DVD Review: War of the Worlds
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::Movie review
War of the Worlds is one of those stories that endures. We are continually given updates and new twists to this story of aliens invading Earth with the sole purpose of annihilating all mankind. There are the H.G. Wells versions, the substanceless eye-candy Independence Day, Tim Burton's wickedly satirical Mars Attacks, and even the brilliant television show X-Files echoes this theme.
Perhaps the reason this story persists is a reflection of our own subconscious guilt. Why would alien invaders, in possession of vastly superior technology, come to our planet and wipe us out without even so much as a moment of negotiation? Perhaps for the same reason mankind will enter an area of wilderness, clear it out and build a strip mall.
Now, I don't really want to get onto some activist soapbox here. The point is that I think War of the Worlds persists as a story because it is more a reflection of us than of the aliens.
This time around, Steven Spielberg enters the fray. Unofficially, his version of War of the Worlds is the final installment of an "alien" trilogy began by Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. It is a film that he has reportedly wanted to film for a long time, but he put it on hold when Independence Day was produced.
Spielberg chose to update Wells' story to take place in today's world. Many have been upset by this and I was originally one of them. Given the numerous versions of this story, I thought it would have been interesting to have a film that was strictly faithful to the original book. However, upon further reflection, I'm not so sure this is possible. While the book is indeed a classic, the story has never been about the time period; it's always been about us and our attitudes and views within that time.
One choice that Spielberg makes for his version is to personalize it. He reigns the story in to just a very small group of people. The film doesn't cut to shots of other cities or other nations; instead, it remains focused on our protagonist, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his two children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). All hell is breaking out around the world, and these three are fighting about peanut butter sandwiches. This is the world we live in. We are surrounded by terrorists, wars, hurricanes, flu-scares, and the best we can do is scurry along amidst the chaos and try to make sense of just the things in front of us.
For the first hour or so, War of the Worlds is perhaps that most frighteningly realistic depiction of an alien invasion ever put on screen. The scenes of the alien heat rays instantly cremating person after person after person are terrifying. The panic-induced flight from New York is followed by a new kind of terror as Ray and his family find themselves with the only working vehicle in the midst of thousands of desperate survivors. On these levels, War of the Worlds is very effective.
Unfortunately, this sense of chaotic desperation can't be sustained to the end. In fact, in many ways, War of the Worlds feels like two different films when, in the last half, Ray ceases to be a frantic "everyman," and instead falls into familiar Tom Cruise "action hero" mode. Although the movie is still spectacular, and Spielberg certainly proves that he hasn't lost his touch for directing action, the film becomes a let-down as it shifts into predictability. Yes, we know how this story will ultimately end, but what we didn't know during the first half was how Ray and his family would fair. That uncertainty is squashed the instant Ray turns into Tom Cruise and starts lobbing grenades into the mouths of the alien war machines.
Despite its second-half shortcomings, War of the Worlds is technically impressive and does manage to entertain. This is because this is a genre that Spielberg is comfortable with and he doesn't stray too far from his strengths - unlike, for example, his total failure with A.I.
Like its predecessors, this edition of War of the Worlds is a reflection of our concerns and fears right now. The 1953 version carried undertones of the Communist scare. In the 80's and early 90's the X-Files and the War of the Worlds television series were steeped heavily in conspiracies. Independence Day was bursting at the seams with American arrogance. Now, this post-9/11 version is filled with fear and uncertainty. In twenty years, Spielberg's War of the Worlds will also feel dated, but by then we'll probably have a new remake.
::Video
Dreamworks elected to split their special edition version of War of the Worlds into 2 discs and devote disc 1 entirely to the film presentation. The result is plenty of room for the video and audio.
As with some of his other recent films, such as Saving Private Ryan and Minority Report, Spielberg chose to go with a less natural color palette. The contrast has been boosted and some colors are almost oversaturated, while others are nearly bleached out altogether. The result is a stylistic, gritty appearance that seems to work well for this material, and this DVD transfer does a good job of matching what I remember seeing in the theater.
