Slideshow
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
U.S., 1953
Directed by Byron Haskin
Starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson
Approx. 85 min. DCP.
Martians wreak destruction on a defenseless world in producer George Pal’s grand-scale updating of the H.G. Wells novel, starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. A 50s sci-fi mega-classic, with Oscar-winning (pre-CGI) special effects. “The most elaborate science-fiction sight-and-sound spectacle of the period, [with] special effects that need no apology over seven decades later. The film’s design emphasizes the shape of things to come: Martian ships have cobralike heads that hiss and spin and smooth, swanlike bodies that emit deadly rays, while the slithering aliens that embark on a campaign of wholesale destruction have three eyes and three-handed claws. Unlike the other major science-fiction films of the decade, a religious rather than a political allegory, a testament to the power of faith.” – Foster Hirsch
Reviews
“Superior sci-fi filled with dazzling, Oscar-winning special effects.”
– Leonard Maltin