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The War of the Worlds

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6.8/10 • 661

1953-08-131h 25m

Science FictionAction

Mighty panorama of Earth-shaking fury as an army from Mars invades!

The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.

Directors
Byron Haskin
Editors
Everett Douglas

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Gene Barry

    Gene Barry

    Clayton Forrester

  2. Ann Robinson

    Ann Robinson

    Sylvia Van Buren

  3. Lewis Martin

    Lewis Martin

    Matthew Collins

  4. Les Tremayne

    Les Tremayne

    General Mann

  5. Frank Kreig

    Frank Kreig

    Fiddler Hawkins (uncredited)

  6. Vernon Rich

    Vernon Rich

    Ralph Heffner

  7. Sandro Giglio

    Sandro Giglio

    Dr. Bilderbeck

  8. Ann Codee

    Ann Codee

    Dr. Duprey (uncredited)

  9. Robert Cornthwaite

    Robert Cornthwaite

    Dr. Pryor

Reviews4

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Sep 6, 2014

7/10

Smashing sci-fi film that is a landmark for special effects. Martians invade Earth with total destructive powers, seemingly unstoppable, mankind must find a way to beat them before all is Lost. In spite of the uproar and considerable success of Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaptation of the H.G Wells novel, War Of The Worlds was a topic that directors were staying well away from. Such high esteemed men like as Cecil B. DeMille & Alfred Hitchcock were mooted to be interested but it always came down to a worry that the special effects needed for the story were too much of a headache. Enter producer George Pal, noted for puppetoon shorts, he managed to sway the big wigs at Paramount that it could indeed be done, and thus the chain of big colour spaceships blasting, sci-fi creatures lurking and blockbuster bums on seats movies began. Directed by Byron Haskin, this version of the source moves the location from Edwardian England to 20th Century America, and this works a treat because the watching American public were genuinely unnerved at the sight of contemporary America being reduced to rubble by an invading force. The makers further our sense of dread by only letting us glimpse the aliens once in a wonderful scene (respectfully homaged in Stephen Spielberg's 2005 version of the source), other than that scene we are subjected to attack after attack from shiny flying saucers, slick and ground breaking effects working their magic on an impressionable audience. Outside of those known to hardcore sci-fi fans, the cast doesn't contain any stars of note, probably due to all the money being used on the effects? And for sure many of them come across as wooden beyond compare (though the lovely Ann Robinson lights up every scene she is in), while if I'm to be over critical: then the romantic thread in the film is tiresome and the religious overtone is tardily done. But War Of The Worlds 1953 still stands proud as a brave and hugely enjoyable picture thats importance has never been (nor should it be) understated, and even allowing for nostalgic fervour from this particular viewer, I heartily recommend this film to anyone interested in template movies for the sci-fi genre. 7/10

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  • The War of the Worlds poster
  • The War of the Worlds poster
  • The War of the Worlds poster
  • The War of the Worlds poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$2,000,000.00
Revenue
$2,000,000.00
Keywords
laser gunbased on novel or bookdystopiamountain villagestreet riotsspace invasionradioactivitymartianreligionlos angeles, californiaalien invasiontechnicolorscientist heromartian invasionmass evacuationmeteor space shipwedge maneuverimpenetrable force fieldmartian aircraftthree-lensed eyeh.g. wells