Sci-Fi Classic Review: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- George Pal's The War of the Worlds competes with George Pal's The Time Machine as the greatest film ever made from an H.G. Wells novel.
If you're looking for a "review" in the traditional sense, then let me just say I love this movie. This video, however, is a "review" in the literal sense (using the Miriam-Webster definition "a retrospective view or survey"), in that I'm going over the history of the film and its place in sci-fi cinema history.
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Great Classic is all that needs to be said. The newer version just doesn't compare.
Exactly. The Technology and Power illustrated in the 1953 one has No comparison. The later versions Pale in comparison and almost resemble a Reversion in the Advancement of that technology.
My favorite sci-fi movies of the early to mid 50s were “The.Day the Earth Stood Still”, “War of the Worlds”, and”Forbidden Planet”. They stand up today as well as back in the day.
Agreed on every point. Forbidden Planet the film that most modern Sci-fi films has ripped off.
Don't forget When Worlds Collide, it was pretty good as well 😁
Yeah, this movie has some of the best sound design outside of the first *Star Wars* movie. 😎
Didn’t know the Martian was such a quick redesign, though. Wow. Kudos to them, it’s still a fantastically executed (and wonderfully creepy) design. 😱
But, unless I missed it, you didn’t mention the subtle nods to the novel’s tripod designs in *both* sets of lighting on the movie’s saucers. 😉
The '50s and '60s was an unbelievable time for motion pictures for me as a kid I loved it I was born in 1956 and I found out the Ten Commandments was made that year and there's a couple other movies for the world is always one of my favorite in the blob too for sci-fi those were great years for movie industry
It was a bold move to eliminate the Martian's "machine legs" and replace them with opposing lines of magnetic force. Absolutely brilliant! After all, H.G. Wells' 19th century vision of steampunk technology really wouldn't work in a movie made in the atomic age. Kudos to the sound effects, just as scary listening from another room, while trying to keep calm!
I first viewed "The War of The Worlds" on network television (NBC) back in the early 1960s. I even remember the trailer for this film, which was shown a week before this film aired on tv. NBC also aired "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "The Time Machine." The latter is my favorite film by director George Pal. "The War of the Worlds" scared me a lot and kept me watching the skies on mild Summer evenings. However, the Morlocks in "The Time Machine" gave me more than a few nightmares. In my mind, the Morlocks conjure images of the subterranean monsters in H.P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear." Thanks, Unapologetic Geek, for this detailed and informative review of one of THE BEST classic Sci-Fi films!
George Pal was the producer. Byron Haskin, a genre specialist, was the director. Peace.
A fantastic sci-fi film of the 50s era, that is still enjoyable to watch today. The Alien Craft still look awesome, so good it obviously inspired the StarTrek villains ships. And the sound FX...wow.
I'll never tire of saying it. Your reviews are of a very high standard. Thank you.
And I'll never tire of thanking you. Thank you!
@@TheUnapologeticGeek good review of this scifi classic 😎
One of my favorite Sci/Fi flics of all time! & you really did your homework! Thanks as always! Fun-fact... Korda did get a chance to bring Wells to the Big Screen with his adaption of 'Things To Come'... the Alpha-Patient of the Post Apocalyptic sub-genre.
In When Worlds Collide, a mechanical guest star is featured: One of 2 differential analyzers in the U.S. As a kid of 6 years, I had seen my first computer. Damned thing looked like a Foosball machine.
I think thw sound editing in War of the Worlds should have won an Oscar. I am told, the soundtrack employed an early precursor of stereo sound.
Good job.
I think it was referred to as a computer in this movie although it is not a electronic computer like the UNIVAC or a PC or iPhone. It also shows up in Earth vs the Flying Saucers where it did a miraculous work that real computers can not do. There is another who's title I can't remember where it shown in stock footage and referred to using the name of a real military computer called MANIAC.
Must love Ann Robinson. She must have been one of the original 'queen of screams' as she does much of it in the movie. But she does have two very good moments. When the martian lays his hand on her shoulder and when she looks into that camera. Very good. And thanks for pointing out where Woody Wood Pecker was.
