When it comes to classic science fiction movies, it’s hard
to top 1953’s “The War of the Worlds.” Over the years, I’ve seen references to
this movie all over the place, and it’s on more “best of” lists than I can
count. I put this movie on my “life list” a couple of years ago and finally
took the time to watch it on Friday.
Based on H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel, this movie was directed by
Byron Haskin and starred Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Lewis Martin
and Sandro Giglio. Released in August 1953, the movie is 85 minutes long. It
went on to win an Academy Award for Special Effects and was also nominated for
Oscars in the categories of Film Editing and Sound Recording.
For those of you unfamiliar with the novel and the 1953 movie,
they’re about an intelligent race of beings from Mars, who invade
Earth. Mankind is caught off guard and soon find themselves under attack from
the technologically advanced Martians. Man’s military might can’t handle the
Martians, but mankind gets the upper hand when the Martian’s succumb to
bacteria that they don't have immunity against.
Many of you will probably be familiar with this story thanks
to the 2005 film adaptation of the novel. Directed by Steven Spielberg, that
movie starred Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins. Morgan Freeman was
the narrator.
Of course, when you mention “The War of the Worlds,” it’s
also hard not to think about the Orson Welles radio drama that caused such a
panic on Halloween night 1937. A good portion of the broadcast was presented as
news bulletins, and many listeners thought the countryside was really being
invaded by Martians. There was a huge outcry after people realized that it
wasn’t real, but the broadcast made Orson Welles a legend in his own time.
Some of you may also remember the short-lived 1988 “War of
the Worlds” TV series. It ran for two seasons, between October 1988 and May
1990, and included 43 episodes. This series was somewhat of a sequel to the
events in the 1953 film, which made it interesting.
As mentioned, the 1953 film version can be found on a number
of “best of” lists. Popular Mechanics ranked “The War of the Worlds” at No. 90
on its list of “100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time,” and MSN Entertainment
ranked it No. 40 on its list of “50 Greatest Science Fiction Movies of All
Time.” In 2008, TIME Magazine also ranked it on its Top 10 list of “Best 1950s
Sci-Fi Movies, and in 2011, the Library of Congress placed it on the National
Film Registry for preservation purposes. NASA even chipped in its two cents
In the end, how many of you have seen the 1953 version of
“The War of the Worlds”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not?
What was your favorite part? Let us know in the comments section below.
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