The Martian: Extended Edition

"The Martian - Extended Edition" adds ten minutes of footage to the Matt Damon-starring big screen adaptation of the Andy Weir novel, and reconfirms the film's status as the best Mars movie made so far -- certainly far superior to misfires like "Red Planet" and "Mission to Mars," and brisker and better even than classics like "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" and "Conquest of Space."

The additional footage is stitched into the film here and there, usually in such small and smoothly flowing snippets you won't readily notice their addition. A couple of longer, more striking scenes have also been added -- you'll definitely know when you see them that they weren't in the original theatrical version. (That original version is also on this release, by the way.)

The extras feature some new stuff, including an audio commentary with director Ridley Scott (who sounds like he's Skyping in), novelist Andy Weir, and screenwriter Drew Goddard. It's particularly fun to listen to Weir and Goddard get into the nitty-gritty of the screenplay's adaptation of the novel -- a gratifyingly faithful adaptation, though it does have to tweak and alter some elements to make the book filmable.

A host of other new features include a faux news report, "60 Minutes" style, about the events depicted in the film; Neil DeGrasse Tyson shows up as the host of a science show/advertisement for the Ares space missions (and given that the film is set in 2035, Tyson is looking pretty youthful); a pair of short documentaries that tie the film to NASA's real life preparations for a manned Mars mission in the 2030s or 2040s are also included, one of them narrated by Ridley Scott. Other featureless look at the possibilities for colonizing Mars, and examine science fiction as a genre.

An extensive behind-the-scenes look at the film's production, a featurette titled "The Long Way Home: Making 'The Martian' " is a particular standout. There are also deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a "Ares Mission Videos" that feature the characters in short promos. (The debriefing after a 10-day stint in isolation training is particularly amusing.) One deleted scene in particular stands out; see it below.

Special, Extended, and Director's Cut editions are often not worth the price, especially if you have already bought the title. In this regard, as in so many others, "The Martian" is an exception.

"The Martian - Extended Edition"
Blu-ray
$25.99
https://www.foxconnect.com/the-martian-extended-edition-1.html