Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of 'The War of the Worlds' (2006 Video) User Reviews

Stage version well worth the wait, but at a price..

[iwestwood · 10/10 · 28 December 2006]

Always have enjoyed WOTW, a timeless classic that deserved to be put on stage, but of course couldn't be done until now.

The opening sequence really whets the appetite, with a prequel sequence on Mars with the martians building up to launching their attack.

It's good to see many of the original musicians in there, and some of the new ones working on it do seem to capture the essence of the original music.

Thankfully, they kept the Richard Burton narrative, without which a lot of the spirit would be lost.

Although the singers they had for the roles of Artilleryman, Parson and Beth (Parson's Wife) were good, you can't help but wish for the original trio of David Essex, Julie Covington and of course Phil Lynot, who personally for me really was fantastic as the Parson.

I wasn't able to get to the concerts to see this, but watching it on DVD is fantastic. There are more concerts planned for 2007, so get your tickets if you can, cos I'm sure it's even better if you're there!! Forget the Spielberg/Cruise version of the US vs the Martians, this version is the definitive version of HG Wells book, and I'd go out on a limb to say that he'd approve of what Jeff Wayne has achieved..

Outstanding

[wpaul-1 · 10/10 · 26 December 2006]

Steven Spielberg missed his golden opportunity with Jeff Waynes superb soundtrack when he cast Tom Cruise in his version of War of the Worlds and many people were disappointed when none was incorporated.

So Jeff Waynes comes along to put together a stage version, I was unlucky not to get to see this earlier in 2006, but getting the DVD for Christmas made up for it.

If you liked the original album, well this is for you, near perfect stage reproduction with excellent graphics, outstrips Mr Cruise's film by actually basing the story in London as per the original book and not a made-for-the-states version,yet Mr Wayne is from America.

Top marks for a brilliant performance

Awesome

[andy_roberts · 10/10 · 27 November 2006]

Glad to see that it's come back home to where it belongs...!

The Hollywood attempts at the films were very poor but you tend to find that with Hollywood remakes of classic English material.

No offense to US folk but am very tired of all the garbage remakes. Pink Panther, Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy etc etc.

This concert is a MUST BUY for true War of the Worlds fans. Had goose bumps and my hair stood on end when I got this and sat down to it(high volume of course)on my system.

Excellent production of an Excellent composition just was sad not to see all the Original Cast but that is sadly unavoidable. That takes NOTHING away from the performances.

Faultless musicians... Just buy it OK!!! It's well worth your money. I bought the 2 disc edition but either one you choose will be good.

Bringing a classic album to life

[dbborroughs · 10/10 · 5 January 2008]

thirty years ago Jeff Wayne released a musical version of War of the worlds with Richard Burton doing narration, Justin Hayward, David Essex and others singing. It floored me from the midnight on July 4th airing I heard it on the old WNBC radio. I went out and bought it the next day at the local record shop. Its been a part of my consciousness ever since then. I always hoped for a film or stage production (I did see a laser show version) but never expected this.

Clicking through pay per view tonight I saw War of the Worlds Live.Curious as to what it was I played the preview and found apparently Jeff Wayne made a concert version and toured the UK with it. An orchestra and rock band played in front of a screen which ran projections, the art from the liner notes and other visuals. They also had a giant head of Richard Burton that acted as narrator.

Wow. And wow. This was probably the only way it could ever be performed and it works wonderfully. The visuals are pretty much what you expect and the performances (including Justin Hayward) are close to the original, but not so close as to make you think lip sync. I was floored and I sat there watching with rapt attention despite not being able to hold a conversation earlier in the evening. Amazing truly amazing. Its so good I may have to buy the DVD-which apparently isn't available in the US despite being on pay per view.

All I can add is if you know and like the album see this if you get the chance, it actually does the album justice.

The war has returned!

[reephamike-1 · 10/10 · 18 November 2006]

Thirty years the music was considered to be revolutionary, changed the face of music in a BIG way! Why did Jeff Wayne chose to do War of the Worlds? because he was taught by his father to compose what Jeff would love and adapt to, Jeff of course loved war of the worlds.

I read the book it was interesting I played the game, it was great I watched the 1953 movie, it was the most awful adaption I've ever seen.

I have seen the 2005 movie, I wanted to love it but it kinda flopped on me.

But the Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds musical version, OK pararell to the book in some parts but the result was still the same.

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!!! I admire how the music was structured, the violins at the beginning, the incredible vocals, amazing actors/singers and of course it was impressive how they brought Richard Burton back to life. Practically, they have reunited the old with the new to recreate the power of The War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne.

