Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The War of The Worlds - The Original Invasion
 
See larger image 

See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images

The War of The Worlds - The Original Invasion

Gene Barry (Actor), Ann Robinson (Actor), Byron Haskin (Director) | Rated: G (General Audience) | Format: DVD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

Amazon.com Essential Video

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

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
War of the Worlds: ground breaking sci-fi Jun 10 2004
Format:DVD
H.G. Wells, is one of the first the introduce readers with the idea of aliens from mars taking over the earth, and triggered many writers later to write books involving martians. In the masterpiece, Wells introduces many ideas and masterfully blends them into his story.
England is in trouble as cylinders of metal carrying martians constantly crash on the earth every 24 hours. Each cylinder carries a walking tripod, that has a heat beam attached, a beam that melts and burns anything it hits. As more aliens come, they bring gasses that can kill a human just when they inhale it.
All seems lost for the main character as he tries to dodge martians, and return to leatherhead, where his wife has taken refuge. He is forced to hide from the martians byhimself, for almost everyone is dead.
Hope of survival is almost noting for humans, when they find out the martians have developed flying machines, to promote their world wide destruction, but something happens to the martians......
This is a great book and I am very pleased that I took the time the read it, even though some parts were very slow.
Was this review helpful to you?
Excellent Adaptation of the H.G. Wells Novel Feb 14 2004
By David
Format:DVD
This movie is one of the standard bearers for early science fiction. The film is well-scripted and acted, and the special effects are quite good considering the age of the film.

Gene Barry plays the central character of the movie, Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist from Cal Tech. He and two buddies are fishing nearby when the initial Martian invasion ship lands (crashes) nearby. By the way, that must have been a heckuva landing the Martians had to endure when their 'meteors' touched down.

The movie details humanity's efforts to halt the apparently unstoppable murderous Martian invasion force. No pretenses about peaceful coexistence or some sort of misunderstanding here, folks. The Martians want our planet and are willing to kill every man, woman, and child on it to get it. As such, the military is portrayed in a pretty good light in this film (unlike many others). After all, when the alien's first club out of the bag is lethal force, then you pretty much have to go with the flow.

In the end, with atomic weapons having failed to stop the invaders, mankind appears doomed. Saving the day, however, is the most unlikely of allies (and, no, I ain't talking Russia).

Overall, a well-paced sci-fi/thriller with a basic premise that never fails to entertain when it is well done--as it is here.

Was this review helpful to you?
Its allegorical with religious thematic elements Feb 7 2004
Format:VHS Tape
Many 50's sci-fi movies are allegorical, and this one is no exception, especially considering its explicitly religious thematic elements.
You start out with an unimaginable menace, first addressed by fools fitting for the opening scene of a Shakespeare drama. These fools are vaporized. Then the "Pastor" a religious representative tries to deal with the invaders by offering peaceful contact. His disintegration follows, to the sound of one of the most wonderful and horrifically memorable sound effects of all time. Then the army gets a crack at it, ending up pulverized amid a miserable retreat. Then the air force, the flying wing, and atomic weapons are all found ineffective. Nothing can stop the invaders. The scientists organize for a last-hope-for-mankind effort to find some way to stop them. But this effort falls apart amidst confusion and mob violence. For some inexplicable reason the now defeated scientist seeks the woman who had been traveling with the Pastor. He seeks her by going to one church after another until he finds her. All hope is lost, and everyone in the church is merely awaiting their own final moment of destruction. But wait, the menace itself decays. Mankind is saved. But how? By who's intercession?
Was this review helpful to you?
Most recent customer reviews
Dated special effects, but well ahead of its time
War of the Worlds (1953)
Directed by Byron Haskin
Starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson and Les Tremayne

Paramount Pictures | 1953 | 85 min | Rated G | Released... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Steven Aldersley
Head for the Hills, the MARTIANS ARE COMING !!!!!!!
As a sci-fi mega fan, I know good science fiction and I would strongly recommend this Oscar winning classic to any sci-fi mega fan. Read more
Published 19 months ago by geeks`n freeks
War of the Worlds (1953)
Interesting but seems kind of hokey compared to today's sophisticated special effects however, for science fiction buffs certainly a classic for your collection.
Published on Feb 9 2009 by Beasley in To.
A Great Example of 50's Sci-Fi Films
It's 1953 and the Earth is being attacked by aliens from Mars! That, in a nutshell, is the plot for The War Of The Worlds, one of the most popular and enduring Science Fiction... Read more
Published on Feb 28 2006 by Christopher Jackson
Paramount does this 50s Sci-Fi Classic proud.
I sat down and watched this newly re-released version of the 1953 Sci-Fi classic not really expecting what I'd see. Read more
Published on Dec 2 2005 by Robert Badgley
War of the Worlds(1953) (Special Collector's Edition) buy it
This review is aimed directly at The War of the Worlds (1953) (Special Collector's Edition), I also have the earlier released copy on DVD as well. Read more
Published on Nov 5 2005 by D. Cooke
New edition nov.1st 2005
Nobody is foolish enough to pay over 100$ for this film when a new edition is to come out november 1st this year.
Published on Sep 18 2005
An enduring drama of a world in peril
I like all of George Pal's films, but I have to say this 1953 adaptation of HG Well's masterpiece is my favourite. Read more
Published on Jun 25 2005 by Dan Penwarn
Here come the Martians!
This was a fav Sci-Fi film when I was a kid. Most Sci-Fi does not wear well, as time and progress moves too fast. Read more
Published on July 29 2004 by Deborah MacGillivray
When worlds collide
I am by no means a fan of science fiction movies but of the few that I do enjoy, "The War of the Worlds" is my favorite sci-fi flick. Read more
Published on July 4 2004 by Erica Anderson
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject

















i.e., each DVD must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?