{"id":5441,"date":"2008-04-08T08:29:44","date_gmt":"2008-04-08T15:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5441"},"modified":"2021-02-05T20:36:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T03:36:13","slug":"war-of-the-worlds-1953","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5441","title":{"rendered":"War of the Worlds (1953)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;They seem to murder everything that moves.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/When-Worlds-Collide-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/When-Worlds-Collide-Poster-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/When-Worlds-Collide-Poster-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/When-Worlds-Collide-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/When-Worlds-Collide-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA scientist (Gene Barry) accompanied by a beautiful library science instructor (Ann Robinson) works with the military to stop Martian invaders from taking over the Earth.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aliens<\/li>\n<li>George Pal Films<\/li>\n<li>H.G. Wells Films<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<li>World Domination<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nUnlike <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1786war.html\">other reviewers<\/a> who have fond memories of being both scared and thrilled by <em>War of the Worlds<\/em> when it was finally released in 1953 (Paramount Studios had owned the movie rights to the title for nearly twenty years), Peary seems less than enamored by producer George Pal&#8217;s updated version of H.G. Wells&#8217; classic sci-fi novel. He cites the many changes to Wells&#8217; original story as &#8220;annoying&#8221; (particularly Pal&#8217;s notion that &#8220;God is <em>directly<\/em> responsible for the aliens&#8217; demise&#8221;), and argues that the &#8220;brutal, selfish&#8221; humans in the mob scene near the end of the film barely seem worth rescuing. &#8220;In fact,&#8221; he notes, the film &#8220;doesn&#8217;t [convincingly] show why earth&#8217;s people or their way of life should be preserved.&#8221; In terms of the lead performances, he notes somewhat harshly that &#8220;Barry is a sturdy if dull hero&#8221; while Robinson &#8212; who, in typical &#8217;50s gender relegation, &#8220;merely looks on [and] serves coffee&#8221; &#8212; is &#8220;an embarrassment&#8221; (personally, I find it hard to fault Robinson for the way her role was written).  <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple-1024x766.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"479\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple-1024x766.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple-300x224.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple-768x574.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple-361x270.png 361w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Couple.png 1371w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>These days, particularly in the wake of <a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0407304\/\">Steven Spielberg&#8217;s tepid remake<\/a>, Pal&#8217;s <em>War of the Worlds<\/em> &#8212; which Peary claims has an &#8220;enormous cult following&#8221; &#8212; is seen by most modern viewers as dated but of historic interest, thanks in large part to Gordon Jennings&#8217; &#8220;tremendous special effects&#8221;, which were enormously impressive at the time. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4-1024x773.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"483\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63033\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4-1024x773.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4-768x580.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4-358x270.png 358w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects4.png 1363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also important to remember, as Peary notes, that this was &#8220;the first film in which America itself is turned into a war zone because of an invasion&#8221;; indeed, it must have been tremendously frightening for audiences at the time to vicariously witness an A-bomb being dropped near a populated area. With that said, however, I&#8217;m largely in agreement with Peary&#8217;s assessment of the film as &#8220;colorful but overrated&#8221;, and only consider it to be must-see for its historical relevance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gordon Jennings&#8217; Oscar-winning special effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects-1024x757.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"473\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects-1024x757.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects-768x568.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects-365x270.png 365w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/War-of-the-Worlds-Effects.png 1373w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical status as the first major alien invasion flick.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0046534\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/warworlds53.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1786war.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qwipster.net\/warworlds.htm\">Qwipster&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/sciencefiction\/war-of-the-worlds-1953.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/95088\/the-war-of-the-worlds\/#articles-reviews?articleId=188880\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-war-of-the-worlds-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;They seem to murder everything that moves.&#8221; Synopsis: A scientist (Gene Barry) accompanied by a beautiful library science instructor (Ann Robinson) works with the military to stop Martian invaders from taking over the Earth. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Aliens George Pal Films H.G. Wells Films Science Fiction World Domination Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Unlike other reviewers who have fond memories of being both scared and thrilled by War of the Worlds when it was finally released in 1953 (Paramount&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5441\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5441"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69130,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441\/revisions\/69130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}