Other Planets and Their Resident Lifeforms in Film

or Movies about Alien Beings and Creatures and the Planet They Call Home

Welcome to my post-show newsletter for my segment on Self Help Radio 042023: Planet*, where once again, I had far more to discuss than the time allotted and rushed through some of the bits, which may have made parts incomprehensible, or at least they were to me when I listened to it, but that’s neither here nor there. (*Gary’s post-show blog, which has link to listen to the full show. Why not give it a play while reading? He played a lot of nice tunes. Segment related links below and at bottom.)

Normally, I create lists using the theme as the keyword, and there are tags for "planet" and "alien planet", but the former didn't have some from the latter and there seemed to be a number of solely earth based films, and the latter was just over 90 films, which seemed very low, so I went with a tag “alien” and refined it to ones that were considered to be in the Sci-Fi genre.

My goal being to find films with aliens on their home turf, as I built my various lists, I would read the descriptions on the IMDb search, and try to discern which ones took place at least in part on other worlds. The length of the list ate into a lot of my potential film watching time, but I am happy to have made a letterboxd list of “alien” films(click read notes for more info and links to YouTube videos and ones on streaming sites. Including many of the ones discussed below).

The first film on the list is also the first film that takes place in part on another planet: A Message from Mars (1913). Nothing too exciting about it, which is why it didn’t make the show cut. I went a bit more into it, as I did some of the other films I will discuss, in my “planet film” reviews on letterboxd(I always try to avoid major spoilers).

The second film, A Trip to Mars (1918), also takes place on Mars, but in this case, it involves Earthlings traveling there. The people they find there are peaceful vegetarians, possibly vegans, so there was no reason to come armed. As is the case in this day and age, it did lead to a bit of trouble. (Hand guns seemed to be quite common amongst the explorers in most of the early films I watched. )

I liked the Sci-Fi Fantasy parts, and the film has nice film work, costumery, sets, and message, but a lot of it was fairly dull and a little too melodramatic at times. Very much on the fantasy end of SFF spectrum as a lot of the science is incorrect. For example the vessel was about the size of a Winnebago(shout out to Spaceballs (1987), another planet film), and it held 6 to 8 crewman. Some of whom were ready to kill one another after 37 days in space; fortunately, some noticed Mars was just up ahead(rolling my eyes at that part). Recommending it more as an historical work.

Third on my unofficial planet list is Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924), which is one that I have wanted to watch for some time, and saved it for a sit down viewing, that never arrived. Maybe this week.

I did find time to half-watch the next two on the list, Flash Gordon (1936) & Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938), as I worked on my letterboxd list. Both are pretty cheesy and fun, but as with all serials, they get a get repetitive, so they are best in small doses, or for a casual viewing while working on a project. Easy to follow and easy to catch upon missed action.

In the first of the two, a lot of action takes place on the planet Mongo, which would make this the first visit to planet that was not of our planetary system; although, it was currently within it because it travels through space. The second, of course, took place on Mars, which had multiple cultures. It seemed to me like it had a bigger budget but apparently not. There were probably savings from re-using items that went to the rest of the production designs. It was the better of the two. (slightly)

I included Red Planet Mars (1952), on the list, as it had significant amount of material about the planet. It’s a bit of a strange one, as it quickly comes off as an anti-communism propaganda film but took a surprising turn. Not one for the better, but it was different. It’s one for a casual viewing.

This Island Earth (1955) is the first to involve interstellar travel by Earthlings to another planet. It's a bit cheesy, but pretty fun and has a great alien creature plus some nice practical effects, and it looks great because it was filmed in Technicolor.

The Angry Red Planet (1959) - This one is pretty cheesy, but it is of note because of how they altered the look of the film for the scenes that take place on the Martian surface. Clip from after they first venture onto the surface. This one isn’t available to stream for free, but is easy to find at low cost on DVD as part of a 4-film set.

Planeta bur (1962) or Planet of Storms is one I had wanted to watch since I first became aware of it, a couple of years back. It’s a Russian made film about Cosmonauts who land on the planet Venus and run into trouble, and it's not the instantly dying kind that you might expect. It's mostly dinosaur related. There's a message at the beginning of the film that basically said the debate was still out on what the surface of Venus was like, and since this was made around the time that the first probes were sent, I don't really know what was known and when, so I will give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt for now. However, what they presented as being there and certain things they were able to do were a bit far-fetched. It did make for a nice cheese factor, though, and I loved that about it.

Of course, that aspect worked against some of the dialogue, which got a bit philosophical and thought provoking, but I will say that even though it was a bit of a mismatch, I did appreciate its difference from some of the insipid dialogue found in the average American film with similar production features.

Another thing of note about this film: It was edited into two Roger Corman productions Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968). I have watched & half-watched those multiple times but not since seeing this. I will certainly give them a re-watch, but suspect my opinions of both will remain low.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) is another I was saving for a sit down viewing. I have wanted to see it since I first watched the trailer when it came up on a previous list. Looks like some super cheesy fun and a keeper for the library, so since it is not available to stream for free, I have taken a chance on the Criterion DVD.

Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) is not one I would recommend. I had avoided it for decades, as I heard it was bad and did a disservice to the series. I agree on both ends, and it received one of my longest reviews on letterboxd(it’s more for those familiar with the original TV serial). It’s not one I would say to avoid, and I suspect if you have never seen the original series, it might play better. It does have a great look to it because of the color film.

