The War of the Worlds, Lost in Adaptation ~ The Dom

A look at the many adaptations of the The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and a comparison of the 2005 Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise version to the novel's plot.
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[@Dominic-Noble]

DEFINITELY should have acknowledged Mary Shelley as the true founder of science fiction. That was a sexist omission I will fully own.

[@PhantomAngelofMusic]

Glad to see you can own up when you fubar. ^^

[@Macapta]

was about to say

[@thegeekclub8810]

It takes guts to own up to your mistakes. Good on you.

[@PetalsAndPlague]

It's okay. You're human, we all make mistakes.

[@candidshadowcollections6670]

Honestly, I've always found this a bit of an irritation. Mary Shelly was a brilliant author, but I disagree in wanting at all costs to shoehorn her masterpieces into being some prehistoric form of science fiction. She wrote a gothic novel, Frankenstein, that very briefly touched on some "sciency" elements to move the plot foreward, but neither scientific nor futuristic speculation were important to the novel. The only work she wrote that comes closer to being SciFi is the last man, but even here, while we see the first hints of speculative fiction and she does look at medicine's failure and past in a much more "scifi" manner than anything in Frankenstein… but I still have reservations in calling this post-apocalyptic novel truly science fiction.

[@jordandehart6905]

"In the end, it was not guns or bombs that defeated the aliens, but that of God's most humblest of creatures. The tyrannosaurus rex"

[@alluvius]

😂

[@stevbe1723]

That's how it should've gone, Wells was a total hack

[@FuugaNatsu]

"You can't be partially dead" - well, you can be MOSTLY dead. And mostly dead is slightly alive. ... someone had to.

[@warriorcatskid003]

He’s been mostly dead all day

[@Grim_Sister]

As you wish

[@TechSword]

Have fun storming the castle!

[@k1tkat-kate]

"Why am I saying 'completely'? You can't be partially dead..." Oh, but dear Dominic you are forgetting that you can be.... m o s t l y dead. And as we all know, mostly dead is a little bit alive.

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

It's fascinating how this story is always updated when adapted. It gives me the impression that the story is almost alive in a sense.

[@TheCumDemon69]

HOLY CRAP ITS THIS, THIS IS IT when i was 5 i remember my dad leaving an album on the stereo that freaked me out and gave me nightmares and to this day all i could remember of its was the line "WE CAN START ALL OVER AGAIN!" IT WAS FROM THE DAMN MUSICAL, 16 years later ive finally found it thanks to this video

[@creatrixZBD]

marcus pomeroy my dad had that (double) album too. I could have picked what it was from that one line 😱 (I’d hate to guess hm times I’ve played it throughout my life). Its the definitive WotW production for me, perhaps because its also a little bit daggy ;)

[@tokkibeseu]

OOooooooooOOOOoo LAH

[@ButterflyScarlet]

DID WE ALL GET NIGHTMARES FROM THIS ALBUM?? My dad used to play it and it freaked me out so badly

[@TheCumDemon69]

@zone doll yeah but he played it for me when I was going to bed, he knew what he was doing

[@emmatenhave7104]

its good to know that I'm not the only one who has been traumatized by this this. My dad played it once when I was 9 and being a hyper-sensitive kid with an overly active imagination, I coudn't sleep for months

[@teloranstrekal1328]

Great video, and the format worked well for having so many adaptations. As for why only England was attacked in the book, it was less for the sake of logic and more for themes and commentary. When your target audience for a story about an invasion of strangers with superior technology coming to claim territory for their own benefit while ruining the lives of the natives just so happened to be one of the most colonialist nations in history, there does seem to be a message of "Not so fun when it's happening to you, is it?"

[@theangrygamer1008]

And militarily it makes sense to decapitate the greatest military force on the planet and build a spearhead on an easily defended island from which to strike out later once your forces have been built up to an unstoppable level.

[@jacobsoper4708]

War of the Worlds is a commentary on the slaughter of the Tasmanian Aborigines by the British, so that's very much the case.

[@edennis8578]

@@jacobsoper4708 Really? It couldn't be that English authors make England or English people the focal point of almost everything they write, could it? Almost every English story takes place in England (pardon my shock) or the protagonists are English. Just like Japanese writers usually focus their stories on Japan. No matter how unrealistic, Japanese science fiction has aliens always choosing to take over Japan. They start not in London or Washington DC, but Tokyo. That's the way of writers.

[@iloveyourunclebob]

@@edennis8578 yeah, what you said, plus hg wells was a massive racist and only spoke out against English imperialism because of "his way of life being too good for minority groups and **gasp** heaven forbid they breed with us," (paraphrase of his beliefs). Fair to say War of the Worlds is in no way a commentary about the horrors England committed on the rest of the world and more of how terrible he thought not white people coming to, and being a part of, **his** English empire was.