My favorite trivia bit. Dr. Forrester from Mystery Science Theater 3000 takes his name from the Dr Forrester of War of the Worlds. NERDGASM ensues. Sadness ensues when you learn that all the original models of the Martian war machines were destroyed after the movie. This film, and Fantastic Voyage, were my two favorites when I was a kid. Love it love it and always will.
My parents took me to the drive-in when I was little to see "War of the Worlds" & the "Blob". They both scared the shit out of me. But to me "War of the Worlds" was the worst. It was the sound it made.
The Criterion edition removes the wires.I saw this in the Movies when it came out -- nothing beats 3 strip Technicolor.
I'd have to call TWOTW my favorite Pal film. I knew him briefly in his last sad years, Hollywood having forgotten his massive contributions to cinema. He toiled away doggedly from his little Burbank office where, after Doc Savage, he attempted to get funding for his dream project, a sequel to The Time Machine. That was his personal favorite of his films. Sadly, he died before Star Wars reignited the spark he'd lit in the 1950s. He was one of the kindest people I've ever known, his sunny optimism shining to the end.
Forbidden planet #1, when world's collide#2, war of the worlds#3 are my favorites from the early to mid 50's in that order.
It shouldn't be judged against modern versions. It was a stupendous landmark in 1953. The images, the sound effects.
The thing is, in the 1950s people thought that there actually could be Martians. There were no interplanetary probes, not even satellites going around Earth. The best that could be used to look at Mars were Earth-based telescopes. So yes, getting attacked by Mars creatures was considered possible and real.
During the great atomic age sci-fi / horror era of 1950s. One of my favorites... one of the best movies & books that I’ve ever read. A true classic. Great SFX , state of the art for its time. Timeless.
Absolutely agree.
@@diskgrinder I still watch this classic especially around Halloween 🎃
One of my favorite. I always watch this movie on Oct 30th every year, a tradition of mine
I also watch the Time Machine every 12/31. To end the old year and watch the 2002 version every
Jan 1.
This film was one of our favorites when I was a kid. Classic special effects, never to be copied by today's CGI effects.
" The war of the worlds" 1953.
The three guys who get dusted by Martians is gold.
Three guys...." Welcome to California!!!".
Martains ........." You've got to be kidding."
*"We'll be in all the papers!"* (Yeah. The Obituaries.)
Just recently found your channel. Really enjoying your reviews of some of my favorite old time sci-fi movies. 👍😁
My favorite George Pal film is "The Time Machine". Time Travel has always been a favorite theme of mine and the progression scenes in the film via stop motion are, to me incredible. "The War of the Worlds' however is a close second. I just saw previews (April 30, 2023) for yet anothr version to be released soon.
And this is why the Criterion version is best. It’s a 4k remaster using the original tri colour version. Beautiful to watch.
Also. Subbed.
Thank you!
There are a number of so called reviewers who would make fun of good films instead of really doing a good job at it and I bashed one just last week for it.
This is a very good showing of this film and Story. this movie does do a better job of more modern works!
1:50 *The radio reporter guy is a callback to the Orson Welles' radio play.*
*On the radio show he's reporting the Martians attacking and his signal goes dead for 20 seconds.*
*"We are experiencing technical difficulties..." (No. He DEAD!)*
I love your u highlighted the sound FX!
the plane was the Northrup YB-49 "Flying Wing"...only 15 were ever produced
Thank you for these great pieces on older Sciece Fiction films. They seem to be ignored quite a bit. I do love that there are some younger people slowly starting to review and love many of the older films. Your "reviews" are refreshing as they include lots of information I had not heard of before and I have been a fan of them for.... decades. My first intro to War of the Worlds was sometime in the 60's. I must have been 10 or so and saw it on a small black and white TV, alone, in my parents room. Terrified me!!! I know you are, generally covering classics but would love to see your take and info on some of the lesser regarded movies like... The Monotlith Monsters, The Trollenberg Terror, The Giant Claw and Kronos all of which scared me when I was little. I know they are very mild now but back then it was a little different. Thanks again.