Planet of the Vampires (1965) - Nice looking but cheesy release directed by Mario Bava. Makes for a nice midnight movie. Not available to stream for free.

Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) aka Kaijû daisensô - If you have ever seen the gif of Godzilla doing a quirky movement while jumping up and down, it is from this film. I am a big fan of Godzilla and made list for all films tagged with “kaiju” on letterboxd. The links I put on there are fairly limited, but it is linked on the “alien” list. (There are links to my IMDb “Free Movie” list and the YouTube playlist for the show in the opening notes.)

Barbarella (1968) - A bit of a classic starring Jane Fonda. Everything about it looks great, and it makes for some cheesy fun. (I have vague memories of there being something in it that warranted a mild CW/TW, but that might be something I imagined.)

Gamera vs. Guiron 1969 - Two boys are taken by aliens two earth's twin planet that is on the same orbital path but on the opposite side of the sun. (There’s a film called Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969), that has that same concept, but it is not original to it, either. Wiki: Counter-Earth.) Recommend the Japanese language version over the English dub. It has the same cheese factor, but I recall the dialogue being better. Both versions and the MST3K one are available to stream for free.

Solaris (1972) - Another one I have wanted to see for some time, but didn’t have the time for a sit down viewing. I don’t believe they go to the surface, but it was I was including it because they were orbiting an alien planet. (It is available for free.)

Fantastic Planet (1973) - Animated film that takes place completely on an alien planet, and one of my all-time favorite films. It’s wonderfully weird and has a fantastic score. Time for a re-watch.

Os Trapalhões na Guerra dos Planetas (1978) - Unofficially also known as The Brazilian Star Wars. The story is not really similar, and it was made as a comedy. It just has some of the costuming and a few characters aspects. It falls under the “so bad it's good, yet also painful to watch at times” category. This one is strictly for the connoisseur of cheesy cinema.

Heavy Metal (1981) - Animated SFF anthology film with a hard rocking soundtrack and another all-time fave. It has at least two pieces that take place on alien worlds. I first saw it at a comic book convention in the early 90s, and I have loved it ever since. It used to be that you could only get it on bootleg VHS tapes because of the cost associated with reacquiring the music rights from all the big time artists on the soundtrack. Movie is not available to stream for free, but the soundtrack is.

The Masters of Time (1982) aka Les maîtres du temps - From the same director as Fantastic Planet, but it’s not nearly as interesting. Still it has some neat bits and makes for a nice late-night film.

There’s a big time jump before the next, but I want to note some of the better known films that take place on alien planets. Some that I have already skipped and the rest I will mostly continue to skip. They are the films from these franchises: Alien, Avatar, Star Trek, & Star Wars plus some from the MCU and a few from the DCCU. Ones I’ve mostly enjoyed, but too well known for the purpose of this newsletter. (Along with a few others that were not part of franchises.)

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003) - Nice Sci-Fi/Music/Adventure film that's animated excellently and has no dialogue. Just music by Daft Punk. Including my favorite by them, “Harder Better Faster Stronger”. (Shout out to the two ladies with robot heads.) I had to get up an dance when it played and did so a few other times as the film continued.

The movie is about an alien rock group that gets abducted from their planet and brought to earth by a record executive, who has them physically transformed to appear as Earthlings plus put under some kind electronic control for the purpose of having them record for him. However, it was not for financial success per se, as he had a much more devious goal in mind.

Welcome to the Space Show (2010) aka Uchû shô e yôkoso - Fun movie with great animation. Becomes very elaborate once they get to the moon, and continues to be so during their further space travels. This is one I streamed for my first viewin and ordered a blu-ray copy not very long after. That’s how much I enjoyed it. Not available to stream for free, but check out the Trailer.

Prometheus (2012) - Making an exception for this franchise film to mention that it is my favorite amongst the sequels to Alien, and one of my most watched films from the 2010s. Probably the most. I was very disappointed in the follow-up, Alien: Covenant (2017), but I think I would have liked it more if they hadn’t cut-out at least 30 minutes of what they had filmed. (This was all stuff that was in the DVD extras.) Neither is available to stream for free.

Well that’s the end of the film discussion. Here’s some more links:

YouTube playlists of “alien” films, clips, and trailers:
Part 1 (1913-1979):
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NHRFDvuiYTHTFIsHEVzYFTlEYKYyGIf
Part 2 (1980s):
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NHRFDvuiYQwoGTuWxiQ7uVJDsX7TSJE
Part 3 (1990-2005):
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NHRFDvuiYS_8b_H-C3rNewIt3U1dXO1
Part 4 (2006-2015):
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NHRFDvuiYRGuRd_tEBRpvIWHOCMfZlZ
Part 5 (2016-present):
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NHRFDvuiYTe7BLL7UlPx7vYCsTtxHCM 

IMDb list of films available to stream for free elsewhere: www.imdb.com/list/ls569409164/

Letterboxd list(click read notes): https://letterboxd.com/robotcat/list/alien-sc-fi/

Letterboxd reviews:
letterboxd.com/robotcat/tag/alien-sci-fi-/films/
letterboxd.com/robotcat/tag/shr-planet/films/
(Reminder that letterboxd functions immensely better if you join the ad-free service. Only $19 a year.)

I tweeted about some of the films here(or might in the future): twitter.com/robotmonkeycat/status/1648958365450530816