[@overlydramaticpanda]

@@iloveyourunclebob Except...no? There's literally an entire passage in the book directly comparing the alien invasion to the invasions of other countries committed by the British in the establishing of the Empire and the protagonist even muses at one point after witnessing the aliens literally draining the life from humans that the aliens seeing humanity and the Earth as mere resources to be used and discarded at their own leisure with no regard for the impact of what their actions are having on the native people of England is possibly a karma-like mirror image of his country's own (then) contemporary belief that other nations existed merely to be colonised and subjugated. H.G. Wells was, as all people ultimately are, a product of his time in terms of his attitudes concerning races besides his own, but it's practically impossible to flat-out deny that WOTW is, at least in part, a commentary and condemnation on the invasion of other countries in the name of colonisation. The villains of the story are the aliens, after all, not the people trying to survive them, so by directly comparing the alien invasion to the British invasions of foreign countries (and implicitly any country that's invaded another)...well, it doesn't exactly require an English degree to be able to analyse that particular comparison and see what stance the story takes on the concept of invasion...

[@MysteryMiles]

What I found really interesting about the Spielberg adaptation was that the sequence with people getting caught by tripods, put in nets, and then sucked into the body of the tripods (and stopping it by sending a grenade through the aperture) seemed to come from a whole different sci-fi novel--The White Mountains by John Christopher.

[@skylx0812]

I noticed in the scene where throngs of screaming people are running down the hillside and are being collected there was a familar sound. In "Schindler's List" during the scene where the children are being serparated and trucked away, you can hear a choral wailing of a single note in the background while the prisoner parents are screaming. You can hear that same choir during the tripod harvest where Ray and his kids watch and listen to the massive echoing sounds of screams in horror.

[@white-dragon4424]

I think Cruise's character had been watching The Empire Strikes Back, if you get my meaning?

[@rodneydowney2561]

The plot element of the martians collecting and eating the humans is in the original novel.

[@iain9757]

I like to think the Brother from WOTW & the Persian from Phantom of the Opera hang out in the “we are always cut from adaptations” bar

[@Valdagast]

Together with the poor family in Frankenstein.

[@TheUncomplicator]

Don’t forget Quincy Morris from Dracula, the man whose only function is to have a knife and die like an American

[@OptimusPhillip]

It especially sucks about the Persian since he was almost in the '25 film, but then the filmmakers decided at the last minute "Let's turn him into a police officer disguised as a Persian darogah."

[@adambesley4455]

@@Valdagast Yeah only Kenneth Branagh remembered they existed.

[@anthonyweber1759]

Maybe there's a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen type story in there.

[@patrickmedland7473]

Actually really like the inclusion of other adaptations, it really helps contextualize the adaptation in question. I also notice you seem to be putting more focus on thematic accuracy now as well, which is great too!

[@ThePlanetOf]

? Wasdgta3 Agree with everything you said!

[@margaretmadole]

Seriously I swear the Dom is trying to target exactly the way my geeky brain looks at media. Influences and theme are 90% of what I care about

[@dynamicworlds1]

Yeah, when appropriate for the piece in question, this format works quite well.

[@Maximara]

I also like the inclusion of other adaptations though in this case there was a real piece of weirdness as *three* different versions of War of the Worlds came out in 2005: Spielberg's, Hines', and The Alyssum's. And yet we only hear about one of them. Personally I think the Dom would have been very happy with the Hines adaptationwise as it is to date the only version to take place in the 19th century and uses the novel as a story board.

[@jordandehart6905]

Yeah, one of my problems with Dom's reviews (especially older ones) was sometimes it felt like he only focused on surface level stuff, despite obviously being intelligent enough to dig deeper. I loved the emphasis of theme over events here.

[@pushinguproses]

I thought this more comprehensive look at adaptations worked really well. You gave just enough information about each iteration to make it engaging and interesting without it being too terse. And don't worry, I'm going to weasel in Mary Shelley into all of our conversations from now on. :)

[@Grim_Sister]

Yes! This Love you, Roses

[@lamecasuelas2]

farewell Thunderchild!!!!

[@JustKeepStickingWithChristine]

I hadn't noticed Tom Cruise wearing the Yankees hat and the son wearing the Red Sox hat. Nice touch, honestly

[@jholt8518]

I can't believe no one had made this joke yet. Dom Cruise

[@Rock-my2ko]

Jesse Holt so he was the zodiac killer!

[@lostfan29]

Dude you’re right

[@zyral.f.6938]

That's an insult, not a joke. Scientology is a slave cult of crimes against humanity.

[@alysiamerdavid-wasser9165]

Okay, but can you name a "TOM Cruise" character, lol? i watched this like: Oh, yeah. He WAS called Ray. i'm old as hell, and all i can remember from Top Gun is Goose, Val, & the score, lmao.

[@kegger98]

I like this new format. It makes the 2005 version feel like a culmination of adaptations rather then a 1 to 1 of the original.

[@ellisandkyriathe4518]

Jeff Wayne's War of the World was part of the soundtrack of my childhood, and I think the biggest thing I always took away from it is that it's largely a story about how the invasion and isolation drives people mad. The artilleryman retreats into grandiose visions and fantasies, the parson goes into religious fervour, and eventually the narrator goes into melancholy. Or maybe I'm over-projecting, that's a possibility too.

[@lamecasuelas2]

no Nathaniel, oh no Nathaniel.....

[@carterstephens9963]

I think it’s especially amazing that H.G. Wells was able to predict chemical warfare

[@LaNoLaCola]

H.G should stand for “Huge Genius”

[@beausodemann1451]

insert "your Genius is showing" joke here

[@noahsigrist8576]

Hans Gruber

[@ryanstiff4014]

Well...

