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The War of the Worlds (1953 film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = The War of the Worlds
| image = The War of the Worlds (1953 film poster).jpg
| border = yes
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Byron Haskin
| producer = George Pal
| screenplay = Barr Lyndon
| based_on =
| starring = Gene Barry
Ann Robinson
| music = Leith Stevens
| cinematography = George Barnes
| editing = Everett Douglas
| studio = Paramount Pictures
| distributor = Paramount Pictures
| released =
| runtime = 85 minutes[https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/war-worlds-1970-0 "'The War of the Worlds'."] 'British Board of Film Classification', March 9, 1953. Retrieved: January 11, 2015.
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $2 million
| gross = $2 million 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', 'Variety', January 13, 1954
}}
'The War of the Worlds' (also known in promotional material as 'H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds') is a 1953 American science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal, directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson.
The film is an adaptation of the 1898 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells, the first of five feature film adaptations. It is a retelling of the 1898 novel, changing the setting from Victorian era-England to 1953 southern California. Earth is suddenly and unexpectedly invaded by Martians, and American scientist Clayton Forrester searches for any weakness that can stop them.
'The War of the Worlds' won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and went on to influence other science fiction films. In 2011, it was selected for the United States' National Film Registry in the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
In Southern California, Dr. Clayton Forrester, a well-known atomic scientist, is fishing with colleagues when a large object crashes near the small town of Linda Rosa, California, southeast of Corona. At the impact site, he meets USC library science instructor Sylvia Van Buren and her uncle, Pastor Matthew Collins. Later that night, a round hatch on the object unscrews and opens. As the three men standing guard at the site attempt to make contact while waving a white flag, a Martian heat-ray obliterates them. The United States Marine Corps later surrounds the crash site, as reports pour in of identical cylinders landing all over the world and destroying cities. Three Martian war machines emerge from the cylinder. Pastor Collins attempts to make contact with the aliens, but he is disintegrated. The Marines open fire, but are unable to penetrate the Martians' force field. The aliens counterattack with their heat-ray and skeleton-beam weapons, sending the Marines into full retreat. Air force jets next attack the martian war machines, but are anniliated.
Attempting to escape in a small, single engine military spotter plane, Forrester and Sylvia crash land and hide in an abandoned farmhouse. They begin to develop closer feelings for each other just before the house is buried by yet another crashing cylinder. A long cable with an electronic eye explores the farmhouse from a war machine eventually spots them, but Forrester cuts off the lens housing using an axe. Later, when a Martian enters and approaches Sylvia, Forrester injures it with the axe and collects its blood on a cloth. They escape just before the farmhouse is obliterated. Forrester takes the electronic eye and blood sample to his team at Pacific Tech in the hope of finding a way to defeat the invaders. The scientists discover how the Martian eye works and also note that alien blood is extremely anemic.
Many of the major world capitals fall silent, and global Martian victory is estimated to be only six days away. The United States government makes the decision to drop an atomic bomb on the original group of Martian war machines advancing towards Los Angeles from the east, near the Puente Hills. The atomic blast, however, is totally ineffective. As the aliens advance on Los Angeles, the city is evacuated. The Pacific Tech trucks are stopped by a mob bent on escape, and all the scientific equipment is destroyed. Forrester, Sylvia, and the other scientists become separated in the chaos.
Forrester searches for Sylvia in the deserted city. Based on a story she had told him earlier, he guesses that she would take refuge in a church. After searching through several, he finds Sylvia among many praying survivors. Just as the aliens attack near the church, their machines suddenly lose power one after the other and crash. Forrester sees one Martian expire while trying to leave its fallen war machine. The narrator observes that while the Martians were impervious to humanity's weapons, they had "no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. After all that men could do had failed, they were destroyed and humanity was saved by the littlest things, which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this Earth".
Cast
Production
'The War of the Worlds' opens with a black-and-white prologue featuring newsreel war footage and a voice-over by Paul Frees that describes the destructive technological advancements of Earthly warfare from World War I through World War II. The image then smash cuts to vivid Technicolor and the dramatic opening title card and credits.
The story begins with a series of color matte paintings by astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell that depict the planets of our Solar System (all except Venus about which little was known at the time). A narrator (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) offers a tour of the hostile environment of each world, eventually explaining to the audience why the Martians find our lush, green, and blue Earth the only world worthy of their scrutiny and coming invasion.Rubin 1977, pp. 416, 3447.
