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H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds is one of three film adaptations of H. G. Wells' classic novel released in 2005. This version was produced by the independent film production company Pendragon Pictures.
Production history The film's roots date back to 2000, when Pendragon Pictures approached Paramount with plans for their version, but with no results. Director Timothy Hines had long desired to make his own version of the story since he read the original novel at the age of eight. He had always wanted to tell the tale just as it was in the novel, but he eventually settled on a modern retelling, much like the original 1953 film and the recent Spielberg movie adaptation. Hines' version takes place in Seattle, with a Martian attack preceded by neutralizing electromagnetic power, so that events could be kept as similar to the novel as possible. Anticipation for the film began to stir in July of 2001, specifically from many anxious Wells fans. Pendragon Pictures claimed to have a budget of $42 million from investors who had become interested in Hines after seeing his desktop film, Bug Wars. Katie Tomlinson was supposed to lead the cast as the main character of Jody, and the company claimed it had already begun negotiations with Charlize Theron, Eric Stoltz, and Michael Caine *. Hines was also planning to shoot the film in the brand new Sony CineAlta HD system which George Lucas had used to film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones *. Production began in early September 2001, with plans to move into principal photography by October that year, and a Halloween 2002 target release date. However, the events of September 11th caused the filmmakers to rethink their plans, and soon after, Pendragon announced that they were halting production. Two weeks later, with the support of Charles Keller, the director of the H. G. Wells Society, Hines began writing a new script with producer Susan Goforth, while they were filming Chrome. Little information appeared about the film until 2004, when it was revealed that that principal photography had finished under the false title of The Great Boer War, and the producers planned to release the film on March 30, 2005. That date came and went with no film release, and over the next few months, various release dates were mentioned but never met. The film never opened in theaters, but was released on DVD in June 2005. In September 2005, in response to the complaints with the film's length, a director's cut was released, trimming the three hour running time down to two hours and fifteen minutes. This version was released internationally, but was not made available in the United States and Canada. Critical reaction The film was greeted with an overwhelmingly negative reaction from the War of the Worlds fanbase, as well as the general critics and filmgoers who reviewed it. Reaction has called upon the evocation of Ed Wood and a desire to resurrect Mystery Science Theater 3000. While much of the bashing was originally based on visuals presented leading up to the release, the final product did little to change opinions. The bulk of the criticism targeted the film's perceived amateurish acting, cheap special effects, clear anachronisms and inconsistencies (despite the attention to detail claimed by the filmmakers), and an over-literal adaptation of the novel, with numerous scenes of characters doing nothing but walking. In a reaction to the latter complaint, a "director's cut" was released that omits forty-five minutes of the original three hour length. One the few elements to be spared criticism is the film's score by Jamie Hall, which many feel to be the one redeeming feature of the film. While rumours abound about a soundtrack release, no release has been confirmed. The film itself, despite the general negativity, has been garnered a small number of positive reviews. Many have been less harsh due mainly to the film's loyalty to the novel's text. Others have defended the film, believing that the much ridiculed acting and effects, in addition to the use of color, may have been an intentional recreation of the look of early cinema. One reviewer* even likened Hines to Karel Zeman. Controversy When the film was first delayed, many considered this an attempt to capitalise on the release of the Steven Spielberg version, despite Hines' claims to the contrary. Many noted that the film's announcement of completing principal photography came within the same month of Paramount's announcement of Spielberg and Tom Cruise's plans to make a film for the summer of 2005. Hines claimed that Paramount had harassed him over legal issues and held up the release of his film, but these accusations were met with suspicion, as not only had Hines' previous productions (such as Bug Wars and Starship Orpheus) never received a theatrical release, but David Michael Latt, who was also producing an adaption of H.G. Wells' novel for Asylum Pictures, never claimed any such harassment with his film. Film rights to The War of the Worlds are in the public domain in the United States, with Paramount claiming the international rights. While The Asylum version went by Invasion in order to secure international distribution, Pendragon forged their version as a direct adaption of the novel, so such a liberty was not an option. In a series of questions presented by audiences *, Hines claimed that the film never saw a theatrical release due to exhibitors pulling out, either from being bullied by Paramount, or through fear of reprisal from the studio. Others theorize that Hines did not have a completed film* and hoped the hype, partly due to the completion of the Spielberg adaption, would earn a backer to help finish the project. Since late 2004, Pendragon Pictures' marketing campaign has been accused of shilling on the message boards of the Internet Movie Database and Amazon.com, as well as negatively targeting the Asylum version. A post on the film's IMDB message board claims that staff members at Pendragon successfully moved for posts portraying the film and its production company in a negative light to be deleted by the board administrators, and that a lawyer speaking on behalf of the filmmakers threatened legal action against the board's users for such postings. * In July of 2006, Pendragon Pictures gave formal legal notice on the claim that the Dark Horse Comics publication comic book, the similarily named H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, lifted certain unique elements, such as camera angles, from Pendragon's film. The production company set up a site that displayed comparisions and let audiences decide for themselves*, though this part of the site has been put under reconstruction. Audiences have largely dismissed the claims, citing the fact that as both are adapted directly from the same source material, any similarities would be inevitable. Synopsis The film follows the novel's plot, almost in exact detail, with some minor deviations. Set in Victorian England in the early years of the 20th century, an unnamed narrator tells of his witness to an overwhelming Martian invasion. Main cast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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