There’s little chance to closely examine these war machines. Maybe we would have giggled rather than shuddered if we had.
The faux documentary War Of The Worlds – The True Story (2012) is a different approach to the classic story (retold in radio and movie forms a number of times). It’s structured as a continuous interview with “Bertie” Wells, an elderly survivor of the Martian invasion of 1896. It recounts, in linear fashion, the landings and subsequent fighting between British Army regiments and the Martian war machines.
I don’t recall ever reading H. G. Wells’ War Of The Worlds, so I’m not sure of the fidelity of this movie to the novel. Taken on its own, as independent from other retellings, is not easy, since I was favorably impressed, many many years ago, by both the Orson Welles radio version as well as the 1953 movie version, but not quite so much by the slicker 2005 version. But let’s give it a whirl, because it’s fun.
That is, this version of the story is fun.
First, the plot is suitably tight. Playing on our perceptions of late Victorian sensibilities, it’s fascinating to see how the butcher with a horse carriage reacts when a 100 foot tall war machine with a laser cannon comes stomping down on him. The courage of the Army regiments, and, later, the self-sacrificing defensive actions of the fictional warship HMS Thunder Child, reminds me of a letter written by the famous British Army officer T. E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, who, upon being informed of the deaths of two of his brothers in the front lines during World War I in Europe, lamented his loss but their gain in, I suppose, honor, at being able to serve their country to the point of losing their own lives. I recall reading that with some surprise, as I do not believe it is a widespread sentiment in current times. The courage depicted in this movie brought that sentiment once again to mind for my musing and fascination.
Despite isolated successes, humanity’s war efforts are generally so ineffective that armed resistance collapses, and the Martian war machines roam the landscape at will, carbonizing some of the fleeing humans, while scooping others up for a quick bite to eat. But all the while, they carry the seeds of their own destruction within them: the bacteria and viruses of Earth are hard at work, as our invisible, sometimes-loathed fellow Earth-dwellers win the day where the science and arms of mankind cannot, and soon the war machines are collapsing as the invaders driving them die from the very treasure they had in their hands. Claws. Tentacles. It’s a satisfying story in that it celebrates persistence, bravery, and a belief that, where there’s a will, there’s a way – no matter how dubious such a belief may be in real life. There’s no need to ask for congruency with reality in this theme, for if we do, then despair overtakes us and we can never hope to survive if we despair. Take that last chance buzzer-beating shot from half-court, even if you have a broken wrist – you can’t hit that shot if you don’t take it.
Equally well done is the presentation of the movie, because I’d estimate 85% of it is not original footage, but borrowed from old film reels of everyday Victorian life as well as war footage from World War I. Yellowed, sometimes out of focus, the creators of this film have deftly intermixed original footage featuring Bertie and, for a short time, his brother, as each struggles with issues of survival and bravery in the face of a power that just doesn’t care about them, with the old newsreel footage, taken out of context, in order to suggest the reactions of Victorians to the hungry Martians. The intermixing is almost entirely well done; only once did I yell “oooops!” As I’ve watched my Arts Editor struggle with issues of integrating old photographs, now digital, with new photographs, I sympathize with the struggle of doing so in video, and this is not really a criticism of the movie, but only an observation.
Oh, and the Martian war machines? I don’t know if they were original to this production or not – but I loved them. Great stuff. The film makers were mostly faithful to Burke’s adage concerning the sublime – never try to show it all.
I see from the Wikipedia page the producers were following in Orson Welles’ tradition of blurring the line between reality and fiction, and I’m not sure I’d agree that they managed to pull it off – but I do celebrate this well thought out attempt.
So, if you like alien invasion movies, and don’t mind a bit of a twist, see this one. Or if you’re tired of Hollywood blockbusters, see this. I can’t quite say it’s generally recommended, but it’ll repay the curious viewer.