Thank you!! I do have a few movies on my list that are “lesser regarded,” including Kronos and The Trollenberg Terror. I also enjoy being considered a “younger” person!
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Looking forward to those and all the others you pick.
Enjoyed your commentary. I love the graphics you used. That's Major General Mann, big difference.
Subbed, such an underrated channel with amazing content
Thank you, good sir! 👍🏻
This is a great review. Good job.
Excellent review as always my dude. I remember seeing this when I was 10 and was blown away that it was made in the 50’s. The effects are just mesmerizing, might be campy for most today but I still get goosebumps. Forbidden Planet might have knocked WOTW off its throne as my favorite sci fi film of the 50’s, but still a wonderful film that’s just as entertaining to watch today then when I was a boy.
WOTW is still my favorite Pal movie, but there's so many greats. My 5 are...
1. World of the Worlds
2. The Time Machine
3. When Worlds Colide
4. 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
5. Destination Moon
My top 5 Pal movies is identical, though Time Machine sometimes switches places in the top spot. 😎
Fun Fact: George Pal originally wanted to have the final third of the movie to be shot in 3D to visually enhance the Martians' attack. But that idea didn't happen.
Excellent review!
I enjoyed your review and also loved this film. Watched this movie again last night on laserdisc of all things. I love the pace of it. No messing around setting up tedious domestic issues like other versions one could mention. Gorgeous war machines.
Ahh i love American Sci Fi movies from this period perfect, i would get so excited as a kid when this came on to TV in the 70s bouht it on VHS in the 80s and DVD in the 2000s I love it as much now as i did when i first saw it.
Great Video and appraisal.
Thank You (:
This and When Worlds Collide could also be considered horror movies (which for this one I accidentally found out just by watching it!)
The cop who gets blasted while leaving Gene Barry & friends to their fate is Henry Brandon, better known as Silas Barnaby from “March of the Wooden Soldiers”.
i just watched this film yesterday i love it
Don’t overlook well known character actor, Jack Kruschen, among the cast. Here, he plays the Hispanic man, who is positioned in the middle of those first three humans killed by the Martian heat ray. Jack has played memorable roles in more films, by far, than any of the other actors appearing in the War of the Worlds, I dare say.
WOTW and The Time Machine share a special place in my heart together. Having first seen these on a heavy square TV in Long Island in the 1970's (when fun and frightening adventure films like these were only shown on the boob tube maybe once a year), I was delighted when the home videos became available. And today as a Gen X guy into movies and TV, I can enjoy WOTW in its brilliant colors and dazzling sounds via super high-def glory. It's grand entertainment, and still enthralls me. Each time I watch, I'm a wide-eyed kid again.
Re: the cast. Paul Frees seemed to be in so much stuff at that time, narrating movie intros and acting in films and cartoons. Good ol' Burgermeister Meisterburger, lol (granted, that TV special was in the 1960's). Talented guy. Among his many vocal jobs during his career: looping all of Tony Curtis' dialogue as "Josephine" in Billy Wilder's excellent comedy _Some Like it Hot_ from 1959. No wonder in the 1980's I always felt there was something familiar about the Pillsbury Doughboy's voice. :D
Thanks for another fun video review of a cinematic gem from yesteryear. Always a pleasure.
Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins: I think we should try to make them understand we mean them no harm. They are living creatures out there.
Sylvia: But they're not human. Dr. Forrester says they're some kind of advanced civilization.
Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins: If they're more advanced than us, they should be nearer the creator for that reason. No real attempt has been made to communicate with them, you know?
Sylvia: Let's go back inside, Uncle Matthew.
Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins: I've done all I can in there. You go back. Sylvia, I like that Dr. Forrester, he's a good man.
Soldier: Who's that? What's he think he's doing?
Sylvia: Uncle! Uncle Matthew!
