FTN takes a look at the extended version of The Martian

FTN takes a look at the extended version of the movie with 10 extra minutes of saving botanist Watney

June seventh saw the release of the extended version of Ridley Scott’s The Martian on DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download and the new 4k format (despite the movie being released in 3D and the previous release being available on 3D Blu Ray, there is no 3D version of the extended cut).

Based on the novel by Andy Weir, it follows Mark Watney (Matt Damon), a member of a mission to Mars who is left behind and believed dead when the mission meets with disaster. The new release contains both the original theatrical version and the extended version which restores approximately 10 minutes of footage to the movie, and we’ve broken down these scenes to see if they add anything much to the overall movie.

– The first new scene shows Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Annie Montrose (Kristen Wigg) walking back from the press conference where Vincent has said they are trying to “bring Mark back alive” with her telling him not to say bring him back “alive” which is re-iterated by Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) when the additional footage ends. The discussion adds a bit of discussion between Vincent and Annie with her explaining her job and why she is there. It adds a bit more to her character who is very underused in the theatrical version.

– The scene with Mark swearing over text message after learning that the crew of the Hermes have not been told that he is alive is extended slightly, as is the scene immediately following it. After Mark is told by Vincent to ‘watch what you say, the world is watching’ one of the scientists sitting there, responding to his reply asks “what’s a felcher?” The next scene back at nasa then starts with Mitch (Sean Bean) saying he made the mistake of googling ‘bureaucratic felcher’ once. – FTN would STRONGLY advise against doing the same.

– In the scene after the airlock of the HAB explodes, once Mark has repaired the breach with the thin layer of plastic which blows in the wind, he lights a spark with what is left of the firewood from the oxygen/water burner to create smoke, wafting it around the edges to test for slow leaks – he then marks and applies sealant to a few of these areas.

– an additional short scene has been added after we have already been introduced to Rich Parnell (Donald Glover), but before the scene with the supply pod launch. A group of scientists discus with Parnell’s boss, saying they need the data for the burn. When he goes to Rich he finds him looking dishevelled, and Rich tells him he needs supercomputer time.

– After the secret ‘Elrond’ meeting, we see Mark on the surface discovering the coring samples drillbit from the opening of the movie. At NASA control, Vincent and Mindy Park (Mackenzie David) discuss what he is doing, looking at satellite images showing his movement, realising he is completing the soil sample analysis of the original mission. There is then a longer scene in the lab of the HAB with Mark doing the different tests to finish the analysis, talking to the cameras still, and making some jokes about the work.

– After the crew of the hermes decide to use the Rich Parnell maneuver to return for Watney, Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain) sends Mark the message ‘Mark, we’re coming for you’. He receives the message, asking himself aloud ‘How’r you gonna do that?’. It then returns to NASA receiving the hermes message that ‘Rich Parnell is a steely eyed missile man’.

– After the ‘are you kidding me?’ scene, we see Mark inflate a kind of sealed air tent, big enough for him to get into – then see him inside it naked, cleaning himself with a hand towel wash, and eating a meal, before cutting back outside of the text to see him burying what appears to be a wrapped stool sample with a post it label on it which is marked ‘sorry’ before deflating the tent and continuing on in the rover. This scene seems to address the issue of Mark’s physical condition given that the journey in the rover will take approximately 50 sols to get to the Ares 4 launch site.

– The ‘Waterloo’ montage is slightly longer, containing a quick scene with Lewis, Johannsen (Kate Mara) and Martinez (Michael Peña) on the bridge of the hermes running a virtual run of remote controlling the flight module with the end result failing and crashing.

– The scene following the ‘Waterloo’ montage with the crew of the Hermes sitting discussing the plan has extra footage at the beginning of the scene, referencing Martinez’ failure, asking him light-heartedly how many times he ‘killed Watney’? He responds by saying the important thing is he got all scenarios into orbit. Lewis then says he’s ready. Beck (Sebastian Stan) makes reference to possible injuries Watney could sustain due to g-forces, and Lewis’ dry humour response is to tell him it’s “good he’s a doctor then”. The scene then continues as in the theatrical version.

As with many DVD and Blu Ray releases there are extra featurettes, but of particular note is a commentary audio track featuring Ridley Scott, writer Drew Goddard, and Andrew Weir.

The extended version of The Martian has so far only been released in America, it is not yet known if it is due to be released in other territories.