War of the Worlds-
Special Collector's Edition
(Paramount Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(1953)
review by Big McLargehuge

There are few Science Fiction films that can truly be referred to as benchmarks in both film making and storytelling; Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Earnest B. Shoedsack's King Kong, Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still, George Lucas' Star Wars, Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and George Pal's landmark 1953 adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.

The War of the Worlds is one of the first Science Fiction adaptations to film in color, the first to spend more on special effects than on any other aspect of the film making process (1.4 million of a 2 million dollar budget), the first of Wells' stories adapted by Pal (The Time Machine was next), and one of the first films to truly capture the spirit of the original material, update it, and present it so that the theme and story remains essentially unchanged.

When a meteorite crashes in rural California. A dashing atomic scientist named Dr. Clayton Forester (Gene Barry) is in attendance at a local barn dance when the electricity goes out and everyone's watches stop. The town gathers around the meteorite. The meteorite slowly begins to open. Such is the first salvo in an interplanetary war between man and Martian.

And boy, the Martians have their shit together.

What follows is a trip with Dr Forester and Sylvia Van Buren (Anne Robinson) through the hell that is a Martian invasion. The military is powerless to stop them, even the atomic bomb is useless against the hovering nightmares.

When every last resource of human ingenuity fails to halt the advance of the beasts on Los Angeles (though every other major city on Earth is mentioned as being in the clutches of the beasts) Forester is left to scour the wreckage not for a scientific marvel to save the day, but for Sylvia, so that they may die together.

Heavy stuff for a 1950's science fiction films indeed.

What sets The War of the Worlds apart from virtually every other science fiction film of the period is that it does not have the same sort of political baggage as the other great films of the golden age (The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers), and relies more on stunning special effects, fast pacing, and an uncharacteristic atmosphere of growing dread. Pal's film also maintains Wells' belief that in the absence of normalcy humanity will turn upon itself. At one point Dr. Forester assembles a team of scientists that will hide in the mountains and try to develop a weapon that will penetrate the shields protecting the Martian vessels (which look like badass swans) but the rioters in Los Angeles sack the trucks, shove the scientists to the street, and smash all their gear in a desperate bid to get the hell out of the city before it's reduced to ash.

The film lovingly lingers on scenes of apocalyptic destruction, which works to imbue the audience with the same fear and amazement that Forester and Sylvia feel.

Almost all the key elements of Wells' tale remain but there are a few notable exclusions, the red weed that follows the Martians is missing, as is the amazing sequence with the Curate. But these bits are only truly missing to someone who loves the book, and the film goes on just fine without them. Pal also softens some of Wells' commentary on the human condition, but that is more a casualty of the time in which it was made and not the fault of Barre Lyndon's script.

What's truly amazing about Pal's production is how well it holds to viewing. The War of the Worlds is still amazing, even by today's standards. The special effects are virtually flawless and capture the deadly efficiency of the Martian onslaught with aplomb.

Now with the release of Steven Spielberg's adaptation Paramount is releasing the original 1953 version with a host of exciting features including an interview and commentary track with Sylvia Van Buren herself, Anne Robinson, and Gene Barry, as well as a commentary track with Joe Dante, a making-of featurette, an H.G.Wells featurette, and the Original Mercury Theatre Radio Broadcast of The War of the Worlds!!! This is an amazing set filled with fantastic extras, and Paramount deserves kudos for putting it together.

Watch it again and be amazed.