It's A Science Fiction Classic When Martians Instigate "The War of the Worlds"- Tonight!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

It's A Science Fiction Classic When Martians Instigate "The War of the Worlds"- Tonight!

Posted on February 28, 2026

Tonight on MeTV- we are happy to bring you a movie we have been trying to get for quite a while- a classic science fiction film of the early 50s, based on an iconic tale by H.G. Wells. It pits humanity against a frightening invasion from the red planet-depicted with amazing special effects for the era. Get ready to take up arms for the “The War of the Worlds”!

This 1953 movie begins with an imitation of the old movie newsreels- talking about the wars we have endured and issuing a warning about the use of super weapons in future battles. Then, we get a lecture by none other than Sir Cedric Hardwicke about the universe and the deterioration of the planet Mars-which sends its inhabitants into the universe to find a new place to live.

{snip}

[markodochartaigh]

1. Great movie!

I watched it with my Grandmother about six decades ago.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. I have it on VHS.

Hah!

[Wounded Bear]

3. Much better than the Tom Cruise version! nt

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Highly Watchable Film

The cheesy color pallette bugs me a bit, but it's good a great story to follow. (The background sky shots look very fake in spots.)

Special effects are pretty good for early 50s, too.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Svengoolie has been showing carefully restored videos.

This one might might be better than the last version you saw.

Look for Woody Woodpecker and a Jack Northrop flying Wing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(1953_film)

For 50 years, from the late 1960s when The War of the Worlds 3-strip Technicolor prints were replaced by the easier-to-use and less expensive Eastman Color stock, the quality of the film's special effects suffered dramatically. This degraded the lighting, timing, and image resolution, causing the original invisible overhead wires suspending the Martian war machines to become increasingly visible with each succeeding film and video format change. This led many, including respected critics, to mistakenly believe the effects were originally of low quality. The original high quality of the 3-strip Technicolor special effects as seen in 1953 is now evident in the 2018 4K resolution restoration of the film, with the wires that suspend the Martian machines no longer obvious as in later prints.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. I Read Somewhere, That...

...a new 4k version has been created from the original 3 color Technicolor straps.
That might look awfully good.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. I don't know what the date is on my VHS video, but it's NTSC and

4:3 format, so I suspect no one worried much about color balance either.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Yeah, Probably So

When they "easter egged" A Christmas Carol, nobody seemed to mind. (Well, except people like me.)