War of the Worlds

I recently finished reading the original H.G. Wells story, War of the Worlds.  Before that I had seen the classic 1950s film, and the more recent Tom Cruise version.   But I had never read the original.

Mars Attacks.  We don’t know why.   They’re nasty aliens in big spaceships.   They are hostile and do not communicate with us by any means.  They use heat rays and black poison gas to kill us.   All of our weapons are completely useless against them.   The original takes place in England in the late 1800s, so the best anyone can do is shoot shells at the Martians, which knocks out a total of ONE Martian walker. 

Well, all our best weapons can’t stop the Martians, so they take over the world?  Not so fast.  It seems the Martians have no natural immunity to bacteria, so their invading army comes to an abrupt halt, and their fearsome machines shut down cold and quiet, as our unseen allies dispatch the entire Martian army on their own.  “…and there was much rejoicing…!”

Original (1897).  Not too hard to read, told in the first person by the “humble narrator”, who I imagine speaking with Malcom MacDowell’s voice, thanks to “Time After Time”, the sci-fi movie wherein the “A Clockwork Orange” actor played Wells, who had travelled to early 1980s San Francisco to track down Jack the Ripper (David Warner).  Anyhow.

1938 Radio Broadcast by Orson Welles.   The Martians land in New Jersey.  Basically the same as the book, except in New Jersey instead of London.  It’s well done, so any Wells/Welles fan should listen to it at least once.

1953. I consider this film the definitive version.  Instead of London or New York it’s Los Angeles that gets attacked.  By now humans have deadlier weaponry with which to defend against the Martians, but even a hydrogen bomb has no effect on them.

Mars Attacks! (1996).  Not really an adaptation per se so much as a deliberate spoof.  It’s silly – instead of bacteria, the Martians are defeated by hearing Slim Whitman’s “Indian Love Call”.  It does have an all-star cast - Jack Nicholson plays the US President - and the irreverent plot makes it fun to watch…at least once. 

2005.  Essentially a remake of the 1953 film with Steven Spielberg providing contemporary special effects and Tom Cruise as the lead hero.   Cruise’s character starts in Bayonne, NJ and tries to get to Boston.  I consider this worth watching once as a comparison to 1953, but it really doesn’t add much to the prior version.