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The War Of The Worlds (1953)
Released By: Paramount Pictures   Rating: G   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: G
Director: Byron Haskin
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Gene Barry, Jack Kruschen, William Phipps
Published ID: 578893
UPC: 097360530377, 097360263947,
Plot: H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds had been on Paramount Pictures' docket since the silent era, when it was optioned as a potential Cecil B. DeMille production. When Paramount finally got around to a filming the Wells novel, the property was firmly in the hands of special-effects maestro George Pal. Like Orson Welles' infamous 1938 radio adaptation, the film eschews Wells' original Victorian England setting for a contemporary American locale, in this case Southern California. A meteorlike object crash-lands near the small town of Linda Rosa. Among the crowd of curious onlookers is Pacific Tech scientist Gene Barry, who strikes up a friendship with Ann Robinson, the niece of local minister Lewis Martin. Because the meteor is too hot to approach at present, Barry decides to wait a few days to investigate, leaving three townsmen to guard the strange, glowing object. Left alone, the three men decide to approach the meterorite, and are evaporated for their trouble. It turns out that this is no meteorite, but an invading spaceship from the planet Mars. The hideous-looking Martians utilize huge, mushroomlike flying ships, equipped with heat rays, to pursue the helpless earthlings. When the military is called in, the Martians demonstrated their ruthlessness by zapping Ann's minister uncle, who'd hoped to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff. As Barry and Ann seek shelter, the Martians go on a destructive rampage. Nothing-not even an atom-bomb blast-can halt the Martian death machines. The film's climax occurs in a besieged Los Angeles, where Barry fights through a crowd of refugees and looters so that he may be reunited with Ann in Earth's last moments of existence. In the end, the Martians are defeated not by science or the military, but by bacteria germs-or, to quote H.G. Wells, the humblest things that God in his wisdom has put upon the earth. Forty years' worth of progressively improving special effects have not dimmed the brilliance of George Pal's War of the Worlds. Even on television, Pal's Oscar-winning camera trickery is awesome to behold. So indelible an impression has this film made on modern-day sci-fi mavens that, when a 1988 TV version of War of the Worlds was put together, it was conceived as a direct sequel to the 1953 film, rather than a derivation of the Wells novel or the Welles radio production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Those Beautiful Deathships (and about those wires...)
Added 2/9/2010

While not a perfect film version of the H.G. Wells novel -- there hasn't been a perfect movie adaptation yet -- the 1953 George Pal production has always been one of my favorite science fiction films, if only for the incredible visuals. I can forgive some of the corny dialogue and Ann Robinson's screaming, just to see those Martian deathships, so beautifully designed, and far more imaginative than any of the other spaceships depicted then or more recently. The colorful heat rays and death rays (backed by weird sound effects), the destruction of L.A. city hall, people on a hillside watching an atomic blast, the three-color Martian camera lens -- all of these are so very memorable and thrilling.

About those visible wires, the ones clearly supporting the Martian ships in some shots: to my understanding this film was originally photographed & released in the Technicolor process, the color contrast designed to blend those wires into the background. So first-run audiences didn't see any wires back in 1953. (I believe this movie won the Oscar for Best Special Effects that year, and rightfully so.)

In the late 1960s, however, new prints were struck using the Eastmancolor process. Result? The wires then became visible -- even more so on DVD given the higher resolution.

Some have suggested that digitally "erasing" the wires would be historically incorrect -- like pulling a George Lucas with his new versions of the 1977, 1980 and 1983 Star Wars films. I disagree: Since the wires weren't visible in the original (Technicolor) release in 1953, it seems perfectly permissible -- and necessary -- for a digital "facelift" to have been done for the new DVD, wouldn't you think? By adjusting the color contrast & using digital technology, War of the Worlds (1953) can then be presented as it was originally shown & meant to be seen.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Good on it's own but separate from the novel
Added 2/7/2010

