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This Pendragon Films version of War of the Worlds was written, “edited”, and directed by Timothy Hines. The appeal of the film is that it is a “period piece” – taking place in turn of the 20th century England, as opposed to the two better known movies (1953 George Pal film starring Gene Barry, and the 2005 Spielberg film starring Tom Cruise) which were contemporary pieces. This film was released at about the same time as the Spielberg film, direct to DVD. I began watching it with hopes of seeing a “faithful adaptation” of Well’s novel, but the longer it went (3 hours!) the worse it got. The opening scenes with the astronomer seeing gas explosions on Mars was good, the astronomer was an excitable entertaining fellow. But from there the movie plummets downhill. Most shots (other than the live actors) are CGI – the buildings in the background, the Martians, their war machines, even the British cavalry. But the CGI effects are no better than a 1950’s B-Movie rear-screen projection. Any video game has better CGI effects than this movie. For some unknown reason Hines colorizes scenes – sometimes orange, sometimes green, it just doesn’t work. I guess I could catalog every fault in the film, but that would mean I’d have to watch it again, a chore I’m not interested in doing. There are alternate “cuts” of this movie available, but I can’t imagine they could be any better, maybe shorter, but no better. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
First, let me intorduce myself as a huge fan of the writings of H.G. Wells. As such, I am compulsive about collecting movies based on his writings. This Pendragon version of War of the Worlds has received much bad press. Simply put, this is because reviewers are no doubt looking for movies with mind numbing special effects and explosions and big Hollywood names. This movie contains no big name stars and has a modest, though effective, bit of eye candy. The whole of the controversy surrounding this movie is pretty well stated in the fact that it religiously follows the Wells novel. A novel that was set in Victorian England and as a writer, Wells used the methods of the time and place to tell a story. Most would consider the writing as too wordy, stuffy and too overall "British" to give this movie a fair review. It is a movie that virtually reproduces the novel line for line. Americans, in particular, caught up in the fast paced video game mentality of what action movies are today would naturally have no interest in classic literature. Nor would anyone obsessed with the Hollywood standards of what constitutes a good movie. But let's leave that group behind. Should you desire to own a good rendering of the book into film, then go for this version. Indeed, it is wordy and by American and Hollywood standards, tedious. But that's the book for you! As you start the movie, picture it as a stage production and it will play out in a superior manner. The acting seems much more natural if looked at from a viewpoint of observing a play of the book that has been set to film. I don't feel it's the easiest of the War of the Worlds renditions to enjoy any more than the book is when compared to the George Pal or Steven Spielberg versions. But that's the whole charm of the movie, it hasn't been altered from the original story to make it more interesting to today's life in the fast lane movie viewer. But make no mistake, without giving out any spoilers, there are things in the novel that are far more disturbing than what we see in any of the other versions of this story, and the Pendragon movie hits hard when it covers these bases. An absolute must have for the completist, and a true surprise for those in general who are able to shift their mind a bit sideways to a more surreal type of presentation of the look of a movie. This movie is a true test for those Bohemian thinking types. If you can see it as art, then you truly do have a glorious open mind! If it bores you silly, while it isn't intended as an insult, you're more like the vast majority of pedestrian minded folks out there. An interesting test in and of itself, I give this movie a much deserved thumbs up...from all of us true H.G. Wells fans.Read full review
I saw parts of the completely modified 1953 Hollywood film on a regular TV and all of the partially modified 2005 Hollywood film on a home theatre system. This one is different - it is more of a drama and true to the 1898 novel which I have read. The acting is fairly good and although this is a long movie and you likely already know the "trick" ending, It will hold your interest for the full 3 hours. Yes the machines and creatures are CGI rather than reduced scale models but they are good enough for this film which did not have a huge budget. There is some fighting and shooting but it is not too macho. Most women will like this movie and if you are not hyperactive you will like it too. I recently saw the VHS version on a 32 inch TV and have ordered the DVD which will be played on a home theatre system. It is too long for standard play on videotape so it must have been recorded in extended play which produced occasional lines at the top and bottom - that will not be a problem with DVD. The smaller spider like machines were impressive - I do not recall having seen them in the other films - and the scene which reveals what the creatures do with captured humans is as good as that in the 2005 Hollywood film in my opinion. You may not like some parts but it does try to capture Victorian society - a lost time of dignity and respect for others unlike our current time.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
OK, I don't like tattletales any more than the next guy, but if the review above was NOT written by the director of this travesty of a film, I'lll offer my blood to the next Martain that wriggles by. This film is UNWATCHABLE. There is a reason that it skipped theatrical release-anywhere- and went right to Best Buys for $5 brand new. That reason is that it is simply awful. The "period tinting," if that was what was intended, was akin to $5/hr color correction; the effects clumsy and created on a shoestring (or perhaps a shoebox), and the acting leaden at best. While sticking to the book is a noble concept, in this case it is an absolte affront to the fine works of Mr. Wells. STAY AWAY! See my further rant below.
A low budget adaptation of H G Wells classic novel. I am a fan of H G Wells work. When I reread The War of the Worlds a few years ago I thought it would be nice if someone filmed the novel as a period piece just as it was written. Thus I was very interested when I heard about this production and very disappionted when I saw it. The film is too long with to many unnessesary scenes, and most of the dialog is poor. The actors and acting are second rate and the special affects are substandard. Some of the makeup was poor; the main character had on a bad fake mustache I found very distracting. I honestly can't think of anything good to say about.
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