Thirty years, Jeff, I admire your valiant efforts and unmeasurable patience. You are and still a legend in those who keep attempting to bring back war of the worlds, Well Done!

So much fun...

[therocinante · 10/10 · 4 January 2008]

Ever since my parents bought the original musical in the early 80's, around when I was born, I've become more and more interested in it as I get older. After watching this concert -or rather production- I began asking myself, "Why is this so great?" I mean, when you tell people what it is, they look at you funny, and it does sound a little silly: "It's the novel, only in a funky, techno-rock incarnation." But there's a number of elements Jeff Wayne's musical has that I think keeps it enduring through the years...and endearing.

First, the sheer composition and arrangement of the music is extremely unique. Without exception, every single song on the album sticks in your mind. The themes range from beautifully stirring to just plain bizarre, and are all memorable. I personally reveled in watching the guitarist perform the "heat-ray" themes throughout this video, and the bass player picking the famous line during the "Horsell Common" section.

Second, out of all the "Big Time" productions of War of the Worlds, this is not only the most unique, but surprisingly the truest to the novel. I recently re-read Wells' book, and couldn't help but hear in my head the music which accompanies certain chapters. Somehow, and I don't know how, late-70's synth-rock does a 19th century novel justice.

And finally, the music and lyrics are extremely straightforward and non-abstract. There is no digging that needs to be done to "get" a song. The listener simply knows that this piece of music represents the characters fleeing, this piece means alien weed is creeping across the ground, and this song is about a heroic battleship facing the invaders. You certainly can find deeper meaning if you look, but it isn't necessary.

All of these elements were present in the original production, and have translated over to the stage, decades later, flawlessly. Now one can witness the beautiful artwork of the original album come to life in animation, and watch the Martians destroying towns, the "Thunderchild" attacking the tripods, the red weed crawling, and the Parson losing his mind (a favorite part of mine). You'll notice people who enjoy this album talk about the chills they get when they listen; being able to see it come to life only makes it more so.

Outstanding

[sallyduncan · 10/10 · 2 February 2008]

This was a voyage of nostalgia and how I wish I could have attended one of the live concerts. Instead I settled for a home cinema experience that blew my mind. When we first bought the album, my husband and I had not been married long. My children have grown up with and love it as much as we do and we really loved the experience so much that we watched it two nights running. Fantastic! I recommend this for anyone to watch. You will not regret the experience. If you can, see it on a large screen surround sound and imagine that you are in the audience. I don't think I've ever seen a conductor enjoy himself as much as Jeff Wayne. Well done to all.

SuperB

[ronald666 · 10/10 · 22 August 2007]

I listened to this record so often back in the days that i had to buy me a new double vinyl version.

Now I've seen this live version (i wasn't expecting much from it) i also got goose-skin on places you don't want to know.

Very accurate replay of the original double LP, high respect for the musicians and also for the animators who designed the background movie.

Together with the background animation it watches like a movie following the storyline with the best movie-music ever !

I don't have much more info to add so i write this line to get the minimum of 10 lines text filled up.

Greets and tulips from Holland

buy it !

[scott_stamp-2 · 10/10 · 2 September 2008]

being brought up with this music (my parents were huge David Essex Fans) I listened to this Double album at least once a week and also became a huge fan. When it came out on CD, I just had to have the gold special edition with the 150 year shelf life. Since then I have moved to the USA, got married and had children, flicking round ebay on evening I came across a 2 DVD "live" version ....... EH !, I thought and bought it. A week or so later, a brown padded envelope arrived from the UK with a sealed disc inside. That night i went into my theater room and turned on the TV, preamp & mono blocks, I opened the DVD tray, dropped the disc on the platter and sat down, I licked my lips and pressed play ............. 2 hours later it came to be, maybe there is a God. This is one incredible production, OK, The Burton face is a little cheesy, the special effects are not from THX but who the hell cares when you have greats like Wayne, Hayward & Spedding on the stage giving there all. This is a must for any fan of WOTW, The Blacksmoke band and the ulladubulla stings are fantastic, thanks to everybody involved, the hair on the back of my neck is still standing up and I type this ....... If your a fan of the 70's musical version, buy this today, if your a fan of the Cruise movie, pull you head out of your a** then buy it !

One of the best concept albums of all time

[eap1 · 10/10 · 21 June 2008]

Way back in the late 1970's I purchased the double tape set of WOTW, played them to death through the 80's 90's and early 2000's. I was so thrilled to see WOTW released on CD back in 2005, of course I had to get it.

2007 I went to see the staged production of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. I would say that seeing this production was one of the best experiences I've ever enjoyed. The Richard Burton hologram was really good at the live performances, I say this because on the DVD it just doesn't come across that well.

