The War of the Worlds (Special Collector's Edition)

I aggree with some of these other folks, why release a movie like this in 1.33:3 and not letterbox(widescreen)?? It's still a great movie, but you do miss some of what is going on on the sides of the shot. I know it exsists in letterbox because I'v watched it before on AMC (American Movie Classics) in a letterbox format. So, only 4 stars. And FYI, the new 2 disck special edition of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is also still in a 1.3:3 format. And that is also disappointing.

I remember this movie being very scary. But on re watching it, I found it quite humorous! Still a great movie to watch. Technology certainly has come a long, long way to make movies much more enjoyable. I would recommend this movie, because I think it is a big part of movie history!

This Sci Fi flick based on the novel by H. G. Wells, had some of the best Fifties special effects. Gene Barry was very good as the male protagonist in his pre-"Bat Masterson" days. The monsters, created in the studio had long squiggly tenacles similar to those of giant squids
and were produced by bacteria from a distant world. The sound effects of hissing, escaping steam all about is an added tension builder. It is entertaining to wach to this very day, especially when you conjure up Orson Welle's broadcast in your mind while watching it. A great movie.

Excellent DVD, a must have in your private collection!!!
You can really see the wires holding the invaders ships. This is acting the way it should be done today.

Having recently rewatched this film in the new edition, I must confess I was unprepared for the power and seriousness of this classic adaptation of the HG Wells story. In particular, the presence of religion, both as a bridge to peace and a comfort against the unknown, is very powerfully rendered in striking images -- of the pastor holding the Bible and reciting the Lord's Prayer as he seeks peace with the aliens, or the congregation praying for redemption in Los Angeles as the shadow of the aliens destroying the city comes into view through the stained glass.

Many images are simply unforgettable. New dimensions, perhaps aided by time and my own development, also come into view -- for example, there is an element of man and human intellect over machine and might, in that the US military is completely powerless despite high-tech bombs and planes, while the scientists through observation and deduction latch onto a simple biological line of attack before they are foiled by looting, marauding, panicked civilians.

This one gets better with age and certainly make the Tom Cruise remake suffer by comparison.