Mars Attacks! (1996)
Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction • 1h 46m
Overview
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Winfield, Pam Grier, Jack Black, Janice Rivera, Ray J, Brandon Hammond, Joe Don Baker, O-Lan Jones, Christina Applegate, Brian Haley, Jerzy Skolimowski, Timi Prulhiere, Barbet Schroeder, Chi Hoang Cai, Tommy Bush, Joseph Maher, Gloria M. Malgarini, Betty Bunch, Gloria Hoffmann, Willie Garson, John Roselius, Michael Reilly Burke, Valerie Wildman, Richard Irving, Jonathan Emerson, Tamara 'Gingir' Curry, Rebecca Broussard, Vinny Argiro, Steve Valentine, Coco Leigh, Jeffrey King, Enrique Castillo, Don LaMoth, C. Wayne Owens, Joseph Moynihan, Roger Peterson, John Finnegan, Ed Lambert, John Gray, Gregg Daniel, J. Kenneth Campbell, Jeanne Mori, Rance Howard, Richard Assad, Velletta Carlson, Kevin Mangan, Rebeca Silva, Josh Philip Weinstein, Julian Barnes, Ken Thomas, Darelle Porter Holden, Christi Black, Sharon Hendrix, Frank Welker, Heidi Miller
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray > US Paramount 4K Blu-ray for the US Cut.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray, is significantly better than the US Paramount 4K Blu-ray (even with FEL Baked in and Dolby Vision), with more grain retention and detail
SDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/TEPHtKjl
HDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/hIFe11Hx
Comparisons in SDR using L8 Trim from CM v4.0 (both UHDs can use CM v4.0): Remux vs USA UHD: https://slow.pics/c/mkrhVtpl
The International Cut, which contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act, hasn't been released on home video to date.
International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray > US Paramount 4K Blu-ray for the US Cut.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray, is significantly better than the US Paramount 4K Blu-ray (even with FEL Baked in and Dolby Vision), with more grain retention and detail
SDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/TEPHtKjl
HDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/hIFe11Hx
Comparisons in SDR using L8 Trim from CM v4.0 (both UHDs can use CM v4.0): Remux vs USA UHD: https://slow.pics/c/mkrhVtpl
The International Cut, which contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act, hasn't been released on home video to date.
International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
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Fox/Disney 4K Blu-ray, the compression is poor, but it still beats the previous Blu-ray. (Luminance plot)
The 4K Blu-ray only has Atmos which is possibly the original mix, but the previous Blu-ray’s 4.0 sounds good too.
Director: Tim Burton
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Fox/Disney 4K Blu-ray, the compression is poor, but it still beats the previous Blu-ray. (Luminance plot)
The 4K Blu-ray only has Atmos which is possibly the original mix, but the previous Blu-ray’s 4.0 sounds good too.
Theatrical Cut: Warner Bros US 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD set
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
See cut information: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4167
Theatrical Cut: Cinema DTS
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
Theatrical Cut: Warner Bros US 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD set
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
See cut information: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4167
Theatrical Cut: Cinema DTS
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
Directors: Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray caps. Original 1.85 framing restored, much better colors, image detail and a film stock-like tone curve was restored.
Warner Bros HD-DVD has the original 6.1 mix in a better bitrate than the Blu-ray, but is still lossy and a disc prone to disc rot. The Blu-ray is a good alternative.
Directors: Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray caps. Original 1.85 framing restored, much better colors, image detail and a film stock-like tone curve was restored.
Warner Bros HD-DVD has the original 6.1 mix in a better bitrate than the Blu-ray, but is still lossy and a disc prone to disc rot. The Blu-ray is a good alternative.
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Director: Tim Burton
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
WB 4K Blu-ray but with notable color timing issues
Dolby Stereo mix: WB LaserDisc PCM
Original Mix in 5.1 Discrete: 1997 WB DVD, 1.33:1 version for this track uncut
Original mix in 2005 5.1 new transfer: 2005 WB DVD in Dolby and DTS, 2008 WB Blu-ray for TrueHD.
Original mix on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD is significantly warmer and more impactful sounding. These nuances are lost on the 2005 remaster audio found on DVD and Blu-ray which due have a tinge of extra clarity in contrast.
The Atmos mix is excruciatingly bad as it removes original sound effects and wrecks the original sound design. Music is prioritized and dominates in a bad way. The sound library effects used to create a specific sound signature as part of the mix of time period production design is completely lost. Fidelity is also lowered due to noise reduction and processing.
Director: Tim Burton
WB 4K Blu-ray but with notable color timing issues
Dolby Stereo mix: WB LaserDisc PCM
Original Mix in 5.1 Discrete: 1997 WB DVD, 1.33:1 version for this track uncut
Original mix in 2005 5.1 new transfer: 2005 WB DVD in Dolby and DTS, 2008 WB Blu-ray for TrueHD.
Original mix on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD is significantly warmer and more impactful sounding. These nuances are lost on the 2005 remaster audio found on DVD and Blu-ray which due have a tinge of extra clarity in contrast.
The Atmos mix is excruciatingly bad as it removes original sound effects and wrecks the original sound design. Music is prioritized and dominates in a bad way. The sound library effects used to create a specific sound signature as part of the mix of time period production design is completely lost. Fidelity is also lowered due to noise reduction and processing.
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
More Comedy on Blu-ray
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: George Sidney
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
Director: George Sidney
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
Director: John Waters
Director: John Waters
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Edit History
12/28/2025
Additional Info
Added
Blu-Ray is missing special features from the DVD
Added
Blu-Ray is missing special features from the DVD
12/28/2025
Upcoming Release
From
WB 4K Blu-Ray upcoming
To
WB 4K Blu-Ray teased
From
WB 4K Blu-Ray upcoming
To
WB 4K Blu-Ray teased
12/28/2025
Format
Added
UHD Blu-ray
Added
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly Release
Added
WB Blu-Ray
Added
WB Blu-Ray
Upcoming Release
Added
WB 4K Blu-Ray upcoming
Added
WB 4K Blu-Ray upcoming
Best Video Release
Added
WB Blu-Ray
Added
WB Blu-Ray
Blu-ray.com
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/Mars-Attacks/20857/#Releases
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/Mars-Attacks/20857/#Releases
caps-a-holic
Added
https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=2069
Added
https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=2069
