The War of the Worlds (1953). Cloudy with a Chance of Martians.

[@ActivePuck]

Great sci-if classic. I saw it as a young kid back in the 80s and I’ve loved it ever since. Plus that ship design is so iconic - and awesome!

[@WilmerCook]

Me to!

[@crescentmoon256]

ur still alive ? holy sheet

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Very true.

[@nigeh5326]

One of the best sci fi movies of the 20th century imo 👍. Superior to the later Tom Cruise version in many respects. Unlike many lesser sci fi movies they don’t just show the aliens as super beings but instead give us brief views of creatures that are inferior physically to humans but are superior in their technology. This and the day the Earth stood still (another example of a film where the later remake is inferior with the Keanu Reeves version being a poor attempt) are both stand outs of their time. They reflect the fears and uncertainty of the 50s and the Red scares of the time. Thanks for this video I’ve been waiting for you to cover it for a while.

[@Alondro77]

Humans are much the same. We're physically CRUSHED if we try to go up barehanded against MANY species of animals. But our weapons can obliterate them with no effort. And, like the Martians, we found out how helpless we are against germs. Humans should be more humble, lest we be humbled by the TRUE power in the cosmos.

[@ianbrewster8934]

Couldn't have said it better....this is a genre defining film

[@Formakiwi]

Hugely influential, since it defined the look oversaturated of Sci-Fi film and television until at least mid-1970's.

[@Nicksonian]

Spielberg’s version was a disappointment and definitely near the bottom of his mostly great output. This version scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.

[@trekkieraccoon3343]

I definitely prefer this movie over Spielbergs version the effects were awesome but the main characters mostly the girl were pretty annoying she wouldn't shut up lol and machines being buried was pretty dumb

[@ellesmerewildwood4858]

Take a moment to recognize the power lines in the street vaporizing on contact with the heat ray. That was some serious attention to detail by the effects crew. 10:30

[@josemoreno3334]

No one will ever top this all time classic SCI-FI movie. I never get tired watching this over and over.😀🛸

[@donnakeizer1468]

Read my comment. Soon taking over

[@goaway152]

same :D

[@oobrocks]

I still recommend this masterpiece…Oscar for Special Effects and the sound effects were Oscar worthy 🎉❤😊

[@shallendor]

It is the best movie version of the story! The series was good!

[@tomstanziola1982]

I had the honor of meeting Richard Chaves, who played Col Ironhorse in the series. He appeared at a convention I attended. One HELL of a nice guy!!! My friend's young daughter (at the time) cried bitterly when his character was killed off in the show. He gave a special inscription on a photo, just for her, assuring her that he was alive and well!! He was very approachable and took a moment to chat with everyone in the autograph line!! A true gentleman!!! 👏👏👏👏

[@shallendor]

@@tomstanziola1982 That is the kind of stuff i love to hear!

[@stephenevans6070]

Mad to think this story was written in 1895 and was already 58 years old when this was done

[@theangrygamer1008]

1898

[@mdrumt]

Probably my favourite film as a kid, along with Forbidden Planet, Them, and The Earth vs the Flying Saucers.

[@WillCamx]

I must have watched this film dozens of times over the years and it only just dawned on me watching this that the alien war machines are supported by three rays, just like the three legs of the originals. It's little details like this that make this the great film that it is.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

The three legs/rays were a tribute to the original tripods in the book. But the post filming effects work required for the rays/legs was so expensive and time consuming, they only used it that one time.

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

I never knew the ships had legs in the original, and when I heard the first thing I thought was how goofy it sounded and that this film had way better ships.

[@cujoedaman]

They even say this in the movie, but since they're mostly transparent and the line only lasts a couple seconds, it's not hard for people to miss it :D

[@Capohanf1]

AND in some shots you can see the wires that supported the models!

[@cujoedaman]

@@Capohanf1 Yep, they're really evident in the bluray/4K versions of the movie. You can even see them wiggling a bit as they ride along the track because it isn't 100% smooth. Still one of the best sci-fi movies, though.

[@billyjonesy2972]

“War of the Worlds” is the earliest movie I remember seeing. I saw it when I was about 6 at the old Giles Theatre on West 39th Street in Kansas City, MO. It is still my favorite science fiction movie of all time. I watch it again whenever I can! It beats the heck out of that sappy soap opera remake with Tom Cruise.

