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Gene Barry/Ann Robinson

It seems the threat of invasion has always dominated our thinking. When H. G. Wells wrote his novel The War of the Worlds at the close of the century, his novel turned the tables on imperial England which had dominated much of the world with its technological might by making England (and the rest of the world as well) the victims of a more technologically advanced species intent on eradicating humanity as if we were nothing more than annoying cockroaches. *** Producer George Pal (“When Worlds Collide”, “The Time Machine”) and director Byron Haskin (“Naked Jungle”, “Treasure Island”) incorporated the paranoia of the 50’s, the Cold War with Russia and our own sense vulnerability into Wells’ original masterpiece. For the film version of “The War of the Worlds” Pal borrowed from Orson Welles’ radio broadcast (included as an extra by the way) the idea of transporting the novel to America and setting it in a farming community out of the way of the big city. By the tme scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) is called in to examine the “meteor” the Martians are already on the move with more and more of their ships arriving every day. As they devastate the world, every weapon known to man in the 50’s is tried against them including a hydrogen bomb but all have no effect. Trapped in the town along with Sylvia van Buren (Ann Robinson) the daughter of the local minister, Forrester struggles to get back to Los Angeles and report what he’s observed about the aliens. If Wells’ social polemic novel was about England itself as both victim and victimizer, than Pal’s film imagined the Russians in the role of the Martians. Surprisingly the film overcomes its Cold War politics. *** Featuring groundbreaking visual effects (for its time) that won an Academy Award, this transfer of

“The War of the Worlds” looks absolutely stunning putting to shame the previous shoddy edition that Paramount released a couple of years ago. The colors are vivid recalling the film during its glory days in 1953. While previous transfers made the wires that hold the models evident, they are even more prominent in this crystal clear transfer. I don’t think the print of this film has looked this sharp and clear ever even in theaters. The soundtrack is stunning as well besting the plain poorly master mono sound with a stereo surround sound track that, if it isn’t the original stereo track, sounds darn close. ---

“The Sky is Falling” is an exceptional featurette that focuses on the making of the movie and has interviews with Gene Barry and Ann Reyonds along with designer Al Nozaki discussing the making of this groundbreaking classic. Although many of George Pal’s films from the 50’s haven’t aged well (most notably “Destination Moon”, “The Conquest of Space” and “When Worlds Collide”), “The War of Worlds” along with the other Wells adaptation made by Pal “The Time Machine” continue to resonate because they tap into elemental fears and dreams. A second featurette discusses author Wells providing much background on the creation of his classic novel and some of his othe works as well. We also get the original Orson Wells broadcast as part of the package.

A classic science fiction film finally gets the deluxe treatment it deserves. Pal’s film received a shoddy transfer from Paramount previously including only the trailer and a poor sounding mono soundtrack making it inferior to the laserdisc edition. For this special edition Paramount has had the film lovingly restored with color correction for the film as well as adding the stereo soundtrack that appeared on the laserdisc edition. While the film certainly deserved more than two featurettes, the two commentary tracks more than make up for this shortcoming. I’d recommend buying for fans of this film as it puts the previous edition to shame.