This is the first of two adaptations of Wells' classic science fiction filmed by George Pal; it is considered to be one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s.Booker 2010, p. 126.
Pal originally planned for the final third of the film to be shot in the new 3D process to visually enhance the Martians' attack on Los Angeles. The plan was dropped prior to the actual production of the film. World War II stock footage was used to produce a montage of destruction to show the worldwide invasion, with armies of all nations joining together to fight the invaders.
Dr. Forrester's and the other scientists' Pacific Tech (Pacific Institute of Science and Technology, actually depicted by buildings on the Paramount studio lot) has since been referenced in other films and television episodes whenever directors/writers/producers needed to depict a science-oriented California university without using a specific institution's name.Warren 1982, pp. 151163.
The city of Corona, California, was used as the shooting location of the fictitious town of Linda Rosa. St. Brendan's Catholic Church, located at 310 South Van Ness Avenue in Los Angeles, was the setting for the climactic scene where a large group of desperate people gather to pray. The rolling hills and main thoroughfares of El Sereno, Los Angeles, were also used in the film.
On the commentary track of the 2005 Special Collector's DVD Edition of 'War of the Worlds', Robinson and Barry point out that the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker is seen in a treetop, center screen, when the first large Martian meteorite-ship crashes through the sky near the beginning of the film. Woody's creator Walter Lantz and George Pal were close friends. Pal tried to always include the Woody character out of friendship and good luck in his productions. Joe Adamson wrote years later: "Walter had been close friends with Pal ever since Pal had left Europe in advance of the war and arrived in Hollywood".Adamson, Joe. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zd42AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Walter+Lantz%22+%22George+Pal%22+%22close+friends%22&dq=%22Walter+Lantz%22+%22George+Pal%22+%22close+friends%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7DtAUaz8OYrJyQHd2oBg&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA 1985']
The prototype Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing is prominently featured in the atomic bombing sequence. Pal and Haskin incorporated Northrop color footage of a YB-49 test flight, originally used in Paramount's 'Popular Science' theatrical shorts, to show the Flying Wing's takeoff and bomb run.Howe, Tom. "Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing." cedmagic.com. Retrieved: 25 August 2012.
Differences from the Wells novel
Caroline Blake has written,Caroline G. Blake, 'Religion in Speculative Fiction', Ch.2, 5 that the film is very different from the original novel in its attitude toward religion, as reflected especially in the depiction of clergymen as characters. "The staunchly secularist Wells depicted a cowardly and thoroughly uninspiring Curate, whom the narrator regards with disgust, with which the reader is invited to concur. In the film, there is instead the sympathetic and heroic Pastor Collins who dies a martyr's death. And then the film's final scene in the church, strongly emphasizing the Divine nature of Humanity's deliverance, has no parallel in the original book."Pal's adaptation has many other differences from H. G. Wells' novel. The closest resemblance is probably that of the antagonists. The film's aliens are indeed Martians and invade Earth for the same reasons as those stated in the novel (the state of Mars suggests that it is becoming unable to support life, leading to the Martians' decision to try to make Earth their new home). They land in the same way, by crashing to Earth. The novel's spacecraft, however, are large cylinder-shaped projectiles fired from the Martian surface from some kind of cannon, instead of the film's meteorite-spaceships; but the Martians emerge from their craft in the same way, by unscrewing a large, round hatch. They appear to have no use for humans in the film. In the novel, however, the invaders are observed "feeding" on humans by fatally transfusing their captives' blood supply directly into Martian bodies by using pipettes; there is also later speculation about the Martians eventually using trained human slaves to hunt down all remaining survivors after they have conquered Earth. In the film, the Martians do not bring their fast-growing red weed with them, but they are defeated by Earth microorganisms, as in the novel. However, they die from the effects of the microorganisms within three days of the landing of the first meteorite-ship; in the novel, the Martians die within about three weeks of their invasion of England.
The Martians themselves bear no physical resemblance to the novel's Martians, who are described as bear-sized, roundish creatures with grayish-brown bodies, "merely heads", with quivering beak-like, V-shaped mouths dripping saliva; they have sixteen whip-like tentacles in two groupings of eight arranged on each side of their mouths and two large "luminous, disk-like eyes". Due to budget constraints, their film counterparts are short, reddish-brown creatures with two long, thin arms with three long, thin fingers with suction-cup tips. The Martians' head, if it can be called that, is a broad "face" at the top-front of its broad-shouldered upper torso, the only apparent feature of which is a single large eye with three distinctly colored lenses of red, blue, and green. The Martians' lower extremities, whatever they may be, are never shown. (Some speculative designs for the creature suggest the idea of three thin legs resembling their fingers, while others show them as bipeds with short, stubby legs with three-toed feet.)