[@nigeh5326]

Stam Fine your wit is hilarious and you combine it with a script that gives people all they need to know about the film or tv series your video is about.

[@raymondortiz1113]

This movie war of the worlds has to be the best sci Fi movie ever done the effects were great for a movie filmed in the fifties still looked great even m

[@clyde9803]

Now you gotta do George Pal's THE TIME MACHINE. Pleeeeeease?

[@loneprimate]

When I was 13 in Hamilton, Ontario at the end of 1981 we had a snow storm in the middle of the day and they sent us all home. My buddy and I went back to my place we got into all the snacks and this movie was on. We had a blast watching it. The movie was essentially 30 years old even then and he and I were of the Star Wars generation and we were astonished any movie from the 1950s was both in colour and had special effects that stood up so well. I'm still impressed by them even forty years after that!

[@SupremeCleave]

I liked your quip about the Stanley Cup finals. It reminded me about the old joke; I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out.

[@ogarcia515]

I saw this movie when it opened in 1953 as a 10-year old, and I loved it ever since. Probably paid 25¢ to see it. Featuring the coolest alien war machines--ever!

[@2remik]

Love this film. The rattling, rasping sound the ships make still gives me chills.

[@geosword6]

I've not properly laughed out loud to myself for a very long time but Chris Pratt as the voice of the bacteria got me! Proper tickled me that. Still chuckling as I type this!! 😂😂

[@Dr.MSC.W.Krueger]

one of the many films that put me on a path towards a career in moviemaking.

[@SteveBrant55]

I just discovered your channel. And I really enjoyed your review! Great combination of facts and humor. Also loved seeing info on the sequel TV series from 1988 and the clip of Gene Barry and Ann Robinson in the Spielberg version of this story. Thanks!

[@Interislander957]

I love the old timey War of the Worlds music for the silent pictures..

[@SirSmoldham]

This movie devastated me as a child and made me believe this world could end. It was even more effective because I saw it around the Cuban missile crisis.

[@tannerdowney2802]

The heat ray sound effects, perfect. BJUJUJU!

[@krissteel4074]

Its still a solid movie and given how many people have tried to make a War of the Worlds and probably shouldn't have. That either makes it brilliant or somewhat tragic that it hadn't been done well since.

[@stwoods25]

I agree. The original story was mainly about the aliens, not some father son relationship.

[@DTavona]

A delightful homage while also being cheeky and sarcastic. Liked.

[@SgtRocko]

This is an absolute masterpiece. The scene where the machine emerges from the fog from the bomb is chilling. I don't think any kid the late 60s/early 70s can deny that some of the lamps of that era ALWAYS brought the movie to mind LOL It has humour, chills, great F/X, and a human STORY. Our kids are teens and they've had friends over for movie night & shown this - a lot of the kids fall in love with it ("Wow, that's an olde tymee movie? It's really good!"). Love watching it... though I am forever in the hunt for such magnificent, perfect fried eggs *sigh*

[@dockaos924]

Love the radio broadcast version 👍

[@joelstrickland9160]

When I was a kid this movie fascinated me. It will always be one of my all time favorites.

[@tomsenior7405]

Nice one. Cheers Stam. One of my all-time favourite films from childhood. Classic 50s Sci-Fi at it's finest. I am so looking forward to the Stam Fine treatment. "If they are mortal, they must have mortal weaknesses" a line refined better for Arnie. "If it bleeds we can kill it". I am going to enjoy this trip.

[@david.m.304]

MANY thanks for this clip with Gene Barry. I was privileged enough to meet him many years (decades actually) ago when he came to Australia on a tour. He was in real life an extremely approachable man and very kind with his time to everyone. I visited him at the hotel he was staying at in Sydney but sadly he was not there at that time. I jokingly blame him for my addiction - to Rolls Royce (and subsequently Bentley) motor cars from his series "Burke's Law) in the 1960's and subsequent remake in the 1980's in which he used his own car. Again, many thanks for sharing this clip, take care and all the best.

[@pdlagasse]

The music for the silent-film intertitle - oh man, that was the mother of all Easter eggs.