Major General Mann: It's too late now. He's too far away.
Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Forrester: It's seen him!
Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins: Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.
[Martians kill Uncle Matthew]
Sylvia: [scream]
Col. Ralph Heffner: Let'm have it!
Soldier: Fire!
Love this movie haven't seen it since 1998 I was 14 saw it on the AMC network at the time 😌
One more great line: "The Air Force will take care of these babies now!!"
Love your channel!
very well edited!
7:38 - the heat ray sound was made with a loop of several violins.
Time Machine was my favorite Wells/Pal. film. War of the Worlds close second, Then, When Worlds Collide.
Very well done! Glad you pointed out the fact of the line about God, and bacteria being taken straight from the novel, which many seem not to know of. I believe that sadly Anne Robinson is the only major cast member left now from the film (although actress Nancy Hale, who shows up a couple of times uncredited, appears to still be with us; i.e., the young mother in the church at the conclusion). I believe she was a member of the same "up-and-coming" performer's group Paramount had at the time, along with Robinson.
No problem, UAG. It's good to know these old classics are still appreciated!
Just speculation on my part, but it occurred to me while watching this that from the late 19th century up through the 1950's there were a number of untreatable contagious diseases like Small Pox, Polio, Cholera and like the invaders, our best scientific and military efforts, were ineffective against them. If a school had an outbreak of Polio, it was traumatizing for the whole community. But at the same, we weren't inexperienced with contagious diseases and in some cases, like measels and chickenpox, a hopeful attitude supplanted panic and over-fastidiousness. So on the one hand there were diseases that could overwhelm us and on the other there was the idea that humans were tested as hearty and resistant and ultimately unconquered by disease. So I think that's where the faith and evolution speech at the end comes in to play-and the message of the movie is to neither be arrogant nor despair about the future of humanity. Or maybe, as we are but germs to the Invaders , remember that we ourselves are not masters of germs.
For a film that came out around the same time as the Polio Vaccine based on a book that came out around the time of the first widely administered smallpox vaccine, it seems part of the story's milieu.
That is an interesting angle. I wish I'd thought of that!
2:47 I really enjoy the Unapologetic Geek's metaphoric use of clips from "When Worlds Collide".
Great work man keep it up would u consider doing one of these for King Kong vs Godzilla with the reboot coming up???
I do have something coming soon that ties in!
Happy 70th anniversary to George Pal's War of the Worlds (1953-2023).
I would have to go with "War of the Worlds" as my favorite George Pal movie but I also love "The Time Machine". Hope you've done or will do one on "The Time Machine" and "Things to Come".
“ I think a real scientist would not hurl an axe at alien life for merely tapping Sylvia on the shoulder.”
I always thought the martian warships looked the Nintendo 64 controllers. XD
😂😂 I'll never look at them the same now.
They've recently re-remastered the movie to remove the wires holding up the machines. Sadly, this re-remastered version has added extremely unnecessary sound effects.
Fantastic!
This one is probably my favorite George Pal movie, though it is neck/neck with THE TIME MACHINE.
My first viewing was amusing, because I had seen Les Tremayne on Saturday mornings, as Mentor in the SHAZAM! live action series.
Seeing this soldier being vaporized by the heat ray, fading into a skeleton fading into nothingness, was an interesting reminder that the same effect was used in the TV nuclear apocalypse movie, THE DAY AFTER. Haven't read enough about THE DAY AFTER to know if Nicholas Meyer was inspired by WAR OF THE WORLDS or if it's just a coincidence.
I’m not sure, either, but The Day After is on my list, so maybe I’ll find an answer some day soon!
I think the dialogue suggests it is the green "anti-meson" ray (or plasma bolts, whatever) that disintegrates the Marine colonel. General Mann (Les Tremayne) even calls it a "skeleton beam". I accidentally discovered the source of the sound effect used in association with the skeleton beam. You can create it yourself. All you need is a 100-foot surveyor's chain (actually not a chain but a length of spring steel calibrated to measure 100 feet under a fixed amount of tension) and somebody to hold it taut and wack it with a hammer. Hold the opposite end to your ear and the exact "teew! teew!" sound can be heard.
a Classic among Classics. Thanks Geek!