This transfer seemed to be extremely sharp and clear, and I noticed no digital artifacting or unnatural edge enhancement at all.
::Audio
Steven Spielberg, and his pal George Lucas, rely on sound design perhaps more than any other directors working today. Their films are always rich, sonic experiences and War of the Worlds is no exception. From the rumbling bass of the ground ripping open to reveal the tripods, to their terrible trumpeting, this film is virtual surround sound assault.
Included are both a 5.1 DTS track and a 5.1 Dolby Digital version. As usual, the DTS track does offer a bit of an expanded dynamic range and better surround effect blending, but the Dobly Digital version is no slouch, either.
::Special Features
I was mildly disappointed in the lack of a commentary track for this DVD, but that was quickly offset by the overwhelming volume of supplements on disc 2. Even better, this is all good material, with a definite lack of fluff or padding.
Kicking things off is the 7 and a half minute Revisiting the Invasion, which is an indroduction of sorts by Spielberg. He discusses his introduction to astronomy and early science fiction films, including the 1953 War of the Worlds.
This is followed by The H.G. Wells Legacy, which is a 6 and half minute look at Wells' life and work as described by some of his living relatives (including Simon Wells, who you may recall directed the recent The Time Machine).
Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds is an 8 minute look at Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, stars of the 1953 film, and their experiences in making cameo appearances in this new version.
Characters: The Family Unit runs almost 13 and a half minutes and is a focus on the three main characters played by Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin.
Pre-Visualization runs almost 8 minutes and is Spielberg's reflections on his introduction to the process of creating computer generated animatic storyboards for the film (something George Lucas introduced him to).
Next up are the Production Diaries, which are split into 4 separate sections that deal with the East Coast part of the production and the work done on the West Coast. These 4 featurettes range in running times from nearly 20 minutes, to almost a half hour and they are extremely in-depth.
Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens is a 14 minute look at, as you might have guessed, the creation of the aliens in the film. This featurette is also the only extra that appears on the single disc edition of the film.
Scoring War of the Worlds runs almost 12 minutes and begins with a brief look at the sound effects design, and then segues in and in-depth talk with John Williams and his approach to the music of the film.
We Are Not Alone is a brief 3 minute retrospective of the three alien films Spielberg has created, and how they relate to each other.
Rounding things up are Production Notes and a photo and sketch Gallery.
One of the things that I found most refreshing about these extras was that there was very little overlap in information between the featurettes. It's clear the Spielberg took care to make sure that every extra included was substantive and that effort was appreciated. There is a lot of good and worthwhile material here.
::Bottom Line
War of the Worlds does manage to entertain and has some moments that are extremely frightening and effective. However, it does degenerate a little toward the end, which is disappointing. Even so, Spielberg excells at both creating good characters and directing break-neck action, and this really helps to carry the film.
If you decide to add this one to your collection, I wholeheartedly recommend the 2-disc edition, as the extra materials are really worthwhile.
Buy War of the Worlds at DVDEmpire.com
| Movie |  |
3 / 5 |
| Video | |
4.5 / 5 |
| Audio | |
5 / 5 |
| Extras | |
4.5 / 5 |
| Family Friendly | |
1.5 / 5 |
| Although only PG-13, there are scenes in War of the Worlds that are outright terrifying for any age. This film is far too intense for the smaller children. | ||
| Overall | |
3.5 / 5 |
- Robert Wurth, ©2005
::Technical Specs
Studio:
Dreamworks Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release:
2005
Disc Format:
2 single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:
1.85:1
Region Encoding:
1 (North America)
Sound Format:
DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time:
117 minutes
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Stars:
Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Disc Supplements:
- Revisiting the Invasion
- The H. G. Wells Legacy
- Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds
- Characters: The Family Unit
- Pre-Visualization
- Production Diaries
- Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens
- Scoring War of the Worlds
- We Are Not Alone
- Production Notes
- Photos Gallery