[@AdamJRichardson]

Can we take a moment to appreciate the actor's skill @8:08 at drawing excellent arcs and straight lines with chalk? That is not easy

[@frankandstein8618]

Thanks, Stam. It is amazing that this film is 70 years old (like me) and the special effects are better than movies from the '80s and '90s. Were the fishing scientists fission scientists?

[@StamFine]

hahaha!

[@SAPProd]

The most enduring legacy of this film is Dr. Clayton Forrester serving as the namesake for the evil mad scientist of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I saw this film way back on Ted Turner’s TBS SuperStation program “Super Scary Saturday” featuring Al “Grandpa” Lewis (I tuned in mainly for the Godzilla flicks) and really liked it. I saw it just before the syndicated series mentioned here and I was obsessed with that show, despite being 8 years old and the show being quite violent for 80s television. Looking forward to seeing it featured in a future episode! 😉😂

[@ianlacey]

was on regular rotation from the video shop right through my childhood.

[@TerrorballNoise]

There's a real vibe to this movie. Pacing, imagery and sound. Not Victorian England but still good.

[@paulmicelli5819]

Remember seeing this at the movies in 1953, still watch!

[@WilliamHBaird-eq2hp]

I remember seeing this as 8-year old on TV alone at night when the family was sleeping in the 1970's.... So scary.

[@xedalpha1]

Lol I loved that jaunty Eve of the War piano mix in there.

[@goodwood-rc4nx]

Gene Barry & Ann Robinson played the grandparents of the kids in the 2005 version

[@Anautistictherapist]

I LOVE the voices of the actors, the scientist, the radio reporter, and so many others are as iconic as any old advertisement from that age.

[@davidsmith5523]

So it could be renamed as Bacteria to the future.

[@tomstanziola1982]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@seymourskinner2533]

I don’t know how to feel about this. 🤣🤦‍♂️

[@davidsmith5523]

@@seymourskinner2533 germ war of the worlds?

[@seymourskinner2533]

@@davidsmith5523 😢

[@kellyweingart3692]

😂😂😂😂

[@mallninja9805]

I love Friday mornings. You're the best. Request: Please do Sid & Marty Krofts "Land of the Lost"

[@alanmoss3603]

Someone all the way from Australia slagging off Essex - some how makes it SOOOO much worse!😂

[@alanmike6883]

Hes not wrong though. I know 🤣👍

[@JoJoLux2013]

The resolution and the color quality is just stunning ! I suppose it's the Blu-ray version, maybe a 4k that you show us? A really good scanning for sure, there is so much details, really a great job from the studio 👍. And your review is great as usual 😉

[@BuShips]

The Criterion Collection blu ray is the best version as it doesn’t show the wires on the war machines. This is likely that version.

[@t-mar9275]

I'm assuming this is the recent Parmount 4K release, as Mars is shown as a blue planet, as opposed to red, in the scene at 0:50. This was the biggest gripe levelled against the 4K release.

[@lbricks7631]

Saw for the first time this year. Top-tier stuff, but the characters could do with a little work.

[@Neil070]

Hard to imagine now just how original the 'no resistance to germs' idea was. I saw the film for the first time back in the 60's, people were not as aware of the 'immune system' or germs as they are now, except for 'kill 99% of household germs' claims for household cleaning products. Certainly the idea of the common cold virus potentially being fatal to aliens was a totally novel one, unless you were familiar with HGW's novel

[@kaitlyn__L]

And indeed when Wells wrote his novel, it was not that long after germ theory had won out over miasma theory even among experts who knew their stuff. It was new hot shit.

[@carl77242]

I see this one back in my youth years mom and dad see it on outdoor theater back in 1954 it was a great movie

[@TimothyCollins]

I rewatched thus movie a few weeks ago... it holds up. It's still good and well worth watching. Which is not something I could say about other movies from that era.

[@veramae4098]

A recording of the Wells' radio broadcast is available and I've used it several times with elementary school classes on April 1st -- Fools Day. I play it straight, as a radio broadcast, but one that plays old fashioned music. The kids get VERY confused, unsure whether to take it seriously or not. They always enjoyed my shout "April Fools" at the end. One principal (I always told them ahead of time) really got into it and came up to solemnly assure the kids that busses were on the way to take them home, then school and city busses would be used to evacuate people to the countryside. Another principal wouldn't let me do it. Spoil sport.