Outstanding film! Better than the remake and any remakes to come. Damned Martians!
"When world's collide" 1951, there's also a religious type ending also.
P.S. did you know in "When world's collide" that cheap looking planet scape ending picture was going to replaced by a better picture. But due to budget limitations that end scene of Zyra was kept there for us to cringe at.
George Pal was the person who made these films magic.
Ever since I first saw this movie on TV as a kid in the 1960s, I've wondered why the Martians didn't bring microbes with them. Is there no disease on Mars? Granted, they were more susceptible to Earth microbes since they were exposed to our environment and the humans were not exposed to theirs, but wouldn't there be some cross-contamination?
Just a thought!
Regardless, I don't tire of rewatching this movie.
I was surprised and delighted to see Ned Glass (uncredited) as a looter in burning downtown LA.
Favourite George Pal movie: 'Keep your Pecker up, Woody!'
Like many others, War of the Worlds and The Time Machine are my two favourite George Pal movies. However, parochial reasons mean that my favourite is the Time Machine; Rod Taylor being Australian carries the day. Cheers!
A little detail for the curious - I think that image was not technically a welding torch but instead something called spray welding, where metal dust is liquified and sprayed onto a target to build up its surface (which is subsequently machined back to dimensions). A torch usually means an oxy-acetylene flame used for traditional welding or cutting operations. That said, I think the spray welding clip you inserted looked more like the movie's effects than an oxy-acetylene torch would have.
You caught me! 😁
Fun Fact: Ray Harryhausen originally wanted to make a movie based on War of the Worlds too, but his old boss George Pal beat him to the punch. And then history repeated itself again with The Time Machine (1960), so Ray had to settle on a lesser known H. G. Wells story called The First Men in the Moon. That one's going to be a fun review. 👽
Oh, here it is. Don’t know how I missed it before.
😎
Really enjoy these reviews.
Great job!
I never thought of how much the radio announcer sounded very much like Wells.
forbidden planet king kong war of the worlds is my trifecta of sci-fi movies
Are there still three-strip technicolor prints available of this film if they ever do a blue ray i think they should use those prints
As I understand it, the downside to three-strip Technicolor is that it degrades rather quickly. Therefore, unfortunately, I doubt there are any existing three-strip prints that are usable.
I just loved this science fiction movie.
Three classics i enjoy are 1) War of the world 1953, 2) them 1954, 3) forbidden planet 1956.
7:49 The fabled Woody Woodpecker easter egg. I've studied this sequence at length using the highest resolution digital transcription I could find, but I'm not quite convinced it's real. However, the close friendship of George Pal and Walter Lantz was quite real, and Woody did make a cameo in "Destination Moon". He made a very understated appearance in Pal's "The Time Machine" adaptation: czcams.com/video/0bfSkBNs8fQ/video.html
10:57 Rockets and 76mm high velocity tank cannons pour it on and pound the Martian electromagnetic defense shields.
Les Tremayne was the perfect actor to play the General.
Most non-geeks probably prefer the 2005 version of the story, and it does have its strengths compared to George Pal's adaption. For example, Speilberg's "War of the Worlds" has a more extensive afterword, also more or less directly quoted from Wells, which explains the downfall of the invaders in evolutionary terms. (The narration is by Morgan Freeman who loves sci-fi, so much that he purchased the film rights to Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama".) However, it undermines the plot. According to Speilberg's script, the invaders began their war against Earth thousands of years ago, evidenced by their dormant war machines buried by a previous alien expedition. Given that timeframe, one would expect the aliens would have concocted a medical solution to that nasty microbe problem. However, the invaders are remarkably dumb when it comes to notions of basic sanitation. In the third act, set in the cellar of the ruined house, one is seen greedily drinking what appears to be just runoff water. Yuck! Meanwhile, another alien examines a bicycle, apparently fascinated by its wheels. This is also true to Wells's novel: After the biological annihilation of the Martian invasion force, human scientists study their machines, finding no evidence of the concept of the wheel in the mechanisms.
