DVD Review: The War of the Worlds (1953)
Before Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg took on the alien invaders based on the classic H.G. Wells novel, director George Pal put The War of the Worlds on film in 1953. The sleek Martian ships still impress today.[Note: We're posting mostly black and white stills but the movie is in glorious color!]
In this version of the tale, a meteor, secretly housing several impressive alien ships, lands outside a small California town and a scientist (Gene Barry) and local gal (Ann Robinson) investigate and end up on the run from the invaders while trying to discover a way to destroy them.
Video and Audio: This classic sci fi movie is in Full Screen format and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround sound. Better, in my opinion, than messing with the original film to blow up the print to widescreen. The sound effects won an Oscar and the noises of the Martian ships and their death rays still work really well today. I've watched this film on TV late shows where it didn't look good and it's refreshing to see that the color is very crisp and bright here and a big effort has been made to remove any scars in the film. For a classic film, it looks and sounds great.
Special Features: Tons! For sci-fi buffs and film historians these are great.
• Audio commentary by Film Director Joe Dante, Film Historian Bob Burns and author of "Keep Watching the Skies"!, Bill Warren. One of the most knowledgeable commentaries I've heard. These are guys who know the film well and some were around when it first came out and know all about the background and behind-the-scenes info.
• Audio commentary by Ann Robinson and Gene Barry. Ann, the film's heroine, tells us lots of cute and interesting stuff that happened on set, giving you a little glimpse into how films were made way back in the day as well. Barry doesn't say much at all but Ann is worth it.
• The Sky is Falling: Making The War of the Worlds. A really interesting retrospective by some of the old pros who were involved in the film as well as historians and informed admirers. Interesting.
• H.G. Wells: The Father of Science Fiction. All about this classic sci-fi author and how his work often predicted the future.
• Original Theatrical Trailer. You can see how awesome this must have been to folks in the 1950's who had never seen effects like these. Fun
• Orson Welles' Mercury Theater on the Air presents "The War of the Worlds" Radio Broadcast. This feature is worth buying the DVD for alone! Here's a little history. On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles hosted and performed in a radio broadcast based on the original novel. It was done like a live news feed and scared the crap out of the listening public who really thought Martians had landed in rural New Jersey! At the end of the broadcast, Welles went on and told everyone it was just a play but a lot of folks were already in their cars and on the road running for their lives by then. This DVD gives you the whole radio broadcast. It's really cool!
Overall, I'm a sci-fi buff so, for me this is a must have but if you just like really cool old films, this is one of the best for its time and it's worth it to buy this disc just for the interesting special features alone. Or at least rent it for Halloween and listen to that radio broadcast with your pals.
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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.