[@squidyy2k]

Huge Genitalia

[@philiphamel8504]

If I could make a request for an adaptation, could "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM" vs "The Secret of NIHM" be a future episode of Lost in Adaptation?

[@SorchaSublime]

Eh, future episodes are decided by his patrons on patreon but good idea

[@philiphamel8504]

@@SorchaSublime that's fair. But I was hoping this would inspire his patrons to make the suggestions

[@MichaelAarons1701]

If it weren’t for the whole Channel Awesome collapse, I would have loved to see him team up with The Nostalgia Critic on that by doing an Old vs. New style episode where the points are less about which did what better (obviously Ms. Brisby would trounce Ms. Frisby in Lead Character) but between the Same, Different, Added, Changed categories, on which were good calls and which weren’t. Like a point for the film for making the lead better but maybe a point to the book because the hugely developed story of the Rats actually mapping their escape in between being educated by the Humans was a terrible loss that the film could have benefitted from with some extra flashback scenes...

[@morganbiddlecom]

I would love to see this one too

[@TheQuashingoftheTub]

I will jump on that boat. Then Watership Down vs Watership Down after that :)

[@vilwarin5635]

I do appreciate some of the most serious issues addressed in Spielberg's film, like people killing each other for a car, the walls of pictures and prayers, the first aid groups, making food and caring for wounded people, the terror and desperation of the people... it made the film more "real". Spielberg is a superb portrayer of human emotions and reactions, even in his most fantastic films.

[@stevegust2100]

The missing person wall was interesting but I had thought the telephone network had been eliminated

[@vilwarin5635]

@@stevegust2100 I suppose people would expect communications going back to normal at some point

[@Martialartfruituser]

Personally I love the sudden ending of the book of how the microbes killed the Martians. After all, it is mostly a discussion on the failure of colonialism from Britian and how there are some places we are not prepared to go to. I also love how realistic of an idea it is, after all we have built up antibodies and resistances to the viruses of this world, visitors havent. t's the same as a person traveling from one country to the next

[@rodneydowney2561]

If history is any measure, the reverse is more likely: Humanity would be wiped out by martian bacteria.

[@sebsignat8286]

Why didn't we humans get taken out buy Martian microbes unless we are already immune to the Martian bacteria and viruses Which begs a question, why would Martians be taken out buy our microbes if we're immune to theirs

[@Martialartfruituser]

@@sebsignat8286 you don't know how infections and disease works do you

[@sebsignat8286]

@@Martialartfruituser DO YOU

[@rodneydowney2561]

@@sebsignat8286 The history I was referring to was the disastrous impact of European diseases on the indigenous North and South Americans after "the New World" was "discovered." (BTW, "begs the question" is a misuse of the phrase, which, properly used, refers to circular reasoning. "Raises the question" would be a more appropriate usage.)

[@wcapewell3089]

Dude, loving the purple shirt and black waist coat. I need to get me those.

[@menotyou4289]

I don't mean to be creepy but where is your English from? I ask solely because in my area of the US, that's a vest haha. I'm an accent/dialect nerd.

[@ashleytuchin7693]

A waistcoat is a specific type of vest, i.e. a button-up one like that. In American English however, they tend to just call them vests.

[@wcapewell3089]

West midlands birmingham. We just call them waist coats

[@gyromurphy]

He's always a snazzy bastard

[@gyromurphy]

@@menotyou4289 why would that be creepy to ask his specific dialect?

[@CherryChocolat2308]

"You can't be partly dead. The bloopers had me crying with laughter

[@natesmodelsdoodles5403]

and then there's a guy with a power saw. and a guy with a hammer. and the worst timing EVER!

[@rpgaholic8202]

"Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. " "What's that?" "Go through his clothes and look for loose change."

[@Vonriga]

The Jeff Wayne concept album is AMAZING!!!! The song Forever Autumn is heartbreaking and Thunder Child is emotional overdrive. You can't help but feel every ounce of the heroism of this ironclad that bought the lives of the refugees on the steamer with their own blood. "Instantly, the others raised their Heat Rays and melted the Thunder Child's valiant heart." Yes, I am a Pink Floyd fan, and this album is a masterpiece of Prog Rock. Give it another listen. ULLA!

[@aaronwilder2775]

I have to say that the twist of the movie, of the alien's weakness, is one that I actually really like..thanks H.G :)

[@SpectralTime]

I admit, coming in, I was skeptical your format is useful here, since the film is clearly more trying to adapt a premise than the novel per se. But, I enjoyed this more-holistic look at the history of adaptations and their impact on the most-recent one, even if Independence Day is conspicuous in its absence.

[@UGNAvalon]

Speaking of which, Lindsay Ellis made a video analyzing & comparing ID with WotW as alien invasion films. Is that what you has in mind?

[@doppelrutsch9540]

What I love most about WotW is how it's a totally accurate portrayal of how infrared lasers would work and look like more than anything you ever see in science fiction after that. Also Stephen Baxter wrote a really good authorized sequel "The Massacre of Mankind" which was on of my favorite books last year.

[@callisto8413]

Same author who wrote "The Time Ships"? Thanks for that information! Off to Amazon!