[@gfdggdfgdgf]

This is a really well made movie.

[@patrickflaherty5914]

Love the shoutout to Jeff Wayne's rock opera.

[@clintbrew]

Got the cd and the vinyl and wished they could turn the musical into a movie somehow

[@kenknowlton3085]

The BBC produced a decent 3 part War of the Worlds miniseries in 2019. Although it doesn't follow the book's narrative, it does follow other fictional characters from the original storyline. Highly recommend! Available on KZbin.

[@RCassinello]

Another great review. Love you sense of humour coupled with your honesty. :)

[@seemoretoys5944]

Dr. Clayton Forrester on MST3K is named after Dr. Clayton Forrester from the 1953 War of the Worlds movie.

[@emitindustries8304]

Great video, and really funny commentary.

[@TheRadical42]

Excellent video about an excellent movie. Well done! War of the Worlds (1953) is such a superb film. Good acting, great story and wonderful special effects. Those Martian war machines are amazing and unique, their Heat Ray and X-Ray sound other worldly, and the martians themselves are super alien. Thanks for making this video!

[@ahhamartin]

"Do you have a pocket compass?' (actually does in his suit jacket)

[@andrewjessop8816]

Love all your videos. Your steve1989 reference a while ago was genius. Thanks for the weekly dose

[@johnbower7452]

Still the best Hollywood version of War of the Worlds, and those war machines still occasionally pop into my nightmares and I find myself being hunted by them.

[@Rpol_404]

The antimatter ray sound effects was classic awesomeness!

[@loudelk99]

One of the greatest movie in Sci-fi history.

[@doom7ish]

yeah Baby lets do this. I love this movie so much.

[@daveautzen9089]

Your review was perfect, and hilarious!

[@Gattancha]

1:26 "..but then they said the same thing about Essex..." Oh man, that cracked me up more than it probably should.. 🤣🤣

[@garetjax19]

I'm surprised that you didn't mention the 80's short run TV series 'Tripods' that was made by the BBC and the Australian Seven Network. Peace All

[@mysticwolf75]

The War of the Worlds was one of my favorite movies growing up. I recently finally bought it on Blu-ray.

[@dougolsen6158]

This year is the 70th anniversary of the release of this classic and Ann Robinson turned 94 last month,is a good friend of mine !

[@petergivenbless900]

Love the pianola version of Jeff Wayne's Martian Invasion theme! Has there been a steampunk version of War of the Worlds yet? That would be cool; maybe even done as a Georges Méliès ersatz silent era style melodrama (like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow).

[@georgesmith4509]

Your re cap was nothing less than brilliant!! I loved the film as a kid. I still have a Video cassette of it. it's still a good watch. In one episode of the 1st series of Bourke's Law Gene Barry is in a shop of curios were he spots a theatre poster of the movie with his picture on it and buys it because " it's the only thing worth buying in the shop" LOL I'll try and relocate the episode and send it on to you. Mate, Independence Day was a straight up theft.

[@tskmaster3837]

Good video. I have to say that I did look twice because I wondered if it would have been about the 80s TV series. Right, got to cover the movie first, what was I thinking.

[@TileGuyJesse]

The talcum powder bomb line was hilarious.

[@frippp66]

great film 👍🏼

[@americansupervillain4595]

4:04 He was not trying to appeal to the alien's better nature, he lost his mind and saw them as demons and thought he could banish them through prayer.

[@jack1701e]

XD that jab at Essex took me off guard, as someone from Essex you're not wrong!

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Ahhh, three strip technicolor. So much more pleasing than today's norm, orange and teal. Ugh.

[@dudstep]

Yeah. You'd think movies today would be more vibrant than ever, but it's like colour graders only have blue or orange to choose from.

[@RogueWJL]

Incredible movie. Incredibly dark towards the end as L A is destroyed. Its almost as there is no hope. Design of Alien ships is just incredible

[@gerardtessers]

Loved this one! I saw this in my youth on television and even then it was formidable! First George Pal- movie I ever saw was The Time Machine, also with wonderful special effects. Maybe a nice subject for later? This novel (also by Wells) has been redone more...

[@michaelproctor8100]

How do we know that the aliens were actually from Mars? Other than the great opening narration by Sir Cedric Hardwicke there is nothing to suggest where they came from. One person guarding the fallen meteor suggests that since Mars is close to the Earth at the time, well they must be from there. With that kind of logic you could say they were from downtown Burbank, which was a hell of a lot closer.