There are several other examples of agreement between Steven Spielberg's movie and the original work, which perhaps makes it the more faithful adaption. However, as science fiction, the 1953 version takes the laurels. The emergence of the alien fighting machine from its ancient burial site is undoubtedly spectacular and suspenseful, but the 1953 Martians' sudden arrival inside huge lenticular craft (not cylinders, despite the script referring to cylinders several times) heated to incandescence by their passage through the atmosphere is far more plausible. both in terms of science and dramatic logic. Albert Nozaki's gliding metallic manta rays supported by some form of magnetic levitation are also more plausible than Tony Fanning's tripods. (Their animation was modeled on the movement of jellyfish and other marine life, which aren't so constrained by gravity as are terrestrial lifeforms.)
Then there is the matter of the invaders themselves. Speilberg's aliens aren't sufficiently alien. Designing them as tripods is a nice touch as it links them to their technology as mechanical extensions of their biology -- something our own technology is beginning to realize in robotics -- however, three legs do not jibe with the bilateral symmetry of their upper bodies. Remaining faithful to Wells, Speilberg's aliens are seen butchering humans for their blood. Whether they eat the blood or use it as fertilizer for their red weed crops is unspoken but highly implausible biochemically. Lastly, they have two eyes and a mouth (with a tongue in it!) arranged in the familiar pattern, which makes them more sympathetic but less alien than the Gemoras' Martian, which remains the most alien alien ever presented in film.
The Time Machine and this movie are arguably Pal's best works. The Time Machine was Pal's personal favorite.
This is the best science fiction movie ever and it is
I would pay upwards of $100-200 to see this movie in the original Technicolor in a proper theater instead of the cheaper non-Technicolor film that was used for later release.
The 1953 Movie was the best! Technicolor was the best. The sound effects were perfect. I find it interesting that the lead actress role was reduced serving donuts and coffee while the men try to figure out how not to be served up to the Martians. She also was dressed in a first aid outfit with a highbeam breast line and a street walker red lipstick color because that is what ladies with masters in library science do.
The “God is our ultimate only hope” is as true today as it was in 53.
As a kid watching this movie I was devastated by the fact that not even the military could stop the martians.
I was looking for a scientific solution but we (America) ran outta moves.
That’s happening today!
We are running outta moves and all our clever solutions are failing.
And we know it.
God saves those who believe in His method of salvation.
In the same way as one who is drowning believes in the lifeguard who saves them.
Reject the lifeguard (sign a waver stating that because you don’t subscribe to the whole lifeguard thing, you prohibit and so called “lifeguard” from saving you) and down you go.
Of course we know what comes next…..(Why did “God” allow me to drown?”
Humans
The Time Machine is My Favorite George Pal Film. Also, I did like Conquest of Space. I thought that most people didn't like it because of there not being any aliens, But once you get past that, It's still pretty interesting.
I also like Conquest of Space more than its reputation, but as I said, I’ll get to that in a future video. 😁
@@TheUnapologeticGeek I know, I was just thinking about Why people didn't like it. That seemed to be the most understandable reason.
I also enjoyed "Conquest of Space", even though the plot is silly and Sgt. Seigel, the Brooklynese Buffoon, is one of the most tiresome characters ever photographed in Technicolor. Yeah, you're pissed at Rosie. Shaddup already!