[@doppelrutsch9540]

@@callisto8413 The Time Ships, The Xeelee sequence, The Long Earth (together with Terry Pratchett), The Time Odyssey (Together with Arthur C. Clarke), The Medusa Chronicles (together with Alastair Reynolds).... he has something of a reputation for collaborations and writing sequels for SF works of other authors.

[@stareyedwitch]

It's not an authorized sequel, the copy write expired about 3 months before the book was published. Since it's been over a hundred years since publication whoever owned the copy write can't renew it. It's the same reason someone was able to write "Pride, Prejudice & Zombies."

[@TiredRoman]

@@callisto8413 If you haven't read his entire works your life isn't complete yet

[@edlaprade]

Actually, there was an unauthorized 'sequel' written some years later in which Thomas Edison mounts an expedition to Mars to deal with the survivors. Haven't read it, but I believe that it is freely available at the Gutenberg Press.

[@dougmartin2007]

My friend's dad actually hid out on the fields behind his house with my then infant friend. My own parents described people being in fear but never had a story like that.

[@BlueDog241]

5:20 The word "Vampire" Literally means "Blood drinker". So yeah,they are Martian Vampires.

[@skylx0812]

Mathilda May arises...

[@alicesmith8366]

Honestly the Jeff Wayne version SLAPS, it has no right to be as fantastic as is it. My sister and I love absolutely BLASTING it in the car on long road trips. There's nothing more satisfying than yelling 'ULLAHHHHH!' at the top of your lungs.

[@BuzzardPlanet97]

Alice Smith I love the Jeff Wayne version. Have you heard his version of Spartacus? Not as good as TWOTW but still worth a listen

[@themodelrailwayman5470]

My favourite tracks always been Thunder Child. Also, the Technical Difficulties riffing on the Jeff Wayne version in one of their audio episodes is amazing

[@PizzaHutAsuka]

Alice Smith Hella yeah!

[@electricdreams8237]

I always heard it as "OOLONG"! You know, like the tea...

[@johnemsley2893]

My Aunt had the vinyl back in the day. I can’t remember if it was gatefold or came with a booklet but I spent hours looking at the illustrations whilst listening to it. I still remember a couple of them really vividly, 30+ years later. A fantastic piece of work.

[@MonkeyDLuffy-xo6my]

Together men! Comment thee, and we shalt slay this monster, this "Algorithm."

[@sarahupegui6797]

Indeed! Come, my brethren! Let us join forces and slay the beast!

[@MonkeyDLuffy-xo6my]

@@sarahupegui6797 Yes, man! SLAY THE BEAST!

[@mathieuleader8601]

@@MonkeyDLuffy-xo6my Kaido is not a dragon but an algorithm

[@l.francesca4780]

Luffy being this well-spoken? I smell an imposter! XD.

[@lydiah12]

(Gaston voice) It's a beast! It's got ways it can bury All good content this site has released Click to like! Give a shout! 'Cause we're not logging out 'Til it's dead! Good and dead! LET'S KILL THE BEAST!

[@yerabbit6333]

the ending with the son inexplicably surviving... that helps a bit to know it's a nod to the book, because otherwise it's a terrible ending.

[@jeremysalkeld8742]

As soon as I saw this I hoped desperately that Jeff Wayne would turn up, and I was not disappointed. Truly one of the great albums of the 1970s.

[@Cassius-Casim]

I am wondering if you could do a lost in adaptation episode on Lord of the Flies and both films made from it .

[@msjkramey]

I finally got around to reading that! It was a much slower burn and had a lower body count than I expected. I went in only knowing the summary "a bunch of British boys on an island all murder each other" and that's it. But I really enjoyed it

[@gracehaven5459]

The 90s adaption my sister and I saw as children for school scared my sister so much it indused a full on panic attack, I never saw the ending because of it but the novel was very good from what I remember. Simon was my favorite character for his relatability as fellow resident coocoolander. I remember being fascinated about its interpretation of humanity as well as deeply moved by the more emotional and intense moments.

[@gracehaven5459]

@@msjkramey it's definitely got more layers to it than that 🙂 and I agree it's a bit slow at times, I think perhaps that was the intent

[@MsOopsiDaisy]

And compare with beauty queens from libba bray xD good read too

[@fnglert]

TFW a 1970s rock opera is more accurate an adaptation than a high budget Hollywood blockbuster. What am I saying, that's to be expected.

[@The_Practical_Daydreamer]

A seller gave me a copy on vinyl for free at the Flea market. One of my favorites, especially the Thunderchild song.

[@BathoryQueen]

Is an amazing album that I'm pretty sure is currently on youtube

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

Ironic, as the premise is an ALIEN INVASION.

[@goodjobeli]

The rock opera has the same music as the "musical" that turned into the arena tour which was a couple of months ago, was it not? I was thinking of seeing that but never actually got tickets

[@comforteagle1900]

Phil Lynott is in it no less

[@petrelli231]

I really like that you covered all the adaptations! It reminded me of Lindsay Ellis' discontinued series "Loose Canon", which I have been missing. I hope you make more stuff like this!

