''H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' is a 2005

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

horror-thriller film version adaptation of

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

novel of the same name about a

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pr ...

invasion of southern England. This version was produced by the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

company Pendragon Pictures. Unlike the adaptations set in the current day

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, this was the first film set in the novel's original 1898 Victorian

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 2012, a re-formatted, re-worked version of the film was released as ''War of the Worlds – The True Story'' .

Plot

The early part of the film follows the experience of a late 19th-century journalist from Woking, known as "the writer", involved with the landing of a Martian invasion spacecraft. When the crashed cylinder opens, the Martians start killing anything that moves with a "heat ray" weapon. The writer discovers his house is in range of their heat ray and decides to rush his wife and servant to her cousins' home in Leatherhead; once there, he returns in order to return the borrowed cart to its owner, unaware that the invading Martians are now on the move. The Martians have built tall tripod "fighting machines", and are on a destructive rampage across southern England. The film also details the adventures of his brother, a student in London, who accompanies two ladies to the east coast of England in order to escape from the slaughter and destruction wrought by the Martians. When the writer tries to get back to his wife in Leatherhead, he is confounded and beset by many problems as a result of the chaos brought by the Martian invasion.

Cast

Development

The film's development dates back to 2000, when Pendragon Pictures approached

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

with plans for a remake, but nothing came of it. Director

Timothy Hines Timothy Hines is an American film director, screenwriter, writer and film producer, producer. Best known for his adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel ''The War of the Worlds'', he has a background in directing television commercials and short films ...

had long desired to make his own version of Well's novel since first reading the original at aged eight. He had always wanted to set the tale in-period, but he eventually settled on a modern retelling, much like the original 1953 film and the 2005 Spielberg adaptation. Hines' version was to be set in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, with a

attack preceded by neutralizing electromagnetic power; from there the tale's events would unfold and be as similar as possible to Wells' novel. In a 2004 interview with ''Scifidimensions.com'',Snider, John C.
Interview: Timothy Hines (Director, H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds)
(November 2004). . SciFi Dimensions. Hines stated that after early Microsoft employees and others in the computer industry saw his desktop film, ''Bug Wars'', a package of $42 million was assembled for the updated modern version. Katie Tomlinson was supposed to lead the cast as the lead character Jody, the foreign correspondent, and

Susan Goforth Susan Goforth is an American actress and producer. Her work includes stage roles in ''Guys and Dolls'', '' Me and My Girl'', ''Singin' in the Rain'', ''A Chorus Line'' and ''Follies''. In 1999, she and her colleague Timothy Hines formed Pendragon ...

was also set to star. Hines was also planning to shoot the film using the brand new Sony CineAlta HD system, which

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

had used to film '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''.

Production

Production began in early September 2001, with plans to move into

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

by October of that year, with a

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

2002 target release date. ''Businessweek'' reported that Hines abandoned this approach after the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

attacks.Lowry, Tom; Grover, Ronald (September 28, 2001)
"On with the Show? Don't Bet on It"

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

. Two weeks later, with the support of Charles Keller, the director of the H. G. Wells Society, Hines began writing a new script with producer Goforth, while they were filming Pendragon's ''Chrome''. The new direction taken would be to directly adapt the Wells novel, setting it in its original British setting and 1898 time period. In 2004, it was announced that principal photography had finished under the cover-title ''The Great Boer War''. The producers planned to release the film on March 30, 2005, but that date came and went with no theatrical release. In

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

it finally was released as a direct-to-DVD feature in June 2005. In a series of questions presented by audiences, Hines claimed that the film never saw a theatrical release due to exhibitors pulling out, either from being bullied by Paramount, or through fear of reprisal from the studio. The 2005 book, ''War of the Worlds: From Wells to Spielberg'', devotes a chapter to the Pendragon film. It states that the budget was "...approximately $25 million..."Flynn, John L. (2005)
"''War of the Worlds: From Wells to Spielberg''"
Galactic Books, p. 111.