The film's Martian war machines do actually have more of a resemblance than they may seem at first glance. The novel's war machines are 10-story-tall fast-moving tripods made of glittering metal, each with a "brazen hood" atop each body that moves "to and fro" as the machine moves. A heat-ray projector on an articulated arm is connected to the front of each machine's main body. However, the film's war machines are shaped like manta rays, with a bulbous, elongated green window at the front, through which the Martians observe their surroundings. On top of the machine is the cobra-like head heat-ray attached to a long, narrow, goose-neck extension that can fire in any direction. They can be mistaken for flying machines, but Forrester states that they are lifted by invisible legs; in one scene when the first war machine emerges, the audience can see faint traces of three "energy legs" beneath that leave three sparking traces where they touch the burning ground. Therefore, technically speaking, the film's war machines are indeed tripods, though they are never given that verbal designation. Whereas the novel's machines had no protection against the British army and navy cannon fire, the film's war machines have a force field surrounding them; this invisible shield is described by Forrester as a "protective blister."
The Martian weaponry is also partially unchanged. The heat-ray has the very same effect as that of the novel. However, the novel's heat-ray mechanism is briefly described as just a rounded hump when first seen in silhouette rising above the landing crater's rim; it fires an invisible energy beam in a wide arc while still in the pit made by the first Martian cylinder after it crash-lands. The film's heat-ray projector when first seen is shaped like a cobra head with has a single, red pulsing "eye", which likely acts as a targeting telescope for the Martians inside their manta ray-like war machine. The novel describes another weapon, the "black smoke" used to kill all life; the war machines fire canisters containing a black smoke-powder through a bazooka-like tube accessory. When dispersed, this black powder is lethal to all life forms who breathe it. This weapon is replaced in the film by a Martian "skeleton beam" of green pulsing energy bursts fired from the wingtips of the manta-ray machines; these bursts break apart the sub-atomic bonds that hold matter together on anything they touch. These beams are used off-screen to obliterate several French cities.
The plot of the film is very different from the novel, which tells the story of a 19th-century writer (with additional narration in later chapters by his medical-student younger brother), who journeys through Victorian London and its southwestern suburbs while the Martians attack, eventually being reunited with his wife; the film's protagonist is a California scientist who falls in love with a former college student after the Martian invasion begins. However, certain points of the film's plot are similar to the novel, from the crash-landing of the Martian meteorite-ships to their eventual defeat by Earth's microorganisms. Forrester also experiences similar events like the book's narrator: an ordeal in a destroyed house, observing an actual Martian up close, and eventually reuniting with his love interest at the end of the story. The film is given more of a Cold War theme with its use of the atomic bomb against the invading enemy and the mass destruction that such a global war would inflict on mankind.
Special effects
An effort was made to avoid the stereotypical flying saucer look of UFOs: The Martian war machines, which were designed by Albert Nozaki, were instead made to be sinister-looking machines shaped like manta rays floating above the ground. Three Martian war machine props were made out of copper for the film. The same blueprints were used a decade later (sans neck and cobra head) to construct the alien spacecraft used in the film 'Robinson Crusoe on Mars', also directed by Byron Haskin; that film prop was later reported melted down as part of a scrap copper recycling drive.Each Martian machine was topped with an articulated metal neck/arm, culminating in the cobra head heat ray projector, housing a single electronic eye that operated both like a periscope and as a weapon. The electronic eye also housed the Martian heat ray, which pulsed and fired red sparking beams, all accompanied by thrumming and a high-pitched clattering shriek when the ray was used. The distinctive sound effect of the weapon was created by an orchestra performing a written score, mainly through the use of violins and cellos. For many years, it was utilized as a standard ray-gun sound on children's television shows and the science-fiction anthology series 'The Outer Limits', particularly in the episode "The Children of Spider County".
The machines also fired a pulsing green ray (referred to in dialog as "a skeleton beam") from their wingtips, generating a distinctive sound, also disintegrating their human targets; this second weapon is a replacement for the chemical weapon black smoke described in Wells' novel. This weapon's sound effect (created by striking a high tension cable with a hammer) was reused in 'Star Trek: The Original Series', accompanying the launch of photon torpedoes. The sound used when the Martian ships begin to move was also recycled by the original 'Star Trek' as the sound of an overloading hand phaser. Another prominent sound effect was a chattering, synthesized echo, perhaps representing some kind of Martian sonar; it can be described as sounding like hissing electronic rattlesnakes.