[@alysiamerdavid-wasser9165]

As an old gen-xer, i read this in h.s. with a lit major who lived through the radio scare that Did Occur. i was terrified when the lead killed the guy in the cellar. That's kinda what stuck with me the most. i loved your ending/outtakes. Definitely need more ppl like you in the world, lol. "Having a bit of a day." Wow! You are one chilled dude.

[@aristidetwain9117]

H.G. Wells's Martians, as described, *were* visualized on TV, as a British science-fiction fan shame on you for not catching it, Dom. Namely, they were ripped off rather hard by the Daleks.

[@Historyfan476AD]

Your right, there both useless when out of there machines, both alien, both are intelligent to genius level, both ancient and both are squid like creatures. The differences though that dalek's do not drink blood, are more advanced. while the martians do feed on blood, do not have time tech, and only conquered earth out of desperation not some purity genocide desire.

[@intergalactic92]

I have to say that when I got round to reading the book for myself, as soon as I got to the full description of the Martians my first thought was "they're Daleks!"

[@virtuouspleasant9346]

@@Historyfan476AD The Martians in Wells's book were actually much more like octopuses than squids. But yes, they were fairly useless when out of their machines. There seems to be a slight contradiction early on in the book, however, when the protagonist first lays eyes on the Martians and then flees for his life. After he secures himself by a group of trees, the narrator says he looks back towards the cylinder that the Martians are exiting, to see the man who had accidentally fallen into the pit moving around the top as if trying to climb out of the it. Then the narrator tells us that he sees the man slip back into the pit and that he thought he heard a shriek. This implies that the Martians did something to the man. However, they can barely breathe and barely move in our atmosphere with our unfamiliar air and stronger gravity. It is possible, on the other hand, that the shriek the narrator heard was the man exclaiming in terror at the sight of the Martians, and not necessarily because they laid hands (or tentacles, rather) on him. Still, we never hear of the man again. Maybe he shrieked and escaped. Maybe their tentacles are useful enough despite their weakened states to still wrap around a man's neck and strangle him. That's the only way it could be done. They don't even have hard beaks like octopuses. The protagonist tells us at one point that they are fleshy beaks. This suggests that they have almost no attack ability at all. Brilliant creature designs!

[@Historyfan476AD]

@@virtuouspleasant9346 I assume the Martians tentacle still have some strength in them, otherwise how would they be able to build their war machines or use the controls. Or maybe they used the heat ray on him but it was never seen.

[@Jayfive276]

OOOOOOOOHLAAAAAAAA!!!!!! The Jeff Wayne version scared the living doo-dads out of me as a kid.

[@chriswagg1354]

Somebody mentions Mary Shelley as the true originator of Science Fiction. I would argue that she was one of and it is difficult to mention them all and while Shelley gave us Frankenstein which clearly is Sci Fi it is also Horror and usually thought of in that genre. In fact the earliest recognised Science Fiction story is indeed by a Woman but it is the ground breaking The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish who at the time (1666) was The Duchess of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. She, Wells and Jules Verne are often recognised as the trail blazers of modern Science Fiction but I agree that Shelley deserves more recognition than she gets re sci fi rather than Horror when you consider the nature of the Frankenstein story.

[@TwiggyHetfield27]

"Another man by the name of Welles. This time with the first name of Orson." Me: Ahhhh, the French!!

[@noctoris6619]

the second you mentioned Thunderchild in the synopsis, I HAD to go listen to the Jeff Wayne musical adaptation of that scene, it's so amazing and I really wish we could see it in another adaptation

[@Archris17]

I stand firmly by the belief that when mankind makes its first spaceship purely for the purpose of carrying war to an alien world, it has to be named Thunderchild

[@Ayden_B]

Jeff Wayne’s version is the best adaptation imo

[@JohnHummel502]

Really good catch on the similarity between the family angle between Jurassic Park and Spielberg's War of the Worlds. I didn't even consider that until you brought it up.

[@lijuowl]

This story came to me in form of the 70s musical and it impressed me so much as a child. The LP came with lyrics and illustrations and I could get quite lost in it. I liked the 2005 film mainly because the appearance of the tripods reminded me of the chills I had looking at the illustrations and listening to the "ooohlaaaw!" back in the day.

[@JennyMorash]

I liked the inclusion of the past adaptations, you couldn’t have done this one justice without them. Also, those ending outtakes were hilarious.

[@drawingotaku9573]

I always listened to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds when I was a child. I still love it!

[@JadisAmalthea]

My life will be Forever Autumn.... Literally never heard anything else from that show. Would love to tho. My mom and I have been trying to find the original featuring Richard Burton and Justin Hayward on film. Anyone know how we can?

[@shaitarn1869]

Jadara Hino There was a DVD released of the live stage show some years ago; it featured Richard Burton's narration, Justin Hayward singing and Jeff Wayne conducting the orchestra. It's still available on various online sites or you might find snippets of it here on KZbin - just make sure you don't get the 'New Generation' version with different actors/musicans.

[@Grim_Sister]

But Dominic, Wisp NEEDS the attention. Also, talking to the cat helps you bond with it.

[@TeroTheShortOne]

Wisp and Sir Terry need cameos in every video. Crazy Cat Lady Dom is the best!

