War of the Worlds is the seminal science fiction classic about alien invasion. H G Wells’ novel was published in 1898, dramatised on radio in 1938 by Orson Welles in a programme that caused widespread panic, filmed once before in 1953, made into a top-selling “rock musical” recording in 1976 and the forerunner of numerous similarly-themed books and films, not the least of which is 1996’s Independence Day which borrowed heavily from some of its ideas.
Now with Steven Spielberg’s new movie – reportedly with a budget bigger than Titanic - comes what must be the ideal marriage of novel and director. With his Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. Spielberg gave us passive aliens who instilled a sense of wonder. Not so with the invaders of Wells’ classic tale whose sole purpose is to wipe us out.
Spielberg’s contemporary re-telling sees the story of humankind’s battle for survival against the unstoppable alien machines through the eyes of one family – Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) his pregnant wife, Mary Ann (Miranda Otto) and their daughter, Rachel (Dakota Fanning).
Watch the skies.
Synopsis
Ray Ferrier is a working class man living in New Jersey. He's estranged from his family, his life isn't in order, and he's too caught up with himself. But the unthinkable and, ultimately, the unexpected happens to him in an extraordinary sense. His small town life is shaken violently by the arrival of destructive intruders: Martians which have come en masse to destroy Earth. As they plow through the country in a wave of mass destruction and violence, Ray must come to the defense of his children. As the world must fend for itself by a new and very advanced enemy not of this world, it's inhabitants must save humanity from a far greater force that threatens to destroy it.
English, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, French, German
Audio:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 5.1 DTS, English Dolby Digital Stereo
Extended:
Revisiting the Invasion, The HG Wells Legacy, Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds, Characters, Previsualisation & Pre-Production, Production Diaries: East Coast and West Coast, Designing the Enemy, Scoring War of the Worlds, Archives - Trailers
Already own this item? Sell Yours and earn some cash.
It's fast and free to list! (Learn More.)
Reviews
–
I love and respect Spielberg, let's make that absolutely clear. I grew up with the man. But, that love and respect, clearly, is exclusively one sided. I have the feeling I've been treated like a moron. There are so many concessions made in the film in a vain attempt to reach everybody, that at the end of the day, most everybody is disappointed. It's not one thing or the other. Much like "Artificial Intelligence" Steven Spielberg, more than any of his contemporaries, has everything at his disposal. He has the luxury to choose the best of the best in every department, so why not apply that standard to the most important, the writing. Here the source was H.G Wells so, no excuses for the cheap shots and the smart ass wise cracks. I think that compromises are, in a business of millions and millions of dollars, unavoidable, but, how terrible when the compromise takes over. When marketing researchers have so much power. I think that compromises based on political correctness have taken over the world of Spielberg. I remember when Elia Kazan received the Academy Award to his career and the polemic that followed. Spielberg found a way to be okay with everybody. He applauded but didn't stand up. Is that his position? He made comments about War of the Worlds, hinting that the updated story reflected what was happening in the world today. Really? There is a line thrown out there casually on purpose "Occupation never works" or something like that. But that's not nearly enough. It is an insult to our intelligence. "War of the Worlds" has a terrific opening. We are several steps ahead of the characters populating the world in the movie. The thrilling anticipation of what we know is coming, raises our expectations to levels that, naturally, are impossible to reach. Tom Cruise is terrific, but the film moves between Wells and Spielberg's worlds without being fair to either one. Technically the film is astonishing, but the soul is sadly not there.
Tom Cruise does a awsome job and so does Decode Fanning this is a fantastic movie i loved the action the creatures were far out there but wicked. Loved the whole story it was thrilling and outstanding. Hightly recommend for the video collection.
Very disappointed with this movie especially after all the hype. Steven Spielberg did deliver good scenes. I am not sure if the modernisation of the old classic did any justice to the author's view of how he saw the "War of the worlds" when he was writing the book.
Not sure how Orsen Wells would receive this movie as although it does have the elements of the story, the American spin is somewhat rather hard to swallow. Tom Cruise is rather predictable in this response and for me it is very hard to watch him. It would have suited a fresh actor who could bring somthing new to the role. 5 out of 10 for me, rather poor film.
H G Wells’ novel was published in 1898, dramatised on radio in 1938 by Orson Welles in a programme that caused widespread panic, run to the hills billy bob billy, i must admit if i were an alien i to would attack the USA first, this movie rocks, it will scare the pants of you and billy bob, A+++++
Another terrible Tom actor. Tom Cruise couldn't act his way out of a paper bag and he needs one over that head of his. Anyway back to the movie at hand. This retelling of the classic and aint broke movie is terrible. Even Dakota Fanning, who I love as an actress really let me down.
Yeah so the effects are better than the original... you get that with advancements in technology, this movie lacked substance of any sort. The acting was terrible and at times over the top. When will Hollywood learn that classics should be left alone and not remade.
The funniest thing about this movie was an episode of Family Guy which took the piss by showing that giant iPods were invading.
This movie beat our expectations as it tended to be talked down. But the story was very intriguing and mysterious with enough scary parts to grab your attention. Tom Cruise played the role on an average level, being the hero but also a normal guy. I enjoyed the fact that it looked pretty real and showed the battles of humans for their lives. Wells' story was worth putting into modern movie and this did a pretty decent job. This is worth owning or renting.
Awesome movie, no where near what i was expecting (having heard the story on CD before many a time) but i still found this movie to be superb, that may be why i liked it more, not actually knowing what was going to happen, some aspects were true though, a must see movie
The alien’s in this movie just want to kill! It’s nice to see a movie where the aliens aren’t all just wanting to teach us for once. This is all about taking over. Tom Cruise who I’m not the biggest fan of does well and his kids particularly Dakota Fanning act very well. The effects are what does it for this one though with stomping, smashing and shooting. Full of adrenalin packed action.
Steven Spielberg's version of HG Well's classic tale is a mix of the sublime and the average... it starts off OK--- the arrival of the aliens and the initial flight is superb--- the long scenes underground with Tim robbins get monotonous and boring... and the end just springs out at us from nowhere... and the older boy as Tom Cruise's kid? Please...
You can earn a 5% commission by selling The War of the Worlds -: Bonus Disc [Special Edition] DVD on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep!
Authors/Publishers
Are you the Author/Publisher? Improve sales by submitting additional information on this title.
Help
My Cart
– 
– 
– 
– 