This is the original Academy Award winning movie (best special effects) from 1953. Although absolutely nothing like the novel by H.G. Wells (the war machines didn't fly, characters are not the same etc.), this film does put the story in a more modern era. Even today, this film still leaves you with a sense of terror as people flee helplessly from the invincible war machines of the alien invaders. If your looking for a version that follows the novel more closely, the Tome Cruise version is actually surprisingly accurate, with a few minor differences: 1. Set in the 21st century, whereas in the novel it took place in the 19th century; 2. The main character in the book was by himself in search of his wife, whereas in the Tom Cruise version, it was a man with his two kids fighting to get to his ex-wife; 3. The war machines had another weapon in the book - a poisonous gas used to exterminate humans. There are few other little differences, but if your looking for an original storyline and Hollywood history, then I strongly recommend the 1953 version.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
my husband was very pleased
Added 2/4/2010

He's been wanting a good copy of this movie for quite some time. He's very happy with the quality of the movie since it was upgraded to digital.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Please remove the wires!
Added 12/17/2009

Everyone here knows what a fantastic movie this was. The martian war machines are still breathtaking. However this digital transfer makes the wires plainly visible in almost every scene! It wouldn't be too difficult to release a new edition without the embarrassing wires holding them up. How about it powers that be?
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
All around excellent
Added 10/21/2009

The other reviews said this was a very crisp copy of the movie. They were absolutely correct.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Those Beautiful Deathships (and about those wires...)
Added 2/9/2010

While not a perfect film version of the H.G. Wells novel -- there hasn't been a perfect movie adaptation yet -- the 1953 George Pal production has always been one of my favorite science fiction films, if only for the incredible visuals. I can forgive some of the corny dialogue and Ann Robinson's screaming, just to see those Martian deathships, so beautifully designed, and far more imaginative than any of the other spaceships depicted then or more recently. The colorful heat rays and death rays (backed by weird sound effects), the destruction of L.A. city hall, people on a hillside watching an atomic blast, the three-color Martian camera lens -- all of these are so very memorable and thrilling.

About those visible wires, the ones clearly supporting the Martian ships in some shots: to my understanding this film was originally photographed & released in the Technicolor process, the color contrast designed to blend those wires into the background. So first-run audiences didn't see any wires back in 1953. (I believe this movie won the Oscar for Best Special Effects that year, and rightfully so.)

In the late 1960s, however, new prints were struck using the Eastmancolor process. Result? The wires then became visible -- even more so on DVD given the higher resolution.

Some have suggested that digitally "erasing" the wires would be historically incorrect -- like pulling a George Lucas with his new versions of the 1977, 1980 and 1983 Star Wars films. I disagree: Since the wires weren't visible in the original (Technicolor) release in 1953, it seems perfectly permissible -- and necessary -- for a digital "facelift" to have been done for the new DVD, wouldn't you think? By adjusting the color contrast & using digital technology, War of the Worlds (1953) can then be presented as it was originally shown & meant to be seen.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Good on it's own but separate from the novel
Added 2/7/2010

This is the original Academy Award winning movie (best special effects) from 1953. Although absolutely nothing like the novel by H.G. Wells (the war machines didn't fly, characters are not the same etc.), this film does put the story in a more modern era. Even today, this film still leaves you with a sense of terror as people flee helplessly from the invincible war machines of the alien invaders. If your looking for a version that follows the novel more closely, the Tome Cruise version is actually surprisingly accurate, with a few minor differences: 1. Set in the 21st century, whereas in the novel it took place in the 19th century; 2. The main character in the book was by himself in search of his wife, whereas in the Tom Cruise version, it was a man with his two kids fighting to get to his ex-wife; 3. The war machines had another weapon in the book - a poisonous gas used to exterminate humans. There are few other little differences, but if your looking for an original storyline and Hollywood history, then I strongly recommend the 1953 version.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
my husband was very pleased
Added 2/4/2010

He's been wanting a good copy of this movie for quite some time. He's very happy with the quality of the movie since it was upgraded to digital.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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