I suspect that this musical masterpiece will end up being a classic over the next millenia. Thanks to HG Wells for inspiring Jeff Wayne to write this brilliant musical adaptation.

A mind blowing experience!

[ze-paulo-201-565920 · 31 October 2011]

Some people are disappointed that the story is continually interrupted by long stretches of music? Are you joking? This is a musical work, not a movie! The images projected on the screen stage are only a part of the show, but the center of that show is the music. I want to see how it's played, which instrument do this part and which do the next. I don't care about the video projected. I even find it very distractive. And of course, with such a complex work, the band, the orchestra, the singers, the conductor, the audience, the videos, the giant head, the tripod, it's impossible to see all of this all of the time. If you want to see a movie go see the Spielberg's version. Here the most important is the music and the music is great, the performers are great, it's a mind blowing experience!

I was 18 when the original vinyl came out. I think people with my age will appreciate better this effort.

Jeff Wayne's origin album is a timeless classic. The live tour however was still in its first draft in 2006. The 2013 New Generation recording is the better one for watching

[mickman91-1 · 9/10 · 16 March 2022]

Jeff Wayne's album is without a doubt 10/10. It was a totally original concept album featuring legendary narration by Richard Burton and wonderful electronic music while also telling a faithful and enjoyable adaptation of H G Wells story. Many years after its first release, and by which time it was a classic album in many households, Jeff Wayne created a live tour to perform his work live to the masses. This review is for the 2006 DVD recording of the tour. The music is perfect and needs no review from me. The recording of the live version was a lot of fun too and brought to life the classic sounds which for many years were 2-dimensional only. The singers were excellent and the musical performers excellent. There is a video that runs behind the performers which helps visually tell the story. This helped bring the actual heart of the story to life in a way that always seemed secondary to the music when one is listening to an album. So watching the live tour is another way to experience and to bring to life the wonderful classic piece of musical work.

However, in 2012 Jeff Wayne rerecorded the album under the title of War of the Worlds - The New Generation. The music is the same but rerecorded with different arrangements and instrumentation. This album was largely criticised by fans because nothing was broken so why did he decide to fix it? He only rendered it worse? Well I thought so too, I never listen to the New Generation album as it is inferior to the original. However, after watching the 2013 blu ray recording of the New Generation live tour I now understand why jeff felt he needed to redo it. It is because it was about reworking the live show to include more of the H G Wells narrative so as to make the liver performance more impactful to the audience, particularly in regards to conveying the story. And I have to say that watching the 2013 recording of the New Generation live tour was much more engaging than watching this 2006 recording of the original tour. The staging is better with better visuals and effects and narration and the Wells story comes through in a more complete way. And this in turns heightens the experience of the music that accompanies it. So in the end, while the original album is by far the superior to listen to, the 2013 live recording is by far the better one to watch. It is just a shame that in the 2013 recording you have the inferior musical arrangements as accompaniments and some rather dreadful vocals by Marti Pellow.

a stadium version of a 1970s classic album

[didi-5 · 7/10 · 3 January 2008]

Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds' musical was one of the high points of the 1970s, a fantastic, overblown, powerful, electronic creation showcasing the singing of Phil Lynott, Julie Covington, David Essex, Justin Hayward, and the narration of Richard Burton. As an audio experience it was irresistible and has stood the test of time well.

Now the stage version brings visuals, a stadium powerhouse, semi-staged scenes and screen tricks, plus Wayne himself conducting an orchestra performing his score. Hayward returns to sing the lovely 'Forever Autumn' and other gaps are filled by Russell Watson, Tara Blaise, Chris Thompson ...

A gimmick though which fails is a holographic Richard Burton, lips synching to the original dialogue, but otherwise inanimate and a bit creepy. The decision to use the original narration was sound - who else could do it with such style and panache? - but this particular visual is a bit cheap and silly, as it is impossible for an inanimate object to interact with the characters on stage. Much better to play the voice alone.

One strength of the original recording was the ability of it to conjure up images of the story. The stage version presents those images almost in overload - it would look fantastic perhaps, if you were in an arena looking at a big screen, but on TV it looks too much. We don't need to see everything spelt out on screen for us.

This said, the music remains strong, and the story survives this strange treatment of it. But I'd still rate the recording over this new version.

Meh... it was so so i guess

[mykeduncan · 4/10 · 26 December 2006]

I already had the Double CD album and really loved that. So a family member bought me this DVD as a gift. The music, as i expected was absolutely superb, but then it always was. Gives me shivers every time i hear it. That said, I felt it could have maybe been reworked more than it was for this. It was essentially a note for note replay of the original. Whilst that alone is great, i kind of hoped for more.

