Showing posts with label Mars Movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mars Movie. Show all posts

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Desolate life at a homestead on Mars in Settlers (2021) movie

Settlers (2021) is a British science fiction thriller set in a Martian frontier. A small family of early settlers live alone at a homestead in a valley protected by a force field bubble that keeps breathable air inside, but soon their lonely existence is disturbed by a group of intruders. I won't spoil the plot twists of the thriller, but it has major Wild West vibes there. Here is a collection of HD screens from the movie:

The settler family is not alone in their lonely Martian valley anymore...

Homestead on Mars in Settlers (2021) movie

Greenhouse on Mars in Settlers (2021) movie

Homestead on Mars in Settlers (2021) movie

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Mars colony in Moonshot (2022) movie

Moonshot is recently released (March 2022) science fiction teen comedy set in 2049 when trips to Mars has become routine for skilled or wealthy people. A rich, skilled girl (Lana Condor) and a poor, "mediocre" boy (Cole Sprouse) travel together to Mars, each for their own reasons, and after arrival they both discover those reasons were wrong. Although the movie by itself is quite silly with childish dialogues and cheap interior sets, the CGI for Mars colony exteriors is really good. Here are some HD images from the movie:

Spaceship on launch platform at Mars spaceport

Astronauts orbiting Mars

Spaceship launch from Mars colony

Fireworks at Mars colony

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Brutalist architecture in Martian science fiction

Brutalism is an architectural style that emerged in the 1950s and grew out of the early-20th century modernist movement. Brutalist buildings are characterized by their massive, monolithic and "blocky" appearance with a rigid geometric style, large-scale use of poured concrete and a predominantly monochrome color palette. The style was popular in 1960s and 1970s in the West and well into 1980s in communist countries and Latin America.

As Brutalism started with an ethos of social utopianism but ended with associations of being cold, inhuman and totalitarian, no wonder it is the most dominant architectural style in dystopian fiction. But it is present also in general science fiction when envisioning a city in future.

One of the flaws of most Brutalist buildings is associated with weather effects on raw concrete, especially in wet and cold climate. Thus, despite being massive and seemingly long-lasting, most of Brutalist buildings are in poor condition today. But it's not a concern on Mars with its dry climate preserving rocks for billions of years. That is one of the reasons movies, TV series, games and art portraying human colonies and bases on Mars is filled with buildings in Brutalist style. Although the truest reason could be that Brutalist architecture with its simple shapes and monochrome colors can be easily reproduced in art, computer graphics and film sets :)

Here are some examples of Brutalist architecture in movies, TV series, video games and art set on Mars:

In movies and TV series

One of the most famous Martian movies - Total Recall (1990) - has some of the purest examples of Brutalist architecture, although most of them in scenes on Earth (filmed in Mexico City):
Brutalist architecture in Total Recall (1990) - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Brutalist architecture in Total Recall (1990)

Brutalist architecture in Total Recall (1990)

Brutalist architecture in Total Recall (1990)

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

SpaceX: No Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities

Free Mars poster for Total Recall (1990) by Rhys Cooper
It has been revealed that in Starlink's terms of service SpaceX requires beta testers to recognize Mars as a "free planet". Under the section "Governing Law" the parties agree that:
"For Services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonization spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, Disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement."
Interestingly the terms for the Moon are different:
"For Services provided to, on, or in orbit around the planet Earth or the Moon, these Terms and any disputes between us arising out of or related to these Terms, including disputes regarding arbitrability will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California in the United States."
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation currently being deployed by SpaceX and it will provide high-speed low-latency internet anywhere on the world (and beyond). The constellation will ultimately consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), working in combination with ground transceivers.

As far as we know it is the first time any entity with real potential to send humans to Mars (defined by us as governments and private corporations with the independent human spaceflight capability, which are only four: Russia (since 1961), US (since 1962), China (since 2003) and SpaceX (since 2020)) has declared that Mars should be governed under the principles of self-government.

It remains to be seen if SpaceX will be in power do define that (US government can easily stop SpaceX operations until the company abides to the US and international law) and most likely it's just a way for Elon Musk to draw attention to the upcoming Starlink public release, but it would be cool to see Mars as an independent planet even before the timeframe we have speculated: internal self-governance in 2080s and complete independence in the 22nd century.

*Cover poster "Free Mars" by Rhys Cooper for Total Recall (1990) movie.

Friday, September 11, 2020

Total Recall (1990) concept art by Ron Cobb

Australian artist Ron Cobb has done concept art for many famous sci-fi movies, as Star Wars, Alien, Back to the Future and countless other. One of the movies he has worked on is a movie known to all Mars fans - Total Recall (1990), stared by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside and directed by Paul Verhoeven. Here are some historic concept art images created by Ron Cobb for the famous movie:
Maglev train connecting Martian colonies
Maglev train concept for Total Recall (1990) movie by Ron Cobb.
Mars colony exterior
Colony exterior concept for Total Recall (1990) movie by Ron Cobb.
Mars shuttle
Mars shuttle concept for Total Recall (1990) movie by Ron Cobb.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Mars base exteriors from Doom (2005) movie

"Doom" is a 2005 sci-fi horror action movie loosely based on the Doom video game series. In the movie, set in mid-21st century, a group of marines are sent on a rescue mission to a research facility on Mars, where they encounter genetically engineered violent creatures with superhuman abilities. Exterior of the Martian research facility is shown only in a few split-seconds in the movie and here are images from those rare moments:

Mars base exterior from Doom movie

Mars globe from Doom movie

Archaeological dig site on Mars from Doom movie

Mars base exterior from Doom movie

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Mars in Ad Astra (2019) movie

Ad Astra is a recent (September 2019) science fiction thriller set in mid-21st century when humanity has started to settle the inner Solar System. A son (Brad Pitt) is sent on a mission to uncover the truth about his father's (Tommy Lee Jones) long lost mission near Neptune which now threatens the survival of Earth. In his lonesome and dangerous mission he visits several places including a dynamic but wild human colony on the Moon and a desolate relay station on Mars. Here are some HD images from the Martian scenes in the movie.

