Destination Moon / Flight to Mars – Film Masters (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: USA, 1950 (Destination Moon), USA, 1951 (Flight to Mars)
Director: Irving Pichel (Destination Moon), Lesley Selander (Flight to Mars)
Cast: John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson, Erin O'Brien-Moore (Destination Moon), Marguerite Chapman, Cameron Mitchell, Arthur Franz, Virginia Huston, John Litel, Morris Ankrum, Richard Gaines, Lucille Barkley, Robert Barrat (Flight to Mars)

Release Date: August 9th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 91 Minutes 2 Seconds (Destination Moon), 71 Minutes 38 Seconds (Flight to Mars)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (Both Films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $31.95

"Produced by Academy Award-winner George Pal, Destination Moon (1950) is the groundbreaking science-fiction classic that launched Hollywood into the Space Age, and set the standard for realistic space travel on screen. When a team of daring American industrialists and scientists defy government hesitation to build the world's first privately funded rocket, they embark on a perilous journey to the Moon. Cult favorite Flight to Mars (1951) is a thrilling blend of Cold War allegory and pulp adventure. A bold expedition crew reaches the Red Planet where they encounter an advanced Martian civilization with intentions that threaten Earth!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Destination Moon), 3.5/5 (Flight to Mars)

Here’s the information given about the transfers, "Both films are from 4K scans of 35mm archival elements."

Destination Moon comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.8 GB

Feature: 16.2 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Flight to Mars comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.4 GB

Feature: 17.6 GB

Although the source is clean, free of any debris, it is a few notches below Destination Moon. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is strong, black levels fare well, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.75/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. That said, they are limited range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for Destination Moon include the original pressbook with music from the film playing in the background, a restored original theatrical trailer from a 4K scan (2 minutes 6 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview with Monster Kid Bob Burns, who recalls his longtime friend, Sci-Fi producer George Pal (39 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Man's Greatest Adventure: The Making of Destination Moon 23 minutes 9 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Justin Humphreys.

Extras for Flight to Mars include a restored original theatrical trailer (2 minutes, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival documentary titled Walter Mirisch: From Bomba to Body Snatchers (14 minutes 7 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles), an extended edition of a documenatry titled Interstellar Travelogues (15 minutes 52 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Justin Humphreys.

Other extras include a 14-page booklet with an essay titled One Small Step/One Giant Leap written by Sloan de Forest.

Summary:

Destination Moon: Irving Pichel directed Destination Moon. His notable films include The Most Dangerous Game (1932), Tomorrow Is Forever, Temptation, and Quicksand.

After their latest rocket failed, a scientist and a retired general enlist the owner of an aviation construction firm to help them build and successfully fly the first rocket to the moon.

While there were a few science fiction films before Destination Moon, it was the first to deal with the scientific and engineering challenges of space travel. Its opening 30 minutes are slow-moving until the rocket successfully launches into space. That said, once things move to outer space, the narrative hits its stride.

Destination Moon is not a film that’s going to be remembered because of its cast or their performance. The most famous cast member is Woody Woodpecker, who appears in a sequence to explain the principles behind space travel. The only cast member that leaves a lasting impression is Dick Wesson in the role of Joe, the rocket’s pilot. His character provides a lot of comedic relief for a film that’s mostly serious.

The middle section of the narrative focuses on the characters exploring space inside and outside of their rocket. The zero-gravity scenes look impressive. The last act sees them looking around the moon, and when they are faced with one final challenge, they band together to solve the problem. For a film about exploring space, there are no aliens. Ultimately, Destination Moon is an interesting time capsule film that some viewers might find too technical in its exploration of space.

Flight to Mars: Lesley Selander directed Flight to Mars. He directed 127 feature films; 107 of them were westerns.

An American scientific expedition to Mars encounters problems when the inhabitants of the planet try to prevent them from leaving.

Flight to Mars was shot quickly in five days on repurposed sets and sound effects from Rocketship X-M. While there are many similarities between Flight to Mars and Rocketship X-M, the latter features Martians who were descendants of a nuclear holocaust; the former encounters human-like species who, in many ways, are superior to humans. There was a proposed sequel to Flight to Mars titled Voyage to Venus that was never made.

Although a large portion of the narrative takes place in space and on Mars, there is not much in the way of special effects. The narrative is dialogue-heavy, with characters mostly philosophizing about space and life. The narrative also manages to weave in a pair of romantic entanglements.

While the cast all approach their characters with the utmost seriousness, there are too many unintentionally funny moments to take them seriously. The most notable cast member is Cameron Mitchell (Blood and Black Lace) in the role of a reporter who goes to Mars. The costumes worn by the women, very short mini skirts, showcase their sexy legs. Ultimately, Flight to Mars is a silly film that can be a lot of fun, and fortunately at 72 minutes it never overstays its welcome.

Film Masters gives Destination Moon and Flight to Mars their best home media release to date. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer