Availability: This item is currently not available.
List Price: $14.99 Our Price: YOU SAVE $14.99!
Buy it
DVD The War of the Worlds
After the success of 1950's Destination Moon and 1951's When Worlds Collide, visionary producer George Pal brought the classic H.G. Wells story of a Martian invasion to the big screen, and it instantly became a science fiction classic and winner of the 1953 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. It's a work of frightening imagination, with its manta-ray spaceships armed with cobra-like probes that shoot a white-hot disintegration ray. As formations of alien ships continue to wreak destruction around the globe, the military is helpless to stop this enemy while scientists race to find an effective weapon. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson play the hero and heroine roles that were de rigueur for movies like this in the '50s, and their encounter with one of the Martians is as creepy today as it was in '53. It finally takes an unseen threat--simple Earth bacteria--to conquer the alien invaders, but not before War of the Worlds has provided a dazzling display of impressive special effects. As memorable for its sound effects as for its spectacular visions of destruction, this is a movie for the ages--the kind of spectacular that inspired little kids such as Steven Spielberg (not to mention Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, whose Independence Day cribs liberally from the plot) and still packs a punch. --Jeff Shannon
Great Special Effects when you consider this was done in 1953!
I know that this film was released long before Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were doing their thing in the industry, but the special effects were ahead of their time when it was first released in 1953. The story is an uncomplicated but good one, and I believe it rightfully takes its place among sci-fi classics. The alien war machines are very effective...the noise they make--they sound a little like a rattlesnake--can still make shivers go up my spine!
The only criticism I have of this film, is that the character of Sylvia screams and panics too much! But I guess that also reflects the time of its creation; we know women are portrayed as much braver and stronger these days than they were in the 1950's. With this film's many attributes, I am willing to overlook this minor irritation.
I never saw the first release of this film onto DVD (I was influenced by the reviews I saw on Amazon when it was out), but I have no complaints about the 2005 re-release and am happy to replace my worn out VHS copy with this one. Even though I have nothing against the new Tom Cruise version of WAR OF THE WORLDS, I was relieved that they used an entirely different storyline for that film, and didn't try to mess with doing the same movie over with just different actors and updated effects. The same goes for the short lived TV series in the 1980's, which for at least the 1st season was very good. But, I still think the 1953 version is the best. I think even this generation that has grown up with Star Wars and Spielberg could have an appreciation for the original movie.
Review for special edition: release 11/05
War of the Worlds has been on DVD before, but it's much better in this special edition, restored and presented, thankfully, in full frame, as it was shot. The print quality is just beautiful, and the movie looks as good as it's ever looked. Special features are also of a high standard: especially welcome are the commentaries by stars Ann Robinson and Gene Barry. Barry seems a little less in command than Robinson, but she graciously compensates, by eloquently describing her experiences, her affection for Barry and producer George Pal, and the film itself, with which she seems wonderfully familiar. Her insight is detailed, sometimes funny, exhaustive, and genuinely revealing--even down to the revelation of a cameo by Woody Woodpecker. Images are so crisp that the wires supporting the ships are sometimes sadly visible, but fans will be so caught up in the frightening story that this won't matter much at all. For those who love this film, I'd say get out there and pick this up: someone got it right, and went to the trouble to present this admired film in an edition that can really be called "special". What a pleasure to see old Technicolor the way it was meant to be seen! A great movie, and a great DVD.
"We were all praying for a miracle."
George Pal's 1953 adaptation of H.G. Well's "The War of the Worlds" is a terryfying and beautifully-crafted sci-fi horror/thriller. While it lacks some of the emotional impact of the novel, the visual effects (which look as fantastic today as they did in 1953) and terrific acting by Gene Barry and Ann Robinson more than make up for it, and are the reasons that this movie has become the classic that it is!
The new DVD release presents the film with great sound-and-picture quality. The extras (Which include a fantastic making-of documentary, two commentaries, the 1938 Orson Welles radio play, and a rather dissappointing featurette on H.G. Wells) are good, but not great.
"The War of the Worlds" is great entertainment. Fans of the film, and of Wells' original novel, will not be dissappointed.
Movie Grade: A-
DVD Grade: B+
A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 04 March 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.98 Your Price: $10.87YOU SAVE $4.11!
Buy it
Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (Jaws, Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning - Tim Robbins Director(s): Steven Spielberg DVD Release Date: 22 November 2005
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $15.98YOU SAVE $14.01!
Buy it
This 1956 pop adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest is one of the best, most influential science fiction movies ever made. Its space explorers are the models for the crew of Star Trek's Enterprise, and the film's robot is clearly the prototype for Robby in Lost in Space. Walter Pidgeon is the Prospero figure, presiding over a paradisiacal world with his lovely young daughter and their servile droid. When the crew of a spaceship lands on the planet, they become aware of a sinister invisible force that threatens to destroy them. Great special effects and a bizarre electronic score help make this movie as fresh, imaginative, and fun as it was when first released. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Walter Pidgeon Director(s): Fred M. Wilcox DVD Release Date: Released the 18 April 2000 Usually ships in 5 to 7 days
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $14.99YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image)
After scoring popular hits with When Worlds Collide and The War of the Worlds, special-effects pioneer George Pal returned to the visionary fiction of H.G. Wells to produce and direct this science-fiction classic from 1960. Wells's imaginative tale of time travel was published in 1895 and the movie is set in approximately the same period with Rod Taylor as a scientist whose magnificent time machine allows him to leap backward and forward in the annals of history. His adventures take him far into the future, where a meek and ineffectual race known as the Eloi have been forced to hide from the brutally monstrous Morlocks. As Taylor tests his daring invention, Oscar-winning special effects show us what the scientist sees: a cavalcade of sights and sounds as he races through... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Rod Taylor Director(s): George Pal DVD Release Date: Released the 03 October 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $15.98YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
