Mars, Bringer of War

Last updated: 04/10/2006 - 11:49

Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds & H.G. Wells' The War Of The Worlds

"...this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.”

- Extract from the opening chapter The Eve of The War, from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898).

We take a look at two rather different feature films based on a certain book by a certain author - both promising to hit the big screen this year. First, the blockbuster...

The aliens are coming, the aliens are coming! Director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Raiders of The Lost Ark, Close Encounters of The Third Kind, ET. the Extra Terrestrial, Schindlers' List, Jurrasic Park, The Lost World etc...) brings his vision to bear on Wells’ seminal tale of Martian conquest.

The Last War?

The last war on Earth won’t be started by humans. This summer, the planet goes to war. From Paramount Pictures comes Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, starring international superstar Tom Cruise (Minority Report, Cocktail, Top Gun, Born on The Fourth of July, Collateral etc...) A contemporary retelling of HG Wells’ seminal classic, this science-fiction adventure thriller tells the story of an extraordinary battle for the future of humankind – told through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive against the backdrop of an invasion from the planet Mars.

HG Wells’ classic tale of extra-terrestrial invasion gets another big screen outing – and it’s another contemporary makeover akin to George Pal’s 1953 Technicolor version. The George Pal film did away with Wells’ iconic tripods, in favour of eerie ‘flying wing’ style creations that floated about the streets of the worlds’ capital cities spitting fire and destroying all opposition – and relocated the action to a mannered American Mid-West that resembles nothing so much as the film version of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (until the US Army tanks roll in, that is...)

Rather predictably for a modern big-budget feature film, once again the action has been switched from Britain’s South East coast – and the later years of the nineteenth century – to the United States and the present day. Whatever else though, we can expect spectacular effects and striking visuals in what is bound to be a thrilling adventure yarn, from such a technically masterfull filmaker.

Time will tell what other liberties have been taken with the plot of Well’s original novel, but all indications are that the story which really began the genre of the Earth-invaded-by-aliens - and the one that is, arguably, still the finest example of that genre – has undergone a complete root and branch revision, complete with CGI effects makeover.

The first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s The War of the Worlds was aired in one of the extremely coveted - and expensive - 'Superbowl' commercial breaks in the United States, and contained the first glimpses of Tom Cruise's character in his struggle for survival. Since then a fuller trailer (complete with tripods - yippee!) has emerged - and it looks pretty good.

Lightning Storm

Tom Cruise stars as Ray Ferrier, a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife (played by Miranda Otto) and her new husband drop off his teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.

Moments later, at an intersection near his house, Ray witnesses an extraordinary event that will change all their lives forever. A towering three-legged war machine emerges from deep beneath the earth and, before anyone can react, incinerates everything in sight. An ordinary day has suddenly become the most extraordinary event of their lifetimes – the first strike in a catastrophic alien attack on Earth.

Ray scrambles to get his children away from this merciless new enemy, embarking on a journey that will take them across the ravaged countryside, where they become caught in the desperate tide of refugees fleeing from an extraterrestrial army of Tripods. But no matter where they run, there is seemingly no safety as they get caught up in a mass exodus of bedraggled refugees with Ray’s unconquerable will the only thing he has to protect the ones he loves.

As well as Tom Cruise and his child co-stars, this version of the story also features Miranda Otto (The Thin Red Line, Sex Is a Four Letter Word, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King/The Two Towers) and Tim Robbins (IQ, Prêt-à-Porter, The Shawshank Redemption, Jacob's Ladder). The screenplay has been written by David Koepp, based - somewhat loosley - on the original novel.

Interplanetary War Two?

Strangely enough, the Steven Spielberg production is not the only film of Wells’ Martian invasion epic to be set for release this year. That’s right - you wait years and years for a new adaptation of The War of the Worlds - and then two come along at once...

American production company Pendragon Pictures have announced the completion of principal photography of their own film: H.G. Wells' The War Of The Worlds, a move bound to confuse movie goers everywhere...This version is set in Wells' intended turn-of-the-century English locale and – if the statements coming from Pendragon are true – may well be the first ever ‘authentic’ film adaptation of the classic 1898 novel.