Director's comments

Director Hines said of his film: "I wanted to make ''War of the Worlds''. But what I made was something that has a macabre cult following, like an Ed Wood movie. ..I’ve learned a lot since my first outing. My heart is really in the new ''War of the Worlds – The True Story''."

Litigation

In July 2006 Pendragon Pictures announced in a press release that the

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

'' H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' comic possessed visual similarities to Pendragon's film. Pendragon set up a website showing image comparisons and polling visitors regarding the similarities. In April 2008 Pendragon publicly announced the legal settlement of the matter, stating it "...apologizes for any misconception its press release or later internet poll may have caused". Announcement of settlement on homepage.

Reception

Although the film's score by Jamie Hall was well received, reviewers noted that the film felt very similar to the films of

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

and the worst films lampooned on ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. One reviewer suggested the performances were like that in British period melodramas, and favorably likened the work to that of

Karel Zeman Karel Zeman (3 November 1910 – 5 April 1989) was a Czech film director, artist, production designer and animator, best known for directing fantasy films combining live-action footage with animation. Because of his creative use of special effec ...

. The film as a whole received generally poor reviews by critics, who, while often praising the good intentions behind the project and its faithfulness to the source material, variously described the result as "unendurable" and "terrible in almost every way a movie can be", with "awful" effects.Snider, John C. (July 2005)
"DVD Review: ''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds''"
. SciFiDimensions.com. Reviewers also complained about the film's original three-hour running time.

Re-releases

To date the film has two variant versions re-released on home video in 17 countries, including Japan:

''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds: Director's Cut''

Released: September 2005. Since many reviewers had complained about the film's running time, this version was cut by about forty-five minutes; it was available on video in regions 2 and 4, but not in region 1, the

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

''The Classic War of the Worlds''

Released: December 25, 2006. This edition is the special final cut edit of ''H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' and is 125 minutes long, fifty-five minutes shorter than the original. It has added scenes, re-edits, and re-tooled special effects. ''The Classic War of the Worlds'' replaces the three-hour rough cut version, ''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'', that was widely distributed and was by then discontinued.

''War of the Worlds – The True Story''

In 2012 a re-imagined, re-edited, and re-thought version, with new material added, was released under the title ''War of the Worlds – The True Story''; this version, again directed by Timothy Hines, is presented as a faux-documentary. It revisits Wells' novel, portraying its events as historical by way of the documented recollections of a survivor of the Martian invasion. The film bases its approach on the 1938

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

CBS radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

Halloween broadcast of ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'', by presenting itself as a true account of actual events.Macdonald, Moir
"'War of the Worlds' faux doc and 'Casablanca' highlight special films"
''Seattle Times''; (July 21, 2011). Director

said, in reference to this technique, "When Orson Welles broadcast ''War of the Worlds'' on the radio in the late 1930s, he presented it in such a way as to not clearly identify that it was a work of fiction. He did it for the drama. And many people mistook the fictional news broadcast as a real news broadcast. People believed they were hearing an actual invasion from Mars that night. We are approaching the story in the same way, as if it were an actual news documentary".Marshall, Doug (dougevil)
"''War of the Worlds: The True Story'' Gives It Another Go"

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

; (August 14, 2011).

Notes

References

External links

WOTW *
''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds''
Official site.
''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds''
News Repository

''Variety''. Ad placed by Pendragon Pictures in 2001. *

Dowse.com. Tony Lee, 1991. Pre- and post-9/11 info. The True Story * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:H. G. Wells' The War Of The Worlds (Pendragon Pictures film) 2005 films 2005 science fiction action films American independent films Alien invasions in films Direct-to-video science fiction films 2012 science fiction action films American natural horror films American science fiction action films Films based on The War of the Worlds Films set in England Films set in the 1890s 2000s English-language films 2000s American films