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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rated by buyers G (General Audience)
Type of bind: DVD
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
EAN num: 0786936292619
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Quantity: 1
Publishing house: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 31, 2007
Running Time: 40 minutes
Sale Popularity Level: 29865
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: January 27, 2006
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Product Description:
Action. Drama. Anticipation. Exultation. Experience it all as you join the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious blue planet. Through the eyes of these two intrepid death-defying rovers and with NASA scientists and engineers at your side you'll see Mars in a way no one ever has before. You'll feel what it's like to stand on the startling surface of the planet that's intrigued mankind for eons. And you'll uncover its ultimate mystery: Is there life on Mars? ROVING MARS -- It's the ride of a lifetime.System Requirements:Running Time: 40 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rated by buyers G UPC: 786936292619 Manufacturer No: 04096700
Amazon.com:
When you consider the odds against success, the achievements on glorious display in Roving Mars are almost miraculous. This excellent IMAX production follows the familiar IMAX format; at 40 minutes in length, it's not as wide-ranging as other documentaries might be, but in chronicling the design, launch, and successful landings of NASA's robotic Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, it offers an unprecedented level of visual splendor, highlighted by amazingly accurate computer-animated depictions of what really happened when the rovers arrived at their destination. Financed by Disney, and combining the talents of veteran IMAX director George Butler and top-ranking Hollywood producer Frank Marshall (best known for his frequent collaborations with Steven Spielberg), this celebration of science and technology begins with a raspy introduction narrated by Paul Newman (who had recently voiced the character of 'Doc' in Disney/Pixar's Cars), then dives right into the formidable challenge of launching and landing the rovers on time and budget, with a looming deadline of optimal Mars/Earth orbital alignment occurring only once every 26 months.
At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, we see highly skilled engineers addressing every challenge and every possible contingency, and project leader Steve Squyers serves as our informative host and enthusiastic populist for space exploration. After launching in June and July of 2003, the rovers traveled for seven months and 300 million miles to Mars, landing on the blue planet in January 2004. Every aspect of the mission is covered in concise detail, and tension escalates as touch-down (achieved with the now-familiar 'bouncing balloon' landing system) draws near. What's most remarkable, even to the crew at JPL, is that Spirit and Opportunity succeeded far beyond their mission expectations, becoming one of NASA's most triumphant achievements in interplanetary exploration. The photos, chemical analyses, and other data gathered on Mars were intended to prove the past existence of water on Mars (and hence the possibility of life), and in this and many other respects, Roving Mars stands as a breathtaking tribute to the men, women, and robots who've given us a greater understanding of the planetary system we call home. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVD
Roving Mars is presented in both full-screen and widescreen formats, and is accompanied by two excellent bonus features. First up is 'Mars: Past, Present, and Future,' a 25-minute 'making of' featurette that provides additional educational detail about our closest planetary neighbor, along with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with key personnel at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Then comes the 50-minute featurette 'Mars and Beyond,' originally broadcast in 1957 as an episode of Walt Disney's popular Disneyland TV show. Typical of that series, it's a wildly imaginative, cleverly animated look at Mars and its significance in the history of mankind. Even after more than half a century, it's filled with scientific and speculative details that are sure to engage anyone's sense of wonder. --Jeff Shannon
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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What a beautiful documentary! Kudos to the creators. I have been in love with the space program since the early 60's and to view a Mars project in High Definition is a dream come true.
Rated by buyers -
When the original broadcast of the bonus feature "Mars and Beyond" was aired on ABC in 1957, Sputnik was the very first man made satellite. Televisions were grey and white, had 12 possible channels, and no solid state components. Yet there it was, a vision of a Mars landing vehicle almost identical to what became the Apollo lunar lander when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon.
In this same 1957 Disney feature, we learn why space exploration is important - "over population and the consumption of Earth's limited resources" make expansion beyond our planet a necessity.
As a lesson in our capacity to imagine and create, and as a lesson in our ability to ignore unpleasant facts, this Disney show is a must see.
Roving Mars itself is an enjoyable documentary. Ponder a bit on what humans are capable of. Find reason to be optimistic that we can solve incredible challenges if we put our minds to it.
Rated by buyers 
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I bought this documentary thinking I was going to see images and footage of Mars from the two rovers during their explorations...however...99% of this documentary is COMPUTER ANIMATION! So very little of this "documentary" is actual images and footage from the rovers I can only say one thing. This documentary is PATHETIC! It runs slightly less than 40 minutes! If you followed the stories of Spirit and Opportunity in the news...then you've already seen more rover images from that source than what you will see in this documentary. AN EXTREMELY HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! Don't waste your money.
Rated by buyers -
Well designed documentary on two Mars rovers (Spirit and Opportunity.) We get just enough information and visuals to feel that we are there and part of the project. We are informed of the purpose. The crew looks tad polyandry.
Unlike movies that should concentrate on the story line with visuals coming in as a secondary attribute this documentary benefits form the Blu-ray treatment. One plus is the narration by Paul Newman.
Do not forget to look at the extras on the DVD.
Rated by buyers 
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First of all I was disappointed not by the fact that there was very little scientific information like one of the reviewers but by the fact that there is almost no actual Mars footage! My guess is 60 percent is about the troubles of building the rovers, and then perhaps 35 percent is CG images of the rover landing on Mars, coming up to a rock, etc, and maybe only 5 minutes of this film (if that) actually contains any actual footage of the planet itself -- the real reason I wanted to watch this film! The movie that I would love to see is one without any narrator, but with just images capturing the sublime grandeur of space (in this case Mars) paired of with some kind of subtle music by someone like Brian Eno.
That said, the CG images were nicely done, and some of the scenes of them building the rovers were interesting. My final advice, rent it very first (I did) before you decide if you really want to buy it. I'm going to save my money for something else.
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