3:47 That was a good call by the studio authorities. All science fiction needs a little "scientific" exposition to drive the plot. The pulp tradition calls for such background information to emanate from the kindly, bespectacled professor whose nubile assistant/niece is the love interest of the two-fisted hero -- the guy without a scintilla of scientific knowledge but knows how to deal deadly damage with his Colt 45. (Take that, slime-dripping monster! POW! POW! Kiss me, baby.) Having the romantic hero double as the scientist is not only more economical, it works better dramatically as well. Would a test pilot take the time to save the Martian electronic eye or the kerchief soaked with alien blood? Would a test pilot take those trophies to his scientist colleagues for analysis. Would a test pilot even have scientist colleagues? Dr. Clayton Forrester works as a character and Gene Barry did an admirable job with the role. For instance, the delight he exhibits while studying the Martian machines -- "This is amazing!" (barely suppressed giggle) -- and wearing glasses (with actual glass in them) while giving the lines that mark the moment when Clayton Forrester, Ph.D. Physics falls for Sylvia Van Buren, MS Library Science (ouch!). Actors with more clout would rebel against having their eyes obscured during a romantic scene, but Barry took the direction and made it work.
I agree, completely. He isn't just a scientist on paper; he ACTS like a scientist would and thinks like one too. Barry made the role his own and did something I don't think was fully appreciated until years later.
Yeah throw a square dance.....
Better than the new one.
Astounding...
A review of the best sf film of all time followed immediately by a review of my favorite sf film of all time.
If you're trying to convince me that you know what you're doing, it's working.
Here's something that's never been said: Tom Cruise is no Gene Barry...
Most Definitely. Barry is a man. Cruise hasn't grown up out of puberty. 😄
My favorite George Pal movie is *THE WAR OF THE WORLDS* (1953). I didn't care much for *WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE* (1951). I mean, it was similar, but it just didn't hit the spot for me in the way that TWOTW did.
5:13 Paul Frees says "... there's no radio at all." This strikes me as a minor plot hole. If there's no radio, how are they using radar?
There's are some great little throwaways in the final act. Forrester finds a Pacific Tech truck overturned near a looted jewelry shop. Thieves have taken the bobbles and bangles but left the clocks, some still confidently ticking. Who needs clocks after the apocalypse? Later we see a fighting machine cruising a Los Angeles street, blasting right and left. Those miniatures are wonderful, and not so miniature. The fully animated version of the Martian machine was about six feet across, and the model buildings in that sequence were as tall as a man -- a lot of effort for less than a minute on the screen. Attached to one of those miniature buildings is a billboard advertising a Bob Hope movie. That detail makes me wonder if Hope received compensation for the use of his name. Perhaps as an actor under contract to Paramount, he was obliged to let Pal's designers use his name gratis. At any rate, it isn't the only Bob Hope billboard to appear as set dressing in a movie. Watch the 007 film "From Russia With Love".
What the heck is up with Woody Woodpecker at 7:49?
George Pal was friends with Woody’s creator, and so he hid Woody in nearly every movie he produced. The shape at 7:49 (before I put Woody over it) is supposed to be him, but I really have to use my imagination to see it.
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Huh. OK. Thanks for the reply.
Brill.
i enjoy your recaps - hope YT tosses you views and subs soon so you can get some cheddar
So, what's the status on the pancakes from the survey the other day?! I've been saving my carbs
Oh, my bad. I, uh, ate them all.
Even the martians are prejudice in this movie😂😂😂 😂
Steal water to survive you say 😉
As far as Byron Haskin is concerned, The War of the Worlds is his definitive film!
I was hoping you'd notice that...
You might want to seek out this version. The BBC set this in the time period of the original novel.czcams.com/video/r-yas0yPbLU/video.html
Better than Spielberg's version :)
no
I c
In the 1953 movie why is there so much grinning?
Cecil like "Vessel" B. DeMille. Not "Seecil." Otherwise, good job!
Thanks for the correction. It’s not the first time I’ve been told that, but for whatever reason, my addled brain keeps forgetting!
This is a terrible example of a D.E.M. solution since, as you say, the theme of book and the movie revolve around the . bigger themes Wells found so interesting.. Both novel and film define and suggest the many forces that encircle mankind that are far more powerful and controlling of our existences than those in the grasp of humankind's own agency. ...in me 'umble opinion.
This is getting a ton of attention now considering the US government now admits the existence of ufos and is now proving they have a new Pentagon department investigating it.