The War of the Worlds

From the point of view of today's audience, it is an incredibly naive and ridiculous story. But at the time it was written, when the Cold War was raging and America was steeped in the paranoid atmosphere of McCarthyism, War of the Worlds had its place. Many, influenced by the mood of the time, replaced the Martians with the communists and looked at it differently than we do today. From a historical point of view I give it three stars, from a cinematic one I wouldn't be so generous. But since I love the films of that era and have completely fallen for them lately, I'll upgrade my original three-star rating slightly :) (08/05/2003)

A very cute retro with an impressive atmosphere and a certain aesthetic magnetism (similar to the old Star Trek)... The quality of the story is ensured by an excellent book by H.G. Wells and the whole thing works much better without spectacular pathos and national propaganda. The War of the Worlds is a disaster science fiction film about an invasion from space that is much better than most of today's large-scale productions on the same subject. The trick aspects are not everything, and the "deus ex machina" conclusion is a pleasant break from the stereotype that the contemporary viewer is used to. It's nice to see a film after all these expensive agitations, when the world fights like one man (except Ostblok, of course, but what would you expect in the 1950s :o)), and in the end there is no salvation nation that is the smartest, funniest and strongest... (19/03/2004)

From today's point of view, it's really naive to stupid sci-fi, in which humans are 99% idiots and Martians are not in the best shape either (what an idea, traveling abroad without vaccinations). But what's the use if the viewer has a soft spot for such silly trash, especially if the trash is so brilliantly full of special effects, right? (05/04/2015)

If the first half was a bit more visually dynamic and psychologically packed, the film would be worthy of 4*. It cannot be compared to Spielberg's remake, which much more intensely reflects the feelings of despair and hysteria in the face of a terrifying enemy, but this classic also manages very skilfully to guide the attention on multiple plot levels, which converge in the end into a depressing depiction of total chaos and despair. I admit that at the time when it came out, I wouldn't have slept for about five days and would have drunk myself to sleep the rest of the month, but nowadays, unfortunately, it has no punch and at times it lacks both in the spatial distribution of scenes and their logic. And there are other contemporary science fiction films that have not yet suffered this decline. 65% (13/11/2017)

It's very naive and visually it doesn't hold up well with Spielberg's execution, but I can't help it, it's precisely that naivety, both in acting and direction, that fits it perfectly. This is simply an excellent example of '50s sci-fi, plus it's in color! And those aliens are simply beautiful, just like the great camera tricks. (19/01/2015)