians, "We'll never surrender, do you hear me? We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you on the streets! We'll never, never surrender!" this parodies the words of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in 1940, regarding the threat of invasion by Nazi Germany: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we will never surrender."
There's no hate for having your own opinion on Burton/Depp collaborations. They are definitely darker. And that's the whole point of this channel... To give YOUR opinion on movies you haven't seen. Keep doing YOU Shan! Love your channel! 💜
I know you don’t like the Johnny Depp Tim Burton collaboration, but you really should watch Ed Wood not only is it their best collaboration but it’s also perhaps Tim Burton’s best movie ever
As mentioned below this movie was intended as a parody of 50s sci-fi moves like "Earth Vs The Flying Saucers" (1956), "Invaders From Mars (1953)", "Invasion of the Saucer Men" (1957) and others. Some of special effects were intentionally made to look a little cheesey.
Both the Martian's weekness to sound and the Signs alien's weekness to water are most likely throwbacks to War Of The Worlds, the granddaddy of Alien Invasion stories, where their immune system killed them.
Its a Slim Whitman(Country Music) album. It's his voice that kills the aliens. In the 70's a lot of people bought this album from a tv commercial. After buying it, nobody liked the album. I didn't care for Slim Whitman, but loved this idea of his voice blowing up their heads. Love this movie. So funny.
I enjoy the inferior (by today's standards) CGI of the film. Since the film design has an element to old 1950's sci-fi I think the quality of the CGI fits perfectly.
The invading aliens with a fundamental weakness that we exploit to win is the literally oldest trope in science fiction. It all goes back to H.G. Welles War of the Worlds. It is the most often repeated cliche, but it works. Just a note, the CG was not meant to look "real" the aesthetic was intentionally absurd. It hinges on 1950s B movies and pulp fiction. There was a trading card series in the 70s named Mars Attacks that depicted absurd and gory stuff with aliens that are the origin of the look of the aliens here.
The most underrated of the Tim Burton gems. A bunch of A-list actors in a basically 1950s scifi B-movie. As for the Burton/Depp collaborations I think the first three they made (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow) are good.
I think the "aliens have a surprisingly simple weakness" trope goes all the way back to H.G.Welles War of the Worlds, where (124-year-old spoiler) the aliens are susceptible to cold germs.
it was a parody of the 1953 movie adaption of war of the worlds in which the singing from the people taking refuge in churches would cause the aliens to die (rather than earth's bacteria like in wells novel). i think the original verison of the movie gave the bacteria as the explanation in the end but that got cut from the theatrical release due to religious reasons or something.
@@michaelbastraw1493 haha maybe. i remember having watched a cut without narration but singing in the ending back in school in english class. and eventually years later learned that an original or so version had the message from the novel.
@@denisloebner4882 Denis, read the novel before seeing the movie. Who knew that Covid-19 would ultimately get them in the film version? Clearly, they should not have left their masks back on Mars even though, for the most part, they did practice social distancing. Best. Leo.
@@michaelbastraw1493 Leo i know what the novel is about. i was talking about the 60ties movie adaption and why tim burton allegedly chose music as the martians achilles heel (because mars attacks was a parody of 60ties and scifi cinema).
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is another ridiculously funny disaster movie where the invaders are killed using a specific song! I think that's what Tim Burton was referencing here :)
16:08 The man you're confusing for Evander is Jim Brown. He was an all time great running back for the Browns in the late '50s and early 60's but retired to both prevent too much wear and tear on his body and to pursue an acting career. He plays a major role in The Dirty Dozen, which prompted his move from football to Hollywood.
I like the "bad" effects, they're on purpose, honoring the old 50s sci-fi B-flicks and the collectors' cards they're based on. Also, Independence Day wants to be this movie when it grows up. Fun fact: producers told Tim Burton that he couldn't kill Jack Nicholson off, so of course Burton cast him in TWO roles and killed off both :D
13:48 The way that Jack Nicholson speaks here really makes me think he could have done as good of a job as Michael Keaton playing Beetlejuice, if not better.