[@stilelits]

you know, i never noticed that basically every adaptation of this book updates it to whatever the modern day is at the time...would be interesting to see a modern adaptation actually set around the turn of the century

[@chriswagg1354]

Great review as ever. I have one small point though, you mention that in Wells' book it is just England that is attacked, I would argue that in the book this is all we know has been attacked. Communication was difficult enough within a Country let alone knowing what was happening abroad especially when the only long distance communication was Telegram or Morse Code both of which were unavailable to our protagonist through whose eyes we view events. I am nit picking I guess but I just felt it is a point worth making just as the modern versions include world events because by the time of TV news broadcasts in the 50s World events were on our TV screens so to not show this would be remiss and to assume the Aliens would invade World Wide just makes logical sense. As I say, other than that I loved it, another triumph

[@1992lordloss]

book: aliens why pick on the english? movie: why always america? make up your mind Dom XD

[@stonetimekeeper]

Have you considered doing a lost in adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo? Fair warning, the book is a bit slow.

[@StoicVeR]

I actually really like this movie, but the adaption of the film gives way that the structure of the book is a SLOW ASS BUUUURN, and I've never had the guts to go out of my way to hunt down the actual novel. How would you rate its pacing? I'm real curious....

[@stonetimekeeper]

@@StoicVeR On a scale of 1-10 I would rate the pacing at a solid 6.5 with a rating of fall asleep through the first few chapters. Once Dante's actually makes it out of the prison it picks up. Like I said though, it is a bit slow.

[@aleikotdaishura2761]

There’s a Mexican-Argentinian version from the 50’s that is rather accurate to the book. It’s a good adaptation, although the movie does not have the best ratings in IMDb

[@omegamkx588]

I read the book in middle school and hated it for its slow pace post-Chateau Dif. Loved the movie though for its quicker pace and increase in action scenes. But when I reread The Count of Monte Cristo about 5 years later, it was definitely far improved for me since I was able to keep track of everybody and more appreciated the nature of Dantés' revenge.

[@Knihti1]

@@StoicVeR Well, it's true that book is somewhat slow pace, but the I think payoff is far better than in the movie. Movie is literally generic revenge story where you could figure every plot reveal and where the plot is going. The book on the other hand is very complex and interesting because book change focus from Dante to "evil trio and they family", leaving it to mystery what exactly is Dantes masterplan.

[@andyf4292]

thunderchild.. the actual BEST name ever for a warship

[@ezridx11]

Dom saying "I'm having a bit of a day" in a tired af voice is a big mood.

[@martinabizoviti8189]

I'm studying costume and we're using The Time Machine by H.G.Wells. The book has 2 film adaptations... would be interesting to see a lost in adaptation on them. It's a bit of a weird text and the adaptations have interesting changes and the reasons behind the changes are also intriguing.

[@tuschman168]

I love both of those movies. Was really scared of the Morlocks as a little kid. Must've seen the 1960 version when I was 7 or 8. In the newer version the two things I love the most are the soundtrack and the two scenes with Orlando Jones. A real shame he wasn't in it more but I guess it makes sense storywise. ...Man, now I want to read the book again. It's not like it's very long.

[@elaynedoe1099]

Agreed! The time machine is my absolute favorite short story, so an episode of lost in adaptation would be a dream come true. Side note, I really liked how in the 1960 version they used the evolution of women's fashion to illustrate the passage of time.

[@Shaymeralexander]

I liked the newer style. Put the book into perspective and showed how much the changes affected the story.

[@rogerroger9952]

This movie scared me SO MUCH as a kid in the theatre that I had my first panic attack. I can only imagine the horror of the listeners of Orson Welles' broadcast of it.

[@intergalactic92]

I’m getting chills just from your describing the 1978 version. That’s how good that version is, it’s completely etched into my memory. Perfectly tense and creepy. And that epilogue. Brrr.

[@Valdagast]

I would consider Independence Day an adaptation as well. The aliens are even defeated by a virus... And I'm disappointed the Dom hasn't got an "I survived Fifty Shades" t-shirt or badge or hat or something.

[@jonsnor4313]

Is mars attacks an adaptation or parody. That is similar, and underrated in its bizarreness.

[@rpgaholic8202]

@@jonsnor4313 That depends, the original comic was probably a parody, but I've not read it to be sure if it is or not. The movie was an adaptation of the comic book, however I don't know how accurate it was.

[@jonsnor4313]

@@rpgaholic8202 I honestly dont know tim burtons intentions , it could well be just be another weird burton movie. I just like that it doesnt has his usual faux gothic style and makes it kinda original if i have to think about it.

[@iain9757]

But the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one they say

[@NebLleb]

The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million-to-one... But still, _THEY COME!!!_

[@GriffinPilgrim]

Well, anything complex. There are microorganisms there.

[@MarceldeJong]

With just a handful of men, we'll start all over AGAIN! *guitar riff*

[@DocHoliday1874]

Slowly disappearing... FAREWELL THUNDER...CHIIIIIILLLLLD

[@naughtscrossstitches]

Oh no Nathaniel! Oh No! Nathaniel! No nathaniel No! There must be more to life There has to be a way, that we can restore to life the love we used to know!

[@RabbiB0Y]

2:38 I wonder if that is where the idea for the daleks came from (Along with the whole sitting in tank like machines thing)

[@timrosswood4259]

There is a scene in doctor who in which the Master is reading the war of the worlds.

