The Martian Chronicles, written in 1950, was produced in 1979 as a made-for- television mini-series. As with most adapted screenplays, the movie differs from the novel. These differences are not that drastic and do not circumvent the overlying message of the piece.
The first noted difference is the opening scene of the movie. It begins with the landing of the Viking probe on Mars. This change is possibly an attempt to explain away the results of the Viking probe. The audience of the 1970s knew that the Viking probe had given definite proof that life on Mars did not exist. This gives the audience the ability to relate to the movie more than the "The Rocket Summer" scene of the novel. In the book, Bradbury writes of the launching of rockets actually affecting the climate around the launch area. By the 1970s, it was evident that such an event was in no way feasible. These changes enable the modern day audience to more readily associate with the movie.
Another difference is the use of a mission control in the movie. The book deals mainly with the expeditions on Mars themselves. The "Taxpayer" scene is the only place that Bradbury t
Although both novel and movie address the same issues, the book gives the reader a better sense of the mood during the 50's. The movie attempts to rationalize the Martians killing the humans. The novel offers the reasons of paranoia, fear, and ignorance as motives for the killings. These motives better illustrate the tension and mood of the Cold War and the feelings surrounding the topic. The Martians are more xenophobic in the novel than in the movie. This is evident in the Green Bluff expedition, which in the novel, the Martians do not offer any kind of explanation for the killings as they do in the movie. The only reason the novel offers is the hypothesis of the captain. This lack of a reason for the murders would relate more to the paranoia experienced during the Cold War.
Both novel and movie capture at least some of what Bradbury was trying to portray. The horrifying things that occur when ignorance, paranoia, and xenophobia are allowed to prosper are shown in both the novel and the movie. However, the novel relates to the 50s more readily than the movie. There were obviously many influences on the movie that were a result of the differences bet
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