This intriguing live-action production, shot under tight security – and with the cover title of The Great Boer War, took two and a half months to complete on location, both in England and in the US Pacific Northwest region. The picture wrapped almost three years to the date when Pendragon's original – updated, in similar fashion to Spielberg’s contemporary set version - was shut down following the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11th. Director Timothy Hines reflects: "We never stopped really. After an initial two-week hiatus, we saw the light in adapting a dead-on accurate version of (H.G. Wells') The War of the Worlds from the original source material, thanks to the influence and advice of people such as Charles Keller, the director of the H.G. Wells Society and tens of thousands of fans who wrote us."

H.G Wells

Following this pause the company immediately set about producing a script based on the book – by all accounts, treating the text as they would when producing a film based on a period novel.

Described by Pendragon as ‘a labour of love’, producer Susan Goforth says of the film project: "We haven't rushed anything...Every period detail has been painstakingly and carefully researched over the last three years as we developed the project," Co-producer John Gallo adds, "Timothy wanted everything to be right, as the fans' expectations are enormous. Like Peter Jackson with (The) Lord of the Rings, Timothy is a deep fan of The War of the Worlds. He's been planning to make the movie for decades. The research was gruelling and information was sometimes extremely difficult to obtain, such as finding the right class of ship the Thunderchild would have been. But it was worth it. In the end, Tim's vision proved to be right. The movie is detail perfect."

As to the cast? Pendragon admit theirs is a less starry production than Spielberg’s. "We didn't have a jillion dollars," states an amused Hines, "But our budget is not embarrassing as we're in eight figures. We certainly could afford movie stars. But I felt dubious about casting huge movie stars…when - for our first version - we negotiated with Michael Caine, Charlize Theron and Eric Stoltz. The Hollywood agents' methods of negotiation are frustrating and enigmatic to me.

“For the main protagonist we auditioned twelve hundred and, ironically, found him in our own back yard in the form of Anthony Piana, who portrays the sociopathic Colonel Zet in (another Pendragon science fiction film) Chrome. I believe Anthony is the next Al Pacino. His level of commitment and talent is like no actor I've ever seen. "Other cast members include James Lathrop as the Artilleryman and John Kaufmann as the Curate.”

Special Effects

In response to fans' concerns about the polish and punch of the special effects, Hines is quick to comment: "We have the best and brightest talent in the FX department. The War of the Worlds is such a known entity that we didn't have to seek them out. They came to us with enthusiasm and a deep desire to be involved. Budget and fees has not been a concern to these people. They are fans, like myself, and are creating this picture with love and integrity. Our effects will be state-of-the-art. We are utilizing CGI and miniatures as well as many full-scale mechanical effects that were already shot out on set. Besides, the fans can go to our website and check out our movie trailer for Chrome if they have fears."

Concerning the timing of the film – set to be released roughly coincident with the Spielberg/Tom Cruise production, in the US, at least - Timothy Hines is philosophical: "I think there's room for both our productions to exist. What they are doing sounds interesting. From what I understand, they are changing the story dramatically, whereas we have point-by-point recreated the book for the screen. Our production of The War Of The Worlds is set at the turn-of-the-century. We're almost a back story to their version, sort of like a prequel."

"There's room for us all." he continues. "Wells was a mega-talent and an incredible visionary. I'm sure the staying power of his Martian invasion story helped bring NASA more hits to their website than any in history when they landed their robot on Mars. Wells would likely have been amused by all the interest in his work. I'm proud to be the first to accurately bring H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds to the screen."

Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds is released by UIP in the UK 8 July. Pendragon Pictures expects a ‘spring’ 2005 release for their film - however the exact date is yet to be announced. Neither were we able to confirm whether the period feature will receive a British theatrical release, soon, or ever. Full trailer and further details are available at: www.pendragonpictures.com.

For those interested in finding out the original plot that inspired the new feature film, follow this link to read the whole 1898 novel of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells – chapter by chapter. This link also gives access to further e-books of 'essential English literature' (including a good deal more Wells), which are free to read online. Enjoy!