[@gingerkays7362]

You learn something new every day! As soon as you said that this film was directed by Spielberg, there was a specific name that came to mind that is often associated with him. I looked it up, and sure enough, my all time favorite composer, John Williams wrote the music!

[@hollowman7168]

Dam dom this new intro is so much better than the other one I don't have anything ageist rock it just dosent fit your classify sassy character

[@alysiamerdavid-wasser9165]

So true. Wth, tho,(@ YT)?? Listening to someone *describe* music is garbage. smh..

[@tuschman168]

I enjoyed the overview over the various adaptations very much. I wouldn't expect you to do this every time but with a work that has grown this big over so many years it is certainly welcomed. Especially since in this case quite a lot of the adaptations have made an impact themselves.

[@theminisimmer]

H.G Wells chose London because at the time, London was the heart of the world, britain was still an empire, you attack one of the biggest super powers in the world and others are likely to follow. From there the martians planned to spread out using flying machines, but they got too sick and died out before they could do that. In the musical though, they shot more cylinders, as it was described during the thunderchild scene that more green "comets" were seen in the sky, probably towards other parts of the UK.

[@Mama-eu1ss]

I've been binge watching Dominic Noble for a few days and I ❤ this channel.

[@jamesknighton4489]

I just dawned on me that, the city of ember could be a alternative timeline if the artillery man idea came through

[@kittyythecat]

"I'm starting to become a crazy cat lady" JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US

[@BrumbleBush]

The 50’s version was a favorite of mine when I was a child. I like the citation multiple adaptations. Great work in general, I’ll probably end up watching your entire playlist.

[@LadyHuggington]

I love the new format! Contextualising the author, the time it was written, other adaptations, and comparing it to those is a great idea. I've seen the "pray the Martians away" version but hadn't even heard of the album, so it's really interesting to hear your opinions on that and how this compares with other adaptations. Fantastic idea.

[@francescajoseph5250]

It's good to see you back after... Fifty Shades And your videos are very nice to listen to 😊

[@Version0111]

Glad to see 50 shades is over with.

[@Megatron_95]

Here, here

[@candidshadowcollections6670]

@@Megatron_95nice quote, but you're thinking of the other sadomasochistic masterpiece of the century.

[@Bramblett89]

I liked the new format for books that have been adapted repeatedly and think you should keep it. Also, I loved the usual "like, share, and subscribe" plug in the style of the book's intro.

[@douglasfreer]

You always look so dapper and professional with your outfits. I liked how you mentioned the multiple versions of the book adaptations so it'll be nice to see that in the future

[@wesleymassey4096]

just commenting to save you from Cthulhu.

[@sarahupegui6797]

Me too! Let this comment appease the old ones.

[@merrittanimation7721]

Yog-Sothoth is pleased.

[@MarceldeJong]

Cthulhu says: munch munch munch

[@xai8666]

God bless you

[@rmhartman]

the track for thunderchild is glorious, tragic, and inspiring. the best thing on the album.

[@katherinemorelle7115]

I get that it’s the best track, but Forever Autumn is still my favourite.

[@cathyvickers9063]

I recently saw a presumably more faithful adaption on Tubi. It's a 3 part miniseries set when the novel was set, & following much of the books plot. I'd love to see your Lost in Adaptation review of that British series. The SFX is *very* good!

[@Japanlover79]

The CG held up really well for an early 2000s movie.

[@FVD]

Dom, you must listen to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds! There's also Part 1 of the War of the Worlds that got released last year by Michael Romeo of the Progressive Metal band "Symphony X." 😎

[@HeirofAzaran]

And I was wondering why he didn't do a Dom Oscars on this, since it's had at least 3 adaptations.

[@JadisAmalthea]

My life will be Forever Autumn.... Literally never heard anything else from that show. Would love to tho. My mom and I have been trying to find the original featuring Richard Burton and Justin Hayward on film. Anyone know how we can?

[@nomdeplume1771]

1. Possibly the best outro you've given us, and definitely on theme 2. Diggin' the new intro, very classy, I love it. 3. I didn't mind that you focused on the spirit more than the letter of the adaptation, but I think it worked for this in particular because there were multiple adaptations, when for most films it would be better to stick to the old format. Final thing: can your cat be a part of an episode somewhere, because he(?) is adorable! Thanks for always putting so much hard work into these for us!

[@historymysteries4134]

Agree with all of these points

[@chanimalice3874]

I loooove the musical. My dad would play it to my brothers and I on long road trips when we were kids. It's amaaaazing. I'm now 31 and still love it.

[@theminecraftNinja152]

the point of the ships flying in the 50s movie was because they had an army advisor help with the military aspects of the movie and he brought up that the army would be able to take down vehicles that stand on three legs. supposedly the ships are supposed to have invisible legs and because the military couldn't see them they didn't attempt their tactics because they didn't know they were there. all of this was told to me by my film professor when we did sci-fi films and I never looked into backing it up.

[@quinnsinclair7028]

Whenever I think of HG Wells now I always remember the female Helena Wells from Warehouse 13 before I remember the actual author.

