La guerra de los mundos

Even though this is not a literal translation of the H.G. Welles classic, this is still a good film. I especially loved how it was updated to the 20th century and that all our modern weapons, including the atom bomb, couldn't destroy the Martians. George Pal is definitely one of the most underrated directors of science fiction and this film along his When Worlds Collide and The Time Machine stand out among the great science fiction films of all time.

Cheesy, Yes! But...

Probably the creepiest and most horrifying scenes in Filmdom was when the Martian crept up behind our heroine and clamped its tarsier-like fingers on her shoulder.

She freaked, but not immediately. She paused. Reacted to that touch. Slowly turned her head around and LOOKED at the offending appendages.

This entire moment of horror and violation took about four to six seconds.

Her mind - finally - comprehended it. IT had touched her.

Then she lost it.

One of the best screams in film history. Great acting and just overwhelming.

For that one scene, I love this movie. Creepy as hell!

The film adaptation of the H.G. Wells story told on radio of the invasion of Earth by Martians.

So, you know, most of the backgrounds look like matte paintings, creating a set that is only about ten or twenty feet in depth. But that is unimportant. The colors, the impressive meteor and alien technology... few films -- maybe none -- were able to look so incredible in that era.

The story has been told multiple times, and most people are probably aware of the basics. But this version may be the best, far better than the Tom Cruise version fifty years later, and maybe even better than the original radio drama.

H.G.Wells' The War Of The Worlds remains a terrifying novel, and two adaptations of it have justifiably passed into popular culture, the Orson Welles radio production in 1938 which convinced many Americans that creatures from Mars actually WERE invading Earth, and Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical album, which still holds up today. The film Independence Day was basically a semi-remake, and of course we are all probably looking forward to the Steven Spielberg version. Somewhat forgotten amongst all those is this 1953 film version, which is a shame. It has considerable flaws, and deviates form the book considerably. However, it's still very enjoyable.

One really needs to think how spectacular and darned frightening it must have seemed to 1953 audiences. Films about aliens visiting Earth had up to than been relatively low key, they would have aliens taking human form, or coming in peace, or just taking over a small town. Here, we had aliens intent on just one thing- the complete destruction and extermination of everything and everyone on Earth. Battles between the Martians and the army, Martian death rays frying huge numbers of people, the destruction of Los Angeles, there had been little like it before, and all this on a moderate budget, which is why the cast is strictly B Movie, although they are adequate to the film's needs.

Of course to a modern audiences many aspects are dated and may even seem laughable. The sometimes visible wires of the Martian death machines -surely they could have been removed with computer technology for the DVD?. The oft repeated stock shots of the military. The religious element, which would have offended the atheist Welles and even suggests God got rid of the Martians. Some VERY corny dialog.

Yet the film has some scenes which are still extremely effective. Most notable is a lengthy sequence in which the hero and heroine are trapped in a house by Martians, this remains genuinely scary. The designs of the briefly seen Martians, their death machines-wires notwithstanding- and their 'cameras' still look great. Of course one misses the huge tripods of the novel, and certain other aspects of the novel, such as the red weed. I'm sure Spielberg will deliver on much of this, even if he is adapting a story which will always be more effective when set in Victorian times. However, until than, this version is still worth seeing as one of the most memorable alien pictures of the 50s alongside The Day The Earth Still and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

HG Wells' futuristic novel responds well to the Technicolor splashed on it in this 50s B classic. Gene Barry over emotes in the lead now and then but the martian invasion is handled very well and the tension rises to the final scenes where the surviving populace huddle in the church as the buildings crash and burn around them.

'War of the Worlds' deserves its place as both a highly regarded novel and a well-remembered movie. Byron Haskin and George Pal did a great job in visualising the apocalyptic bits of Wells' text, while still making the end result enjoyable and interesting for the viewer.

Recommended for fans of intellectualised science fiction.