'50s Class: The War of the Worlds (1953)

 Amazon may have paid for a new one, but can we replace the Original Film?

This is The War of the Worlds, the 1953 Classic from Producer George Pal.  Full disclosure- I'm a big fan of these '50s Sci-Fi Films.

That said, is it truly a great Film?
It tells the Tale of a small Town that becomes the epicenter of a Martian Invasion.  Why didn't Orson Welles warn us?!?

Can mankind figure out how to save our World?  Did this somehow get a TV Show in the '80s?

To find out, read on...

A piece of debris from space- they aren't sure if it is a comet or a meteor, since '50s- crashes in the Woods outside of a major City.

As luck would have it, a bunch of Scientists are nearby to help.!

The main guy is Dr. Clayton Forrester, who is just your everyday, relatable Scientist with multiple Masters Degrees and flies in on his private plane.

His name is also the inspiration for Dr. Forrester on Mystery Science Theater 3000.  Hi, Trace.

La la la.

They observe the rock-looking object for a while and discuss how to study it.

While the Town celebrates the impending tourism rush, three guys are left to watch it.

The top cracks open and a metallic object comes out.  Is it a probe?

Nope- it is a ship.

It begins to attack and we learn- but aren't shown- that others are appearing all over the World!

Our weapons have no effect on them, as they can form a sort of magnetic energy shield.

In a weird bit (especially given the Ending), this Priest tries to talk to the Martians and get vaporized!

Attacks only get worse and our Hero- alongside Sylvia- flees the Scene.

His plane crashes- they're fine- and they hide out in a House.

A lurking ship tries to find them. 

Wow, that's freaky!

The probe then shows up and...I'm less scared.

I mean, I was never good at Simon, so that is a bit scary.

They try more weapons- like an A-Bomb- but nothing works!

Humanity seems doomed until the ships suddenly start to fall.

We see an alien (limb) appear and we learn that germs in our atmosphere killed them.
It sounds better when Morgan Freeman says it though.

The oddly religious End.

A Classic Film with only one real issue for modern audiences.

While the Film is well-written, produced and directed, it lacks a real emotional core.  Dr. Forrester, simply put, doesn't make me feel a deep connection to the events of the Film.

Clearly Steven Spielberg agreed, making his Remake (which I saw as a Theater Employee) about Tom Cruise and his family.

With that out of the way, the Film works on so many other levels.

It looks great (and I'm only watching it on DVD, not 4K).  It sounds great.  It feels big.

The Ships look great, even if the wires are more visible in recent prints (save for the new 4K version, which digitally removed them) like mine at certain points.
The effect of the ray guns/blasts aren't even remotely consistent, but always look great.

If you can accept that this version is a bit emotionally lacking, give this one a look.  It doesn't feature Ice Cube behind a monitor, so it is absolutely recommended.

It was actually the giant men that killed the Martians!

Next up, let's flip things and cover the Remake of a classic 1950s Film.  This one is big and loud, but is it good?  Stay tuned...