[@munchrai6396]

When are you planning on starting the final season of Series of Unfortunate Events? I'm really looking forward to it, as its your last big project that he needs to finish after 50 shades. Hopefully we can get some more TV show adaptations because you do a really great job with that sort of format even if most of them won't do a book per 2 episodes, but more likely, one book per season

[@robbybevard8034]

He's unfortunately said he has no intention of doing it, because he really wasn't enjoying the show or the books, and by the time his schedule cleared enough to get to it, the final season of the Netflix show would be long past so algorithm and audience both would have stopped caring by then anyway.

[@munchrai6396]

@@robbybevard8034 Gosh darn it, I was really looking forward to him wrapping up an ongoing series that has taken up a good chunk of his uploads. Feels a lot like a letsplayer giving up right before the final area relevance be damned. He did do 50 shades years after they were released after all and I'm pretty sure the only joy he got from that was ironic

[@Wackamole56]

Wish he would. However I understand he thinks its a bit late now :(

[@saedigasay-dee-guh3108]

funnily enough my first exposure to war of the worlds was the musical version. i fucking love it and have every song memorised

[@LenHazell]

Independence day is actually in my opinion an uncredited adaptation of War of the Worlds, with a computer virus replacing the actual virus that killed the martians. On that subject I am particularly fond of Allan Moore's take on the War of the World in his series of comic books The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where Mycroft Holmes uses Germ Warfare to kill the Martians, much to the disgust of Brother Sherlock, leading to an exchange where Sherlock threatens to make the uses of biological weapons public and Mycroft laughs it off by claiming they already employed that hack Wells to put out a cover story of the Aliens having no resistance to earth germs, the creations of a saviour loving Christian god.

[@OfButterfliesandThings]

I have actually seen/heard/seen&heard each one of these adaptations. :) Thanks, that was awesome! Actually, I do like it when you go into deep detail, but for a change this is good fun too.

[@elizabethsullivan1894]

I definitely liked this format! I was especially happy to see you acknowledge both the 50s movie and how the most recent film clearly drew inspiration from it.

[@Novasky2007]

Actually i think Wells was implying there are even older Venusians stirred into activity by the neighboring conflict and an impending worse encounter to deal with.

[@Tsukuyomi28]

My dad showed me signs and war of the worlds when I was 4 and 5. Signs was scary enough that I needed therapy for a while. My mom was not pleased with the whole situation.

[@BonTonBunny]

I liked this personally I'm not a huge war of the worlds fan but I loved the history lesson on it. Like I had no idea there was a musical adaptation how crazy.

[@katherinemorelle7115]

The Jeff Wayne version is my favourite adaptation. And Forever Autumn is one of my favourite songs. When I was a kid, my dad would put it n the ab every now and then, and the entire family would gather and sing along. So no doubt I’m biased. But I love it. And yes, I do also like Pink Floyd.

[@devenscience8894]

You're not the first to say that it's your favorite, but I had never even heard of it until this video. Maybe because I'm not British?

[@82Vampi]

@@devenscience8894 I think it is a very British thing. I am not one, but the album was introduced to me by a Brit. I do love it though. It is good.

[@fernhall5676]

The Jeff Wayne adaptation SLAPS. It's so good, I've seen it live and totally recommend!

[@katherinemorelle7115]

@@devenscience8894 I’m not British. I’m Aussie.

[@alanpennie8013]

@@82Vampi It should be said that Jeff Wayne is American - born and famously is unsure how to name the town of Billericay in Essex. Mind you many Brits can't pronounce it either

[@mickeyhart7507]

I personally loved the brief but comprehensive history lesson of the story's main adaptations as a whole.

[@crazyelf62]

I agree, Spielberg got the closest with his movie, I give it a score of 7 out of 10. One of these days, someone is going to be completely true to the book.

[@doom7ish]

Change of anything coming from Mars, is million one they said. Forever autumn. Jeff Wayne's The War of the World's Pretty much my favorite SciFi Alien invasion.

[@AquaLantern]

0:55 "Hugo Gernsback?" The ship that Jacob's dad from Mass Effect 2 owned? *looks it up* ooooohhh...

[@anttibjorklund1869]

There's a reason why a prominent scifi award is the Hugo Award.

[@joshmckenna8803]

I remember loving the radio version of this so good

[@kaleidoslug7777]

Presenting my blessings upon The Dom. The Eldritch Abomination known only as Iu'toophe shall not devour you today

[@caileanthomson1286]

Great video as always, Dom. WoTW is one of my favorite Sci-Fi stories, I've been waiting for this video for a while. I was also wondering if you have any intrest in checking out the WoTW BBC Miniseries, due whenever the BBC decide to finally announce a release date?

[@ashleighscott9896]

Just found this channel today and now im binge watching all my favorite books

[@ChesireCat57]

Great video! I always kinda wondered what it would be to see a film featuring the actual time the book was written on and how the filmmakers would manage that switch on perspective; not to recreate it on a modern setting but actually go all out on the perspective of back then, I just feel it would probably be interesting and fun to watch, at least for me x3

[@perler.8727]

Tbh, this new version of «Lost in Adaptation» is in my opinion far better than your previous one. Rather than a succession of points, having insights into the writer's intentions, or what conveys the original stories than can be found well translated or updated in the adaptation is very fresh and far more interesting. Cheers from France.