Dave Fischer Weblog

"Trinadtsatyy Apostol", AKA "The Thirteenth Apostle" is a 1988 Russian film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles". It takes a small number of the original stories, modifies them slightly and rearranges them along with some new material to turn it into a more traditional overall narrative. Even though it loses some of the unique aspects of the original collection, I do think it is very effective, and possibly the best Bradbury film adaptation that I have yet seen. (The acting is extremely inconsistant. There are some very well done scenes, and some cringeworthy scenes.)

The plot primarily consists of the stories: "And the Moon Be Still as Bright", and "The Settlers", except the surviving crew members then go through the ordeal of "The Third Expedition". Unlike the original there is a survivor, who returns to Earth. This allows for the movie to start with his interrogation in a mental hospital, with flashbacks to the above sequences.

"The Martian" story is also included, but on Earth, as a martian has accompanied the survivor of the "Third Expedition" back home. Also, "Rocket Summer" is included, as a story told by one of the martians disguised as the father of one of the crew (played by Donatas Banionis, of Solaris fame).