Current Events > Have you seen the 1953 film, War of the Worlds?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've seen both films and read the book

seen the original movie, only the very end of the remake, never read the book.

also, i had the original on laserdisc.

No. Sounds boring.

It's alright

Its not bad

I just gotta say, the Cruise version is surprisingly good.

it didn't look too bad, i just never went back.

i always thought the ships in the old version looked like bank lamps.

I liked the Tom Cruise one although the kids were kind of annoying.

Tried to watch the original and couldn't get past those cheesy 50s special effects. Not a fan of old movies in general. The acting style was so unnatural. No one really talked like a normal person.

I read the book once. Don't remember enough of it to compare it to the films.

That being said, while I despise Tom Cruise, I do prefer the remake over the original, most especially the ending. The ending of the original film was too religious for me.

LeoRavus posted...

I liked the Tom Cruise one although the kids were kind of annoying.

Tried to watch the original and couldn't get past those cheesy 50s special effects. Not a fan of old movies in general. The acting style was so unnatural. No one really talked like a normal person.

The acting is typical of the 1950s, I grant you that, but the special effects are one of the best from the decade, perhaps only surpassed by Forbidden Planet.
You want cheesy special effects, check out any of the ten billion "The Horrifying Radioactive Space Monster from Outer Space!" B-flicks where the space ships are paper plates suspended by strings, action scenes are recut WW2 clips, and the alien creature is a dude in a scuba suit wearing a bug mask.

The acting is typical of the 1950s, I grant you that, but the special effects are one of the best from the decade, perhaps only surpassed by Forbidden Planet.

i kinda gotta give it to incredible shrinking man.

edit: never fucking mind lol i forgot war of the worlds was that fucking hardcore

Ive read the book more than once but not seen either film version.

Seen the 1953 and 2005 version.

Read the book... the creepy purple looking one.

Haven't seen the series they made or the Victorian ones.

LeoRavus posted...

I liked the Tom Cruise one although the kids were kind of annoying.

Tried to watch the original and couldn't get past those cheesy 50s special effects. Not a fan of old movies in general. The acting style was so unnatural. No one really talked like a normal person.

Like how the scientist throws out some scientific jibber jabber instead of simply saying how the pods have some kind of shield.

Like the General didn't assume that already.

The General's look was like... "WTF are you saying?".

Yep, great film. People take visual effects for granted these days, because we're drowning in special effects work movies, but George Pal (and Ray Harryhausen - not related to this film, but a contemporary) was basically a wizard, and his visual effects work is just beautiful to behold. It's not High Art levels of visual beauty - it's no The Red Shoes or Tales of Hoffmann - but it's a good lookin' movie. Use of color is another thing we take for granted - these days, you shoot a movie, or a TV show, it's in color. Most don't distinguish themselves in this regard except in subtle ways; they don't really have to and it's not really called for in the material - it's just the nature of the beast. And the ones which do distinguish themselves, are still in color, like everything else. In the 1940s and 1950s, black and white was the standard, because color was expensive. You had to bring your A game, and really step up, because the company was shelling out big bucks to get movies made in color. And a lot of films from this time period look downright hallucinatory when restored to their former glory, and seen in high quality. A modern day film maker might not make an intellectually and emotionally stimulating thriller like Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo with such a vivid, downright sensual and sensuous color palette, but I think anyone with eyes can appreciate that they did and the result is something special. This movie is a bit more like a trip to the candy store than Vertigo is, but it still looks super great.