The War of the Worlds

G

Released Aug 26, 1953

1 hr. 25 min.

Sci-Fi

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List

89%

38 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Scientist Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) and Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) are the first to arrive at the site of a meteorite crash. Soon after, an alien war machine emerges and begins killing at random. The Marines are called in, but they're no match for the aliens' force field. Forrester and Van Buren, however, are able to wound one of the creatures and procure a sample of its blood. They take it to Los Angeles where they hope, through testing, to be able to discover the aliens' weakness.

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Critics Consensus

Though it's dated in spots, The War of the Worlds retains an unnerving power, updating H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi tale to the Cold War era and featuring some of the best special effects of any 1950s film.

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Nol P

War of the Worlds, (1953). I can imagine that this was a great book to read by HG Wells. For 1953 the special effects were not too bad and I did take that into account when watching finally today. But wow, so silly and wow, such horrid over the top acting! Because of such I can only rate this a max 4 out of 10! That is really being nice too and understanding on the release yr.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/05/23

Full Review

Jay H

I've been a fan of MST3K for years, and I've seen this movie several times. I just realized that a main character's name in both is Dr. Clayton Forrester. *facepalm*

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/09/23

Full Review

Axel Andres S

Un Film perfecto de ciencia ficción, destacandola como un clásico de su género, merecedora de varios premios Oscars por sus efectos especiales y lo mejor del film es su filedidad hacia el libro. Lo que también deseo destacar son las naves alienigenas del film. Una verdadera joya qué es muy lamentable que no esté en un servicio Streaming para poder verla una vez más.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

Full Review

William C

One of my favorite classic sci-fi movies!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/30/23

Full Review

Dan H

It's a great movie for it's time. Directed by Byron Haskin, and based on the H. G. Wells Sci-fi novel of the same name, War of the Worlds was released in 1953. It was a time when the news was inundated with talk of developing space and nuclear technology. The Universal monsters were pushed to the background and invaders from space became the new boogyman keeping everyone up at night. Are we alone in the universe? If aliens did find their way to Earth, would they be friendly? If they were hostel, what would the ensuing battle for Earth look like? War of the Worlds begins with strange "cylinders" falling from space. The military and top scientists are called in to find out the hell these things are. As it turns out, they are space crafts and they soon lift off the ground and begin frying everything and everyone who gets in their way. For most of the film, we never see what the martians actually look like as they would not deign to leave their crafts to fight humans hand to hand. They prefer to steam roll over our inferior technology with their impenetrable hovering ships and unstoppable lazer cannons. The film primarily follows Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) who is one of the scientists brought in to help find a way to beat the invaders. But it seems like none of our weapons, no matter how large or destructive has any effect on them. Alien invasion movies have a propensity for showing us and them on almost even playing fields. As if humans fighting aliens would be no different then the Zulu fighting the British. What makes War of the Worlds shine is the almost certain assumption that if Earth were to be invaded it would not be a war, but a minor inconvenience for the occupiers. It would be like moving into an old house and finding out its infested with rats: you don't "go to war" with the rodents, you simply hire an exterminator. In much the same way, humans stand no chance against a far superior martian race. Even if we did put up somewhat of a fight, they would leave, convalesce for a short time, and then come back in full force! War of the Worlds stands as an excellent window into 50s sci-fi. I have the same problem with this film as any other old film and that is that it's old! But for what it is, it's fine. The acting is fine, the effects are actually pretty awesome, especially the city destruction scenes. It's the 50s so you can expect it to be clean and appropriate, no cursing or bawdy humor. If you want to see where modern alien invasion movies started, I recommend you check this one out.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/13/23

Full Review

Taylor L

The War of the Worlds won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects in 1953. It was also the only nominee, but still. The reason that The Twilight Zone still feels interesting and fresh is because of a well-aged weakness - the series didn't have access to big budgets and cutting-edge visual effects, and in response the production team had to compensate by investing in good writing and creative ideas. The War of the Worlds is essentially the exact opposite, and as a result it's more of a historical artifact than much else; the updated adaptation of an H.G. Wells novel was innovative in its time for its style and propwork, but the narrative is a very straightforward alien invasion premise that probably felt more effective in an era of heightened Cold War tension. The threat strikes in the American heartland, was somehow even more extreme than the Soviets, and was constantly talked up in hammy dramatic speeches about the fate of the world. Definitely dated in more than just the visuals, with the allusions to God and a priest walking slowly toward an alien capsule, praying the entire way, but somehow the existence of the aliens doesn't cause the characters to ask any question about their faith or anything else profound (the death of the aliens is even attributed to God inventing germs). Really, the aliens are basically just a faceless natural disaster than a complete uprooting of all common knowledge and faith that they should have been. It's pretty much just yesterday's sci-fi thriller, a proto-Independence Day with midcentury sensibilities, but the influence on later works is undeniable even if that's mostly just because the plot is so basic. Worth a watch for the creative alien ships, and for the classic green lasers that show your skeleton as they vaporize you. (2.5/5)

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Byron Haskin

Director

Gene Barry

Dr. Clayton Forrester

Ann Robinson

Sylvia Van Buren

Les Tremayne

Maj. Gen. Mann

Lewis Martin

Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins

Robert Cornthwaite

Dr. Pryor

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

As the perfect crystallization of 50s ideology the film would be fascinating enough, but the special effects in this 1953 George Pal production also achieve a kind of dark, burnished apocalyptic beauty.

Jun 8, 2007

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

War of the Worlds is a socko science-fiction feature, as fearsome as a film as was the Orson Welles 1938 radio interpretation of the H.G. Wells novel.

Jun 8, 2007

Full Review

A.H. Weiler

New York Times

Mind those heat rays!

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 31, 2006

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

As a piece of science fiction, it is quite exciting when it offers its rain of special effects to accentuate its apocalypse of space invaders and allegorically depict the atomic dangers in “extraterrestrial” hands. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Aug 25, 2023

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

The film deviates quite a bit from the novel, but the fear of the mysterious being is still present, and at the time, was a hit with audiences thanks to some special effects that made it all look too real.

Mar 7, 2023

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The filmmakers’ optimism and favoring of luck (even with glimpses of rioters and looters and humanity crumbling under existential pressures) lends to an unforgettable resolution.

Rated: 6/10

Sep 22, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Scientist Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) and Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) are the first to arrive at the site of a meteorite crash. Soon after, an alien war machine emerges and begins killing at random. The Marines are called in, but they're no match for the aliens' force field. Forrester and Van Buren, however, are able to wound one of the creatures and procure a sample of its blood. They take it to Los Angeles where they hope, through testing, to be able to discover the aliens' weakness.

Director: Byron Haskin
Executive Producer: Cecil B. DeMille
Screenwriter: Barré Lyndon, H.G. Wells
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 26, 1953, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016
Sound Mix: Mono, Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1), 35mm

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