The second 1976 Viking image (left, image #70A13) compared with the 2001 Mars Global Surveyor image (right). The black dots that give the image a speckled appearance are data errors. Photos of the Face on Mars, courtesy Wikipedia: Cropped version of the original batch-processed photo (#35A72) of the ‘Face on Mars’. A selection of photos shows that the face on Mars appears and disappears depending on lighting conditions. Further pictures taken by Viking 1 and Viking 2 have given us more photos to study.
That he could see me in the dim light of the cave I was sure for the early morning sun was falling full upon me through the opening. Today, the face on Mars is seen as an optical illusion. I had not long to wait before a stealthy sound apprised me of their nearness, and then a war-bonneted, paint-streaked face was thrust cautiously around the shoulder of the cliff, and savage eyes looked into mine. Could this face be the remnant of a long-lost Martian civilization? Other features on the mesa may resemble pyramids or other buildings, which supporters believed was part of an ancient ruined city. See photos at the end of this article.įor many, the discovery of this monument was cause for jubilation. In early photographs, the image of a face is clearly visible. This may sound is located at 40° 75 minutes north, 9° 46 minutes west. One of these mesas, photographed in 1976 by Viking 1, appears to be an image of a face. Cydonia is covered with mesas, and those mesas have attracted a great deal of attention from scientists and laypeople alike. This region may once have been underwater, making Cydonia a candidate for coastal zone, though scientists disagree about the facts. It separates the heavily-cratered southern regions from the smooth plains of the North. With such a budget they really should have came up with something much better but at least we have the original to go to.The Cydonia Mensae is a region on the planet Mars.
INVADERS FROM MARS is considered one of the biggest disasters from the 80s and it's easy to see why Hooper's career started to go down. In the original image, taken by Viking 1, one of thousands of buttes, mesas, ridges, and knobs in the transition zone between the cratered uplands of western Arabia Terra and the low, northern plains of Mars looked somewhat like a human face. Jimmy Hunt, the boy from the original film, gets a fine cameo. Even former Oscar-winner Louise Fletcher goes overboard as the psycho teacher. James Karen, from THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, is also so over-the-top that it seems like he thinks he's in some spoof. Timothy Bottoms plays the father and isn't all that entertaining. Carson, as the young boy, isn't charming a bit and comes off more annoying than anything else. Black is about as over-the-top in her emotions as one could get. The performances really aren't anything to write home about either. The final forty-minutes of the film goes into action mode with all sorts of gun play, explosions and other craziness but these scenes too fail to gather up any excitement or energy. There are even a few hints at some comedy but this doesn't work either. Then when the boy comes under attack you'd expect there to be some suspense but there isn't. There's so much sugar added to these scenes that you can't help but roll your eyes. No matter what a scene calls for the director completely misses the boat and this includes the early scenes with him trying to show this "loving" family. The biggest problem is the direction by Hooper who just doesn't bring any energy to anything going on.
I also thought the set design of the cave was well done but sadly everything else here is just a bust. I thought the landing of the spaceship was rather effective with the lights being used and the monsters certainly looked very good. Just about the only good thing that can be said about the film belongs to the special effects, which were pretty good. This is a really lifeless, over-long and rather pointless remake that doesn't have much of anything going for it. Or, perhaps they could have added Bronson and Norris to this thing and at least delivered some fun. There were a lot of remakes going on during this era so it makes since that someone would try to remake INVADERS FROM MARS but The Cannon Group probably should have left it to someone else while they just worried about their Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris pictures. The only person who will believe him is a teacher (Karen Black) and the two quickly find themselves hunted by the aliens. Invaders from Mars (1986) * 1/2 (out of 4) Tobe Hooper's disappointing remake of the 1950s classic about a young boy (Hunter Carson) who witnesses a UFO land in his backyard and soon realizes that aliens are overtaking various people in town.