One of the first jokes in this movie is the incredibly blurry photos of flying saucers the President is examining. The worst photos in the world, and they were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. When this telescope was first launched into orbit, there was a flaw in its mirrors, so the pictures it took were blurred. It was eventually repaired, but this was the first impression everyone had of the Hubble.
don't forget about the CGI that Burton wanted it (and as a tribute to) the old/first SFmovies that were B-movies,so some 'flaws' in the look and feel of the CGI were on purpose to seem a bit fake etc
Just like Big Trouble in Little China, Mars Attacks makes fun of the traditional American heroic figure in a very satirical way. It's the kind of movie that tell people: you're kinda dumb, right? So you have to take some distance to be able to enjoy them but the American audience tend to take everything at face value.
The hotel in Las Vegas that falls down was footage of an actual demolition of the Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas (across from the convention center). It was demolished during the day, and they just did a day-for-night effect to look like night time.
Honestly the effects not aging well kind of helps this movie since it is supposed to also be a parody of old sci-fi movies whose effects didn't age well either.
Not gonna lie I was excited to see you list a bunch of names and then boom “starring... everybody” and ya - that sums up the ensemble cast. Plus duplicate rolls... oh Jack!
The "boxer" is NFL Legend Jim Brown. He left football and became an actor after less than ten seasons in which he rushed for over twelve thousand yards. Google him and watch his greatness!
@@ShanWatchesMovies It's well worth a look. It's a little more restrained than a lot of Burton's stuff and, I think, a film that has a lot more heart than his later works.
I love the effort gone into reproducing the cheesy 1950s trading cards artwork. Love the stereotypical flying saucer design. The xenophobic approach to extra terrestrials back in that era is on full display. Can you imagine what the TC artists would've thought of H.R. Giger's design from Alien (1979) . They would've freaked ! This is a great stylistic movie which is pure fun. Do we need a remake or even a sequel ? Probably not, but it really depends on who scripted and produced it . However, I can picture the poster "Mars Attacks ! Again !"
One of my All time favorite comedies. First time I saw Natalie Portman and I had an instant crush on her(she is a year older than me), she later showed up in Star Wars. Saw this at the Drive Inn movie it was a Double Feature with Independence Day and it was Really alot of fun seeing them both back to back. Natalie wasnt even close to being 20 in this film. She was like 15 or something.
The CGI was cutting edge for its time. While it has aged, that age has actually made the movie even more of a parody than before. Because the whole plot is so ridiculous and over the top, the cheesy CG also looking ridiculous totally works out. Also want to note that the design of the aliens is really what makes this movie work. They're comically terrifying with their human-shaped skulls, bulging eyes, and exposed brains. So obviously evil that it's hilarious that anyone could think they came in peace.
Great review and reaction. You mentioned at one point that you didn't think Tim Burton's collaborations with Johnny Depp were not were his best work. I would highly recommend you watch the Burton-Depp collaboration "Ed Wood," which in my opinion is Burton AND Depp's best work. After watching many of your videos I realize you have an excellent appreciation not just for movies but for how movies are written and filmed. The film "Ed Wood" is about the (in)famous B-Movie director Edward Wood Jr. and how he created some of the worst movies of all time. It would be great to see a reaction from you, a guy who has an appreciation for the filmaking process watch about from a great direction (Burton) about a terrible director (Wood).
A lot of people just recommended Ed Wood in the comment but you took it above and beyond in describing the film. I've always known about Ed Wood (it's the only collab I haven't watched by them) but after watching their other collaborations I couldn't bring myself to watch it so far. Until this video was released and I read your comment. Thank you for this. I'll add it to the list and will try to keep an open mind and be unbiased as possible when I review it!
5:25 If i recall correctly there were actually plans to have the Martians be a mix of Animatronics and Stop Motion, but they were changed to be CGI because the Stop Motion would take too much time and they mostly used the old Martian models as a way to better design their CGI versions.