Astronaut looking at rocket launch pad on Mars - image from Ad Astra movie

Spaceship approaching Mars - image from Ad Astra movie

Spaceship over Valles Marineris on Mars - image from Ad Astra movie

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Incredible miniatures for Total Recall (1990) Martian landscapes

One of the best movies set on Mars ever made - Total Recall (1990), stared by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin and Sharon Stone and directed by Paul Verhoeven (known also for Starship Troopers, RoboCop, Basic Instinct and other movies), was the last major movie to heavily utilize miniature effects before computer graphics took that job. Vast and incredibly detailed miniature Martian landscapes were built for the movie. Unfortunately most of the miniatures were destroyed after the filming was done. Here are some rare photos from the production process of the miniature Martian landscapes before their destruction.

Mars colony:

Miniatures for Total Recall Martian landscapes
⇩ in movie ⇩
View of Mars colony from Cohaagen's office in Total Recall 1990 movie

The spaceport:

Making miniatures for Total Recall Martian landscapes

Monday, August 26, 2019

Mars colony construction from The Space Between Us movie

Picture of the Day 26/8/2019 - Construction site of a human colony with several domes on Mars from The Space Between Us (2017) - a teen romance movie about the first child born on Mars. More images from the movie here.

Mars colony construction from The Space Between Us movie

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Mars base paintings by Romek Delimata

Here are several digital concept paintings of a human base on Mars by British film artist Romek Delimata, who has worked for such well-known movies / TV series as Interstellar, First Man, Westworld, Game of Thrones, Guardians of the Galaxy, Behind Enemy Lines etc. These images were made for The Last Days on Mars (2013) - a zombie virus horror thriller set on Mars.

Mars base painting by Romek Delimata
Mars base at night:
Mars base at night by Romek Delimata
Mars base interior:
Mars base interior by Romek Delimata
Another version with different configuration and a rover parked next to the base:
Mars base painting by Romek Delimata

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Concept art for The Martian by Steve Burg

Steve Burg did part of the concept art for sci-fi blockbuster The Martian (2015); his main focus was the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). Here are some of his images (open link in new tab to view image in full HD resolution):

Mars base and MAV liftoff - concept art for The Martian by Steve Burg

Legs of Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) - concept art for The Martian by Steve Burg

MAV 2nd stage separation - concept art for The Martian by Steve Burg

Friday, May 11, 2018

Images from Escape from Mars (1999) TV movie

Escape from Mars (1999) is a TV movie about first human mission to Mars in 2016. Five astronauts are flying with spaceship very similar to the Space Shuttle and the mission is financed by a private corporation setting profit-oriented goals. During the voyage and on Mars they encounter near-catastrophic events but in the end find bacterial life on Mars. Escape from Mars is a low-budget TV movie, having poor special effects and weak camera job, but the acting and script is decent. Here are some images from the movie:

First selfie on Mars - Escape from Mars movie imageApproaching Mars - Escape from Mars movie image

First step: together - Escape from Mars movie imageFirst step on Mars - Escape from Mars movie image

Spaceship very similar to the Space Shuttle - Escape from Mars movie imageFuneral for one of the five astronauts - Escape from Mars movie image

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Images from Martian Land (2015) film

"Martian Land" (2015) is a low-budget feature film with amateurish acting and a senseless story of Martian colonies being overrun by a deadly sandstorm. Here are some CGI images from the film:

Mars city dome (from Martian Land)Mars city inside a dome (from Martian Land)

Mars outpost (from Martian Land)Spaceship and Phobos above Mars (from Martian Land)

Sandstorm approaching Mars city (from Martian Land)Sandstorm over Mars city dome (from Martian Land)

Saturday, April 29, 2017

HD images from Mission to Mars (2000) movie

Mission to Mars (2000) is a bit weird sci-fi movie where a mysterious Martian structure is found on Mars. When all of the first astronaut crew on Mars is killed by a monstrous sandstorm force a rescue mission is launched from Earth to investigate and bring back possible survivors. They find one barely sane and make contact with the last Martian ship long left in the alien structure.

Despite the weird story Mission to Mars has some of the most memorable Martian movie scenes; here are HD images from them
(open link in new tab to view in full resolution):

Exploring Mars - Mission to Mars movie imageWorld Space Station - Mission to Mars movie image

Exploring Mars with rover - Mission to Mars movie imageAstronauts on Mars - Mission to Mars movie image

Astronauts in Sandstorm - Mission to Mars movie imageSpaceship - Mission to Mars movie image

Observing sandstorm on Mars from orbit - Mission to Mars movie imageAstronauts in Mars orbit - Mission to Mars movie image

Smiling astronaut in Mars orbit - Mission to Mars movie imageDead astronaut in Mars orbit - Mission to Mars movie image