[@johnruddick686]

Your right about Essex still after years of searching we still haven't found anything yet.

[@geraintwilliams531]

great film! love the fact that the Martian screams and runs away when it touches the woman

[@mysticwolf75]

Actually, Dr. Forester threw an axe at the alien and then it screams and runs away, but that was edited out on here.

[@rgrif777]

My second favorite sci-fi movie. The Tom Cruise movie was also very very well done, but I'll still take the original version over it. My favorite sci-fi movie is Forbidden Planet.

[@themaninblack7503]

Seen this movie many times

[@Scimarad]

One of my favourites! I read the book at a pretty early age so I've always been a bit obssessed with it, though that Jeff Wayne album helped a lot as well.

[@BeCoShooter]

I just bought the Criterion Blu Ray. It contains a new 5.1 mix, with upgraded sound effects. Looks pristine too.

[@danielpitti6030]

Still impredecible after 70 years!

[@TANG3RINE95]

Another banger!

[@MattExzy]

I love the aesthetic of this movie. I first saw it as a kid in the 90s - scared the hell out of me. I don't think I slept solid for a week after. Of course now I can enjoy it all the more. 1950s sci-fi is on a pretty epic level, the special effects of Forbidden Planet also come to mind as standing the test of time.

[@alanmike6883]

One of my favourite old school science fiction movies along with the Day the earth stood still

[@proto-geek248]

both superior to the remakes.

[@andrewblanchard2398]

03:28 it's adorable

[@bradbarter8314]

It's funny how every church though shelled nearby all kept standing to where the first building to be destroyed by Steven Spielberg in 2005 is a church 😮😂

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

Never thought of that!

[@stwoods25]

Which demonstrates the bias of this time. In the original movie people went to the church to find solice in the face of certain doom, and that to me is an important indicator of how far we are from that. No movie would ever duplicate something like that.

[@lisvender]

I need to find some of those laser sound effects for my cartoons!!

[@divergentthinkingproductions]

You hear that, Essex? YOU'VE BEEN STAM FINED, BRUH!

[@BrooksWachtel]

Barre Lyndon had co-written DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (best picture Oscar winner) and might have suggested him to Pal as the perfect writer for updating The War of the Worlds. Lyndon was a fan of novel and his script also set a template for future invasion films. Did you mention him in your review?

[@hiturbine]

I first watched this movie in 1968 - I was eight years old, and this movie came on past my bed time, but my dad woke me up so I could watch it ... "You look a little lost yourself." SYLVIA! ... SYLVIA!!! 🤣 I've seen this movie so many times since that I have all the dialogue memorized.

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

That talcum powder mis-drop was pretty funny.... IT I S ... one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies as a teenager to a 50s+ man. You covered MANY of the aspects of the movie, especially the most current iteration. I remember the TV version in the 80s but never got totally interested into its premise ( you would Think....that humans would have dissected All of those machines ) And the most Recent W0W by Speilberg, using the SAME actors from the Original 50's movie, that was cool, but didn't know that Ann Robinson was used in the 80s TV series! IF ANYTHING....I like the use of the TRUE Tripod ( I Always wondered how that 'tri-pod' would walk.......VERY Cool )!!!

[@robguyatt9602]

Who else hung around just for the narration? Bloody funny.

[@PlasmaMongoose]

The Martian ships still look awesome, even by today's standards.

[@andrewtaylor940]

I have not watched this one in years. Somehow I missed or forgot that it features a Northrop YB-49. The long ago predecessor to the US Air Force's B-2 Stealth Bomber. You don't see the old Northrop Flying Wing get much Hollywood attention.

[@Gzeebo]

I had no idea they deleted the legs for budget reasons. I always assumed they just thought flying saucers were cooler. Also I will mention Triple J for no reason.

[@deboralee1623]

this video contains several 😆 moments, but among my favorite are: ["references to radio broadcasts"] while Paul Frees and radio broadcasts are on screen (6:08-6:36) ["describing the three-strip color process"] over footage of how the Martian ships land in groups of three (8:06-8:14) "...a glint in the eye..." as a Martian appears on screen (11:05-11:07)