I cant say I was overly impressed with the visual stuff. The "resurrected" Richard Burton just made me laugh. I felt a lot more could have made been of staging of the storyline instead of relying so much on the CGI. If you're going to have live singers, why not have one or two live actors too!! Fleeing from the fighting machine maybe? And don't even get me started on the fighting machine... as it came down on to the stage so slowly and pathetically I thought the crane might have broken then just stood there with a few flashing lights and firecrackers.

I sound very negative but I'm not saying it was bad. Just don't expect anything new like i perhaps did.

Outstanding

[tripolitrx · 10/10 · 10 March 2009]

I haven't been lucky enough to see the stage show live as yet, but come July 09, that will all change, and I am twitching in anticipation. I have had the pleasure of seeing the DVD, in full digital surround sound on a generously sized LCD. And I have to say it's a mesmerising show.

Not only do you have the excellent musical performance and vocal accolades of Justin Hayward bombarding your senses, but you have visuals which can only be described as a technological tour de force. Lasers, strobes, a 30ft Tripod, and superb CGI cut scenes combine to make this a very special show. Not least the virtual Richard Burton head narrating it all.

Granted, there are a few minor technical deficiencies with the lip sync animation, but to have produced a convincing computer generated 3D model of a person that symbolises the War of the Worlds ethos, and pull it off as successfully as they have in this stage show is a testament of how technology can improve what is, for me, one of the most engrossing story lines out there.

This show brings the possibility of a full screen blockbuster a tiny bit closer, which I for one have been longing to see produced. Its far more than just a musical performance, it intertwines music and superb visual technology, and it works very well. It is in my opinion a unique spectacle, and a must see.

Truly Incredible!

[albertwjonesjr · 10/10 · 12 February 2010]

Jeff Wayne's musical adaptation of "War of the Worlds" is by far the best rendition of the H. G. Wells classic Science Fiction story of invaders from Mars I have seen to date. The music is flawless, and the storyline very entertaining.

For me, I get a thrill watching the DVD or listening to the CDs not only for the story (which has been a favorite of mine since childhood), but also because I am a HUGE Moody Blues fan. To hear Justin Hayward's voice singing "The Eve of War", and especially "Forever Autumn" is absolutely wonderful. As for performances by Alexis James, Russell Watson, and Tara Blaise, even if they are not original performers, their performance is beautiful! Nicely done.

Richard Burton's head doesn't react in a life-like fashion; so what. Who cares? His voice is the story, and I believe the War of the Worlds would not be as great with any other voice narrating. As for the comment about the drawbacks of watching the DVD and seeing the musicians and not the screen, get over it; this adaptation is as much about the music as the story. Sit back, enjoy, and quit over analyzing.

Mr. Wayne: Thank you!

For those living in the United States, the DVD set is available through Amazon.com.

Really lame play, good music

[JazukaiX · 5/10 · 28 August 2009]

The music is great, just like the album, with subtle updates. The stuff happening on the stage is not worth paying attention to.

The narrator is not portrayed by an actor, but a giant head in the corner of the stage in front of a screen where moving versions of the album's pictures/video game cutscenes take place, and because of this, every other character is played by one person wandering around an empty stage except for the orchestra either side of them, yelling their lines to the audience.

There's a huge Tripod over the stage too, but it doesn't do anything but shoot lights at the audience whenever there's a heat ray on the screen behind it.

It's really really stupid, i suggest not spending the money, just find the album version.

Sincerely disappointed

[JimPettis · 4/10 · 29 November 2009]

Well, first: I'm a huge fan of the book. Huge. Additionally, a fan of science fiction in general.

The thing that makes this rendition so boring - so boring that I couldn't finish watching it - is that the story is continually interrupted by long stretches of music. During these stretches, the recorded audience gets to watch the story unfolding on a large movie screen. Meanwhile, WE (the TV viewers) get to look at things like the conductor bobbing up and down in a disturbing manner with an equally disturbing smile on his face, or a several-seconds-long close up of a violin bow, and similar edge-of-your-seat visuals (sarcasm intended).

Perhaps this was wonderful to see in person. It's simply frustrating - *very* frustrating - trying to sit through the recorded version.

4 stars because, unlike most renditions, it largely adheres to the excellent book - that is, in between large swathes of pointless music and even more pointless video. I cannot recommend this even to the most die-hard of Wells or SciFi fans.

Jim

I'd suggest going to Ubisoft instead

[shadowstar-98851 · 1/10 · 8 November 2019]

Awful stuff, bad actors and accents, and the AR/VR doesnt worry- all the sets give you vertigo and most are just black or make you walk into walls, and then the staff will be offensive to you. Try something else.