Everything would've been alright...if only they hadn't released those doves... Shan, I remain impressed by the wide swath of films that you react to...I don't think this film would have occurred to many other RU-vidrs...happily you remembered it! Burton originally planned for the Martians to be stop-motion...but then switched to ILM's CGI...
Hi ! very good video, thanks. I just add the reference of this film is George Wells ''the war of the world'' of 1898, where the small bacteries kill the invading martians. The reference is also gum cards c ollection in the USA, very famous here, in the fifties showing this martians with exactly the same form and scenes of destruction : they are comic cards. Good day
If you haven't seen it already, I would recommend the old sci-fi classic 'Forbidden Planet'. Great reaction as always! Also, I think the music that plays through the speakers is Slim Whitman, whose albums my dad used to play in the car (constantly) back in the day :)
Originally,Burton intended all the saucer and alien effects to be done in stop-motion,like Ray Harryhausen did in the 50s.Warner Bros said no,so Burton did the Cgi done in a slightly jerky style to emulate it.
I remember my father worked on a "the making of" book for this film... Watched it when I was 15 maybe... Hated everything about it honestly... I grew up and rewatched it... Now I love it... I didn't get the fact it was poking fun at the 1950s sci-fi genre.. but great review love your candor
I didn't hear you mention Martin Short. Maybe you do know him but just didn't mention him in the video. If you haven't seen Innerspace, you should watch it. It's a very entertaining film I think from the 80s (possibly early 90s) staring Martin Short and Dennis Quad. What about The Three Amigos? Staring Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Chevy Chase. Perhaps you have already reacted to this classic. I don't know. I enjoy watching movies with you. Thanks!
when i was young i remember in the 2000s we have a vhs and we had a tape of mars attacks, and love this but very weird to me at the time because it was new and one of the 3rd films I've ever watch over the years i love how this movie and Tim burton's work as well , but a parody of a lot of 50s films or partly and influence on like 1956 Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, 1953 war of the worlds , and 1965 Godzilla and the invasion of the astro monsters, , which is really cool after knowing
An excellent film I would recommend is Spielberg's version of 'The War of the Worlds' (2005). Its stars Tom Cruise, and is the darkest sci-fi film he's ever made. This film isn't cartoonish or laidback like 'Mars Attack' or 'Independence Day', but a film done to incite dread in its audience as aliens from another planet exterminate humans, in the same way as one would kill flies with a spray can. Its 15 years old, but the graphics hold up well even for today.
I have a comic that they gave a backstory to why the Martians attacked - they had sent peaceful ambassadors multiple times in the past but they all died. One group was killed by a tribal Warriors in Africa i think, One ship crashed in Roswell New Mexico, and i think there was a third or forth example. But with all their ambassadors being killed or dying they declared Earth to be a hostile force and thus the attack.
This film is based on the classic alien invader movies from the 1950s, and a good one of those is "War of the Worlds" from 1953. It's a basic story but it is very entertaining and for the time the special effects were excellent and still holds up today IMO. I recommend watching it 👍
The CGI is supposed to be cheesy-looking. That's the point. The original artwork that these visuals are taken from is bubble gum cards. A slicked-up remake would suck. Also, that's singer Slim Whitman's yodeling that kills the Martians at the end. At the time he was famous for his often-seen record commercial on TV which began with him walking into the shot yodeling "Una Paloma Blanca."
I disagree with the remake comment. I think they would completely ruin it, but it would have good CGI. The film is really just tongue in cheek and is what it is.
The actor you thought might be boxer Evander Holyfield was Jim Brown one of the best running backs of all time. He left football for acting at the peak of his football career. You might enjoy "Spaced Invaders" (1990) for its humor. Also, for its effects and plot, "Forbidden Planet" (1956). Millennials will find the pacing glacial, but the practical effects of "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) can't be beaten.
This is my favorite Time Burton movie! Its based on an old comic and collector card series from the 50s so its supposed to be a bit of cheesy sci-fi space invasion cinema and its so fun
The alien's water weakness in Signs was probably influenced more from Alien Nation, A good, highly under rated sci-fi movie you might one day want to review.
