After the success of 1950's Destination Moon and 1951's When Worlds Collide, visionary producer George Pal brought the classic H.G. Wells story of a Martian invasion to the big screen, and it instantly became a science fiction classic and winner of the 1953 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. It's a work of frightening imagination, with its manta-ray spaceships armed with cobra-like probes that shoot a white-hot disintegration ray. As formations of alien ships continue to wreak destruction around the globe, the military is helpless to stop this enemy while scientists race to find an effective weapon. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson play the hero and heroine roles that were de rigueur for movies like this in the '50s, and their encounter with one of the Martians is as creepy today as it was in '53. It finally takes an unseen threat--simple Earth bacteria--to conquer the alien invaders, but not before War of the Worlds has provided a dazzling display of impressive special effects. As memorable for its sound effects as for its spectacular visions of destruction, this is a movie for the ages--the kind of spectacular that inspired little kids such as Steven Spielberg (not to mention Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, whose Independence Day cribs liberally from the plot) and still packs a punch. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Great Movie Comment: This movie is one hour and twenty-five minutes long and war released on August 26, 1953. The story begins Linda Rosa, California where a comet like ball crash lands on Earth. A physicist comes to investigate the comet, but can do nothing til morning. Meanwhile he is attend a sqaure dance with the local villagers when the power goes out. He goes back to investigate the comet and lo and behold flying saucers emerge from it and Earth is now under attack. It ends with the aliens not being immune to Earth's viruses and bacteria. The special effects are great. Though the soul alien in the movie did not get much air time, it did look a pretty scary for an alien of the 1950s era. The movie won an Academy Awards for Best Special Effects (1954). The would make a great addition for anybody sci-fi collection. Customer Rating: Summary: War Of The Worlds - Out Of This World Comment: War Of The Worlds has always been one of my favorite motion pictures. This verson is exceptional! The visual images are beautiful. There are no streaks or scratches, no missing frames, and the colors are deep and rich thanks to the amazing Technicolor process. The sound is also exceptional, considering how old this movie is. There is no hiss, no pops or cracklings sounds and if you have a set-up with stereo sound you will notice that we seems to have a soundtrack with two channels! Don't know if it always was that way or someone did a little magic in the studio. Don't really care either, the results are wonderful. This version is in "full-screen" so folks like me (who don't have a new style television) can enjoy it without those annoying black bars at the top & bottom of the screen. Every Science Fiction fan should have a copy of this movie for their collection. I can recommend this DVD to all fans with no reservations. It is well worth the price! Customer Rating: Summary: DVD Comment: I have seen The Earth Stood Still since I was a child. I have always loved it. This copy is a great deal. I would recommend it to anyone who loves old movies. Customer Rating: Summary: The Vaporizers Comment: Worth watching again and again, The War of the Worlds was a big budget SF thriller based on H.G Wells' work of the same name that had more than a few people fainting during its first run. The story though is pretty much linear and quite short (85 min). Comets hit earth, scientists examine them, aliens emerge and start attacking cities and people everywhere vaporizing them, scientist meets gal and they fall in love, they eventually see an alien in a house while the military is counting its losses against the invader before eventually a natural turn of events save the day. It is shot quite interestingly and the old Kodak color look makes you think that you wouldn't want to see it any other way. Customer Rating: Summary: War of The Worlds a Classic Comment: This Movie is a must for any science fiction Lovers ...The Transfer, Restoration and Color Saturation is Pristine The Clarity is Perfect.