When the large Marine force opens fire on the Martians with everything in its heavy arsenal, each Martian machine is protected by an impenetrable force field that resembles, when briefly visible between explosions, the clear jar placed over a mantle clock, or a bell jar; cylindrical and with a hemispherical top. This effect was accomplished by the use of simple matte paintings on clear glass, which were then photographed and combined with other effects, then optically printed together during post-production.
The disintegration effect took 144 separate matte paintings to create. The sound effects of the war machines' heat rays firing were created by mixing the sound of three electric guitars being recorded backwards. The Martian's scream in the farmhouse ruins was created by mixing the sound of a microphone scraping along dry ice being combined with a woman's recorded scream and then reverse-played for the sound effect mix.
There were many problems trying to create the walking tripods of Wells' novel. It was eventually decided to make the Martian machines appear to float in the air on three invisible legs. To show their existence, subtle special effects downward lights were to be added directly under the moving war machines; however, in the final film, these only appear when one of the first machines can be seen rising from the Martian's landing site. It proved too difficult and dangerous to mark out the invisible legs when smoke and other effects had to be seen beneath the machines, and the effect used to create them also created a major fire hazard. In all of the subsequent scenes, however, the three invisible leg beams create small, sparking fires where they touch the ground.
Quality of special effects
Despite the many accolades awarded to the film, for 50 years, beginning in the late 1960s when 'The War of the Worlds' 3-strip Technicolor prints were replaced by the easier-to-use and less expensive Eastman Color stock, the quality of the film's special effects suffered dramatically. This resulted in a degradation of lighting, timing, and image resolution, causing the original invisible wires suspending the Martian war machines to become increasingly more visible with each succeeding advance in film and video formats. This lead many, including respected critics, to mistakenly believe the effects were originally of low quality. They were not until those inferior, later releases began circulating.Miller, Thomas Kent. 'Mars in the Movies: A History'. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. . pp. 149-153 . pp. 149-153*John Brosnans 'Future Tense': Unfortunately these wires are often visible on the screen, particularly during the sequence when the war machines first emerge from their crater and engage the army in battle. Brosnan, John. 'Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction'. New York: St. Martins Press, 1978. p. 91*Phil Hardys 'The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction': Not all Jennings spectacular special effects work wellon their first appearance the Martian war machines have an obvious network of wires surrounding them. Hardy, Phil (Ed.). 'The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction'. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Books, 1994. p. 143*John Clutes and Peter Nicholls 'The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction': The wires holding up the machines are too often visible. Clute, John, and Peter Nicholls (Eds.). 'The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'. New York: St. Martins Press, 1993. p. 1300*Gary Geranis 'Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies': While those cables holding up the machines are painfully visible, viewers tend to cut pre-digital fx a good deal of slack. Gerani, Gary. 'Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies'. San Diego: IDW Publishing, 2011 p. 129*Barry Forshaws 'The War of the Worlds' (BFI): [I]t has to do be said that [the use of wires] is one of the most dated elements of the special-effects, as they are all too clearly visible in many sequences of the film.... In British showings of the film (when it was re-released in a curious late-1960s US/UK double bill with Hitchcocks Psycho [1960]), the more sophisticated audiences of the day chuckled at these antediluvian special-effects. Forshaw, Barry. 'The War of the Worlds'. London: British Film Institute/Palgrave MacMillan, 2014. p. 152*Time, Inc.s Special magazine publication, 'LIFEScience Fiction: 100 Years of Great Movies', Vol. 16, No. 9, June 24, 2016: The movie cost $2 million, and its $1.4 million worth of special effects remains, despite visible wires, impressive even in an age of CGI. Time, Inc.s Special magazine publication, 'LIFEScience Fiction: 100 Years of Great Movies', Vol. 16, No. 9, June 24, 2016: p. 16*Peter Nicholls (Ed.) first edition of 'The Science Fiction Encyclopedia': The first appearance of the war machines, after an impressive build-up of suspense, is spoilt by the obvious maze of wires supporting each one. Nicholls, Peter. 'The Science Fiction Encyclopedia'. New York: Doubleday; 1st edition, 1979)*C.J Hendersons 'The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies: From 1897 to the Present': Wells unique walking tripods are replaced by ordinary spaceship-like designs that move on beams of light. This wouldnt be so bad if the wires holding them up werent visible in many scenes. Henderson, C. J. Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies: From 1897 to the Present. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001.*'Leonard Maltins Family Film Guide': Kids are likely to smirk at some of the special effects (as when the wires holding up the war machines are visible). Maltin, Leonard. 'Leonard Maltins Family Movie Guide'. New York: Signet, 1999. p. 803 [EPDF}Reception
