A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 2 nominations total
Robert Cornthwaite
- Dr. Pryor
- (as Bob Cornthwaite)
Houseley Stevenson Jr.
- Gen. Mann's Aide
- (as Housely Stevenson Jr.)
William Phipps
- Wash Perry
- (as Bill Phipps)
Cedric Hardwicke
- Commentary
- (voice)
- (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Peter Adams
- Pine Summit Fire Watcher
- (uncredited)
Eric Alden
- Man
- (uncredited)
Hugh Allen
- Brigadier General
- (uncredited)
Ruth Barnell
- Mother
- (uncredited)
Edgar Barrier
- Prof. McPherson
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe estate of H.G. Wells was so pleased with the final production that it offered George Pal his choice of any other of Wells' properties. Pal chose The Time Machine (1960).
- GoofsModern viewers often complain that the wires used to suspend the Martian war machines are plainly visible throughout the film. The film was originally shot in three strip Technicolor, with prints made using a dye transfer process that resulted in very saturated colors, but with a slight reduction in overall resolution. This reduction in resolution "fuzzed out" the wires in original prints, making them effectively invisible. Later prints were made in Eastman Color, which uses a photographic process and yields sharper prints, but here had the side effect of making the support and electric wires plainly visible - the models had electrical wires as the side pods of the machines really lit up green and the "cobra heads" lit up as well. It is common practice in the film industry to take into account what details will be visible when a print is projected so as not to waste production time and money on details that will never actually be visible to a viewing audience, especially in the areas of effects and matte paintings. Thus, the filmmakers never thought the wires would be visible and in fact they weren't until the first Eastman Color prints of the film were struck in the late 1960s, and they had become even more visible on modern video releases as there is no dye sublimation resolution loss when making video masters from the original negatives. In the 2018 restoration this was resolved using digital technology.
- Quotes
Radio Reporter: All radio is dead, which means that these tape recordings I'm making are for the sake of future history - If any.
- Alternate versionsFor the 2018 restoration Ben Burtt created a new 5.1 surround sound mix with replacements for many of the film's original sound effects, with the jarring result that the sound effects have fidelity far above that of surrounding dialogue in the film. The 2020 Criterion Collection release features this new sound mix as well as the original mono track.
- ConnectionsEdited from When Worlds Collide (1951)
Featured review
Sci-fi classic
Martians have used up the resources of their planet and they're looking for other planets. A suspected meteor lands outside the Californian town of Linda Rosa. People have gathered to put out the fire and then to enjoy the sight. Noted atomic scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester who is fishing nearby comes to take a look. Sylvia van Buren teaches library science at USC. They decide to go back to town and wait for the meteor to cool down. The Martians war machine activates and starts its killing spree. Other landings occur around the world.
It is an iconic sci-fi and a marvel of its era. It is still a compelling narrative today. The special effects are fun. The miniatures are terrific. The design of the aliens are timeless. What is even better is the sound design. The alien sounds and the weapons fire are truly memorable. There is a lot of stock footage used. The wires are very much visible. Nevertheless this is not some cheap B-movie. They use some real action effects and stunts. They have lots of extras and the two leads are acceptable as actors. The battle in L.A. is no small matter. The prevalence of the religious tone is something different from the material and more fitting for the time.
It is an iconic sci-fi and a marvel of its era. It is still a compelling narrative today. The special effects are fun. The miniatures are terrific. The design of the aliens are timeless. What is even better is the sound design. The alien sounds and the weapons fire are truly memorable. There is a lot of stock footage used. The wires are very much visible. Nevertheless this is not some cheap B-movie. They use some real action effects and stunts. They have lots of extras and the two leads are acceptable as actors. The battle in L.A. is no small matter. The prevalence of the religious tone is something different from the material and more fitting for the time.
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- SnoopyStyle
- Jan 11, 2015
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- H.G. Wells' the War of the Worlds
- Filming locations
- Westminster Presbyterian Church - 1757 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA(First church Forrester searches)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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