The War of the Worlds [DVD] [1953] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Loosely based on the classic H.G. Wells novel, WAR OF THE WORLDS moves the original story from late 19th Century England to 1950s California, where a group of scientists confront an invasion from Mars. Arriving in meteor-like projectiles and sweeping across the landscape in strange, birdlike machines armed with death-rays, the Martians prove invincible to human attack. How can mankind survive?

The great attraction of the film is its special effects, which is early 1950s state-of-the-art in its combination of rear-screen projections, miniatures, and truly imaginative design. But the film also has an additional interest, for it is very much of its time, presenting us with some of the most relentlessly stereotypical characters to ever reach the screen. This is particularly true in terms of gender roles, for seldom has any film before or after created such a hysteria-prone and clinging leading lady as Sylvia Van Buren, played here by the hapless Ann Robinson. Not only would the special effects and story prove tremendously influential, so too would the film's gender stereotyping. While the slightly earlier THE THING offered a strong female lead, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS would generally set the tone for every sci-fi leading lady well into the 1960s.

But all of this is analytical criticism. We may hoot a bit at the incredibly broad performances, the frequently silly dialogue, and the truly ludicrous gender roles, but WAR OF THE WORLDS is a tremendous amount of fun to watch. It makes you want to break out a bag of popcorn and curl up with friends and family in true Saturday matinee fashion. And it is a great pity that the DVD release is so... well... dire.

The DVD was transferred from a poor-condition print riddled with artifacts. In an effort to compensate for this, the technicians have toyed with the contrast, and as a result the picture quality varies from foggy to grainy--and in the process quite often reveals the wires used to manipulate the famous Martian machines. Adding insult to injury, the technicians have also fiddled with the color balance, often reducing the film's brilliant colors to a grayish hues. There are also problems with the sound; when I watched the DVD I found that the sound levels of several scenes were so faint I had to turn up the volume... and then, quite naturally, when the soundtrack returned to normal the blast almost blew me through the wall.

It seems almost beside the point to note that there are no bonus features beyond the original movie trailer--which, sadly, is in better visual condition than the film itself. I purchased this DVD with the idea of replacing my VHS copy, but it was money wasted. Get the VHS and hope that someday someone will give this film the DVD release it deserves.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--