Release
'The War of the Worlds' had its official Hollywood premiere on February 20, 1953, although it did not go into general theatrical release until the autumn of that year. The film was both a critical and box-office success. It accrued $2,000,000 in distributors' domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's biggest science fiction film hit.Gebert 1996Critical reaction
In 'The New York Times', A. H. Weiler's review of 'The War of the Worlds' commented: "[The film is] an imaginatively conceived, professionally turned adventure, which makes excellent use of Technicolor, special effects by a crew of experts, and impressively drawn backgrounds ... Director Byron Haskin, working from a tight script by Barr Lyndon, has made this excursion suspenseful, fast and, on occasion, properly chilling".Weiler, A. H. (as A. W.), [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9A07E6DD153EE53BBC4C52DFBE668388649EDE&oref=slogin "The Screen in Review: New Martian Invasion Is Seen in War of the Worlds, Which Bows at Mayfair."] 'The New York Times', August 14, 1953. Retrieved: January 11, 2015. "Brog" in 'Variety' felt, "[It is] a socko science-fiction feature, as fearsome as a film as was the Orson Welles 1938 radio interpretation ... what starring honors there are go strictly to the special effects, which create an atmosphere of soul-chilling apprehension so effectively [that] audiences will actually take alarm at the danger posed in the picture. It can't be recommended for the weak-hearted, but to the many who delight in an occasional good scare, it's socko entertainment of hackle-raising quality"."Brog".'Variety', April 6, 1953.Willis 1985 'The Monthly Film Bulletin' of the UK called it "the best of the postwar American science-fiction films; the Martian machines have a quality of real terror, their sinister apparitions, prowlings and pulverisings are spectacularly well done, and the scenes of panic and destruction are staged with real flair". Richard L. Coe of 'The Washington Post' called it "to put it gently, terrific", and "for my money, the 'King Kong' of its day".'The War of the Worlds' won an Academy Award for Special Effects (it was the sole nominee that year). Everett Douglas was nominated for Film Editing, while the Paramount Studio Sound Department and Loren L. Ryder were nominated for Sound Recording.[http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1954 "The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners."] 'oscars.org'. Retrieved: January 11, 2015.
'The War of the Worlds' still receives high acclaim from some critics. On the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 89% rating based on 35 critics, with an average rating of 7.20/10. The consensus states: "Though it's dated in spots, 'The War of the Worlds' retains an unnerving power, updating H. G. Wells' classic sci-fi tale to the Cold War era and featuring some of the best special effects of any 1950s film".[https://rottentomatoes.com/m/1023137-war_of_the_worlds/ "'The War of the Worlds'."] 'Rotten Tomatoes' (Fandango). Retrieved: July 10, 2022.
4K restoration
In 2018, a new, fully restored 4K ultra high-resolution Dolby Vision transfer of the film from the original three-strip Technicolor negatives became available for download on iTunes. In July 2020, the film was reissued on Blu-ray and DVD by The Criterion Collection in the United States using the same 4K remaster & restoration. Documentation supplied with the 4K Blu-ray mentioned that the transfer process and careful color/contrast calibrations allowed the special effects to be restored to Technicolor release print quality.
Legacy
'The War of the Worlds' was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant in 2011 by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/silence-of-the-lambs-bambi-and-forrest-gump-added-to-national-film-registry "Artsbeat:'Silence of the Lambs', 'Bambi', and 'Forrest Gump' added to National Film Registry."] 'The New York Times', December 27, 2011.Retrieved: January 11, 2015. The Registry noted the film's release during the early years of the Cold War and how it used "the apocalyptic paranoia of the atomic age."[https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html "2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates."] 'Library of Congress', December 28, 2011. Retrieved: January 11, 2015. The Registry also cited the film's special effects, which at its release were called "soul-chilling, hackle-raising, and not for the faint of heart".
The Martians were ranked the 27th best villains in the American Film Institute's list AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains.
