The War of the Worlds, 1953

One of the best things about the film was its pacing. From the very beginning, The War of the Worlds is all about the martians. Sure, there are subplots and side stories, and one could draw parallels between the movie and the rampant McCarthyism of the time, but mostly it’s about the martian attack. The martians land in the first scene, and die in the last one. They are the driving element of the story. I liked the characters, especially Gene Berry’s scientist. It was a little ridiculous how he seemed to have all the answers, from alien biology to electromagnetics and atomic theory. But, who cares? It’s a movie, and I liked his character either way. One of my biggest complaints, however, was how he completely abandoned his logical thought process to find the heroine. Through most of the film he was the voice of reason, yet near the end he gave up on the one thing that was keeping him alive. Then again, love causes people to do some strange things… The special effects were probably amazing in 1953, but by today’s standards they left a lot to be desired. Digitally removed wires are so common these days that when you do spot a wire, it stands out like a turd in a punchbowl. The miniatures were clearly miniatures, and the matting and superimposing were easily spotted. But the lack of modern day effects didn’t take away from the story. It was still incredibly creepy to hear the radio reports of the alien invasion. The analysis of the threat reminded me of the radio reports in Night of the Living Dead), although I guess it should be the other way around.

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