It's no secret that Director John Carpenter has always loved westerns. "John Carpenter's Vampires", "Assault on Precinct 13", "Escape from New York", and others all have many of the same elements and characters that made great westerns great!  Well, "GHOSTS OF MARS" is another "western" set in space. 

As with many of Carpenter's other films, this one's got plenty of over-the-top violence, dialogue, and some titillation.

Set in the near future, "GHOSTS OF MARS" suggests that we've begun to colonize Mars, and of course, there are more than enough miscreants to cause havoc on the red planet.

The one thing that does make Carpenter's films original, is his penchant for making the heroes extremely flawed and having to unite with even more flawed characters to fight for the greater good. 

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has presented the film in its correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio with 16:9 enhancement.  The production design to the film is outstanding. The sets are of epic appearance and the color scheme, while veering towards red, is wide enough to require the high quality representation achieved here.  The image is sharp and there's no oversaturation.  There is some grain present throughout, but it's never enough to distract the viewer's attentin from the hyperkinetics taking place onscreen. 

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is one of the most aggressive of the past year!  The separational effects in the front are virtually non-stop, and there is an abundance of rear speaker effects as well. Fans wanting to utilize their subwoofer will love the punch delivered by the LFE here.  Carpenter prefers to compose his own music, and while other than "Halloween", little is memorable, the score here is fantastic. His musical theme along with a loud, raucous heavy metal score, makes this one of the most jarring soundtracks of the past year.

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has thrown in some extras for this Special Edition.  Carpenter and Natasha Henstridge provide an audio commentary.  Their rapport together is great, and makes the listening experience a rewarding one.  Because Carpenter is somewhat of a "B" movie maverick, his comments are from-the-hip, and free from self-censorship.  There's frequent discussion of drug use, and other things that aren't typically explored on most commentaries. 

There are other supplements as well.  But, all three of them are basically montages with the musical score in the background as filler.  There is absolutely no commentary or information about what's being displayed during these sequences, and while the images are entertaining, it's ultimately disappointing.