The 1988 'War of the Worlds' TV series is a sequel to the Pal film; Ann Robinson reprises her role as Sylvia Van Buren in three episodes. Robinson also reprises her role in two other films, first as Dr. Van Buren in 1988's 'Midnight Movie Massacre' and then as Dr. Sylvia Van Buren in 2005's 'The Naked Monster'.[http://www.filmreference.com/film/13/Ann-Robinson.html "Ann Robinson Biography."] 'Film Reference'. Retrieved: January 12, 2015.
In the film 'Independence Day (1996 film)', there are several allusions to Pal's 1953 'War of the Worlds': the failed attempt of a dropped atomic bomb is replaced with a nuclear-armed cruise missile launched by a B-2 Spirit bomber (a direct descendant of the Northrop YB-49 bomber used in the 1953 film) and Captain Hiller being based in El Toro, California, which Dr. Forrester mentions as being the home of the Marines, which make the first assault on the invading Martians in Pal's film.Aberly and Engel 1996, p. 86.
The Asylum's 2005 direct-to-DVD 'H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds' has mild references to the Pal version: Inside the Martian's mouth, they have three tongues that closely resemble the three Martian fingers seen in the Pal film. The Asylum film also includes scenes of power outages after the aliens' arrival via meteorite-ships. As in the Pal film, refugees are seen hiding in the mountains instead of hiding underground, as in the Wells novel and the protagonist actively tries to fight the aliens by biological means.Breihan, Tom. [http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8458773/a-look-how-ripoff-factory-called-asylum-makes-mockery-box-office "=Mockbuster video."] 'Grantland.com', October 10, 2012. Retrieved: January 12, 2015.
Steven Spielberg's version, 'War of the Worlds' (2005), although an adaptation of the original Wells novel, does feature several references to the earlier film: Gene Barry and Ann Robinson have cameo appearances near the end, and the invading aliens have three-fingered hands but are depicted as reptile-like, three-legged walking tripods. There is also a long, snake-like alien camera probe deployed by the invaders in much the same manner as in the 1953 film.Desowitz, Bill. [http://www.awn.com/articles/production/iwar-worldsi-post-911-digital-attack-0 "War of the Worlds: A Post 9/11 Digital Attack."] 'VFXWorld', July 7, 2005. Retrieved: January 12, 2015. In his later film 'Ready Player One', Spielberg included a fallen Martian war machine that's more akin to the 1953 film.
Tomohiro Nishikado, The creator of 'Space Invaders', stated that seeing the film as a child was one of the inspirations for the inclusion and the design of the aliens in the game.
'Mystery Science Theater 3000' named one of its lead characters, the mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, as a homage to the 1953 film.[http://www.emmys.com/award_history_search?person=&program=&start_year=1994&end_year=1995&network=All&web_category=427&winner=All "Mystery Science Theater 3000."] 'Academy of Television Arts & Sciences'. Retrieved: January 12, 2015.
In 2004, 'War of the Worlds' was presented with a Retrospective Hugo Award for 1954 in the category of Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form (works running 90 minutes or less).http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1954-retro-hugo-awards/ . Retrieved February 20, 2018.
See also
* List of works based on 'The War of the Worlds'
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Aberly, Rachel and Volker Engel. 'The Making of Independence Day'. New York: HarperPaperbacks, 1996. .
* Adamson, Joe. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zd42AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Walter+Lantz%22+%22George+Pal%22+%22close+friends%22&dq=%22Walter+Lantz%22+%22George+Pal%22+%22close+friends%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7DtAUaz8OYrJyQHd2oBg&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA 'The Walter Lantz Story: with Woody Woodpecker and Friends'.] New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1985. .
* Booker, M. Keith. 'Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema'. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2010.
* Gebert, Michael. 'The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards', New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. .
* Hickman, Gail Morgan. 'The Films of George Pal'. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1977. .
* Miller, Thomas Kent. 'Mars in the Movies: A History'. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. .
* Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts. 'The Great Science Fiction Pictures'. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1977. .
* Rubin, Steve. "The War of the Worlds". 'Cinefantastique' magazine, Volume 5, No. 4, 1977. A comprehensive "making of" retrospective and review of the film.
* Strick, Philip. 'Science Fiction Movies'. London: Octopus Books Limited, 1976. .
* Warren, Bill. 'Keep Watching The Skies' Vol I: 19501957. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1982. .
* Willis, Don, ed. 'Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews'. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1985. .
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