The War of the Worlds is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg based on the novel of the same name by British writer H. Wells. In 2005, the picture gained worldwide fame, glorifying the main actors of the tape.
War of the Worlds novel
H. G. Wells was one of the first writers to reveal the theme of an enemy alien invasion of planet Earth. His science fiction novel, War of the Worlds, has spread throughout the world and spawned many sequels, sequels and related works. Thanks to Wells's work, ratings of books and films about aliens skyrocketed.
The main character of the novel is an unnamed man watching an alien invasion taking place in England. The book describes exactly the capture of Great Britain, although the next part of the novel ("Earth under the rule of the Martians") suggests that the action took place across the planet. The author's concentration on only one country is justified by the fact that the main character does not have access to information about the invasions taking place outside of England.
The unnamed hero watches as huge cylindrical objects fall to the ground, in which, as it turns out, the Martians flew in. These aliens are somewhat reminiscent of octopuses - they have only a large head and tentacles, and of the vital organs they have, in fact, only a brain. The Martians feed on humanoid-like creatures, which they keep on their planet and in ships in the role of cattle.
Alien invaders were forced to fly to Earth, because living conditions on their home planet were rapidly deteriorating: the air temperature gradually dropped, the air suitable for breathing dried up. The Martians, like the Earthlings, breathe oxygen, so the problem of thinning the air is really global for them.
All man-made weapons were powerless against the newly arrived monsters. They swiftly killed thousands and millions of people, demolished houses and captured cities. The hero of the book tells about his terrible journey through the country in an effort to find at least some kind of refuge. However, 21 days after the start of the capture, the plot turns in a direction favorable to humanity: all aliens die, unable to withstand the action of pathogenic terrestrial bacteria.
Plot of the film
Despite the fact that the film is based on the book described above, it is a rather loose interpretation of the original work. Steven Spielberg, being an experienced director (at the time of the release of the film adaptation of "War of the Worlds" he had over 40 directorial projects), decided to add some poignancy to the plot, as well as details that visually made the picture more effective.
First of all, the filmmaker gave the main characters names. The unnamed narrator became Ray Farrier. In the story, Ray is divorced, his ex-wife Mary-Anne remarried, and the common children of Ray and Mary-Anne live with their mother. Shortly before the invasion, Mary Ann took the children to her ex-spouse for a few days. The film stipulates that the seizure takes place not only in a certain country (in the case of the novel, in England), but all over the world. The action of the tape takes place in America, namely in New York.
Steven Spielberg also changed the appearance of guests from Mars. As mentioned above, in the book they are described as creatures with tentacles. The director, on the other hand, decided to completely remake their image, presenting the invaders in a more human-like role: they have legs, arms, two eyes, a mouth, etc. To create a more colorful and understandable picture, Spielberg decided to give the Martians a beam weapon, the rays of which are clearly visible to humans. In the book, the enemies used the technology of thermal radiation, invisible to the human eye.
The plot of the work itself, in general terms, repeats the novel, but throughout the entire film adaptation, the main character tries to save his children and deliver them to a safe place. The son falls into the hands of the military, and the daughter, played by Dakota Fanning, is with Ray throughout the film. In the end, everything ends in favor of homo sapiens: the immunity of the Martian invaders is not sustained by the influence of terrestrial microorganisms, and they all die. Ray's entire family remains safe and sound.
Film crew
The director of the film, as already mentioned, was Steven Spielberg, the man who gave the world such masterpieces as Schindler's List, Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, and many, many others. For his work on the adaptation of Wells' novel, Spielberg was nominated for a Saturn Film Award, but Peter Jackson won that year.
Producer staff:
- Kathleen Kennedy, who has worked with Spielberg on many projects, including Schindler's List. In the piggy bank of her production activities, there are as many as 4 films from the "Star Wars" series.
- Damien Collier, in whose career there are only 6 production projects, some of which have not been translated into Russian.
- Colin Wilson, who contributed to the paintings "Jurassic Park", "Avatar", "Suicide Squad" and others.
- Paula Wagner, who has worked with Tom Cruise on numerous occasions both before and after War of the Worlds. They worked together in the films Mission Impossible, The Last Samurai, Jack Reacher, and others.
In addition to the writer H. Wells, the script was written by:
- David Kepp, writer for Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Angels and Demons and over 30 more films.
- Josh Friedman, screenwriter currently working on the second part of Avatar.
Cast
Tom Cruise
Plays Ray Farrier, the main character of the film adaptation. It is unlikely that this actor needs an introduction, because even before the "War of the Worlds" he became known all over the world thanks to numerous action films. Critics' reviews of his work in this film were very controversial: for the same role, he was nominated for Saturn for Best Actor, and won first place in the Golden Raspberry Anti-Awards for Worst Actor in 2006.
Dakota Fanning
Plays the role of Ray Farrier's daughter, Rachel. She was only 10 years old at the time of filming, but that did not stop her from demonstrating strong acting. She won the Saturn Award for Best Young Actress. Since then, Dakota Fanning has become a sought-after actress with world fame, in particular, she was glorified by the "Twilight" trilogy, in which she played the role of one of the vampires.
Justin Chatwin
Plays the role of Ray Farrier's son, Robbie. Unlike his colleagues, Chatwin did not gain such popularity. He still continues to act in films, but his roles are mostly secondary. He has appeared in such popular TV series as Shameless, Doctor Who, Lost.
Miranda Otto
Plays Mary Ann, the protagonist's ex-wife. In the film, she had a little screen time, but even during these minutes she, as always, showed a high level of acting. The popularity of the actress is gaining momentum every year, and in the past few months the whole world started talking about her again thanks to her role in the new youth series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"
Tim Robbins
Plays Harlan O'Gilvy, the man who gave the Farrier family a safe haven. Tim Robbins did not need fame and recognition even before The War of the Worlds, because The Shawshank Redemption, in which Robbins played the main role, is considered the best film of our time by numerous ratings. Nevertheless, the film adaptation of Wells' novel added to the piggy bank of his uniquely successful roles. Robbins was able to convey the difficult psychological state of the hero, who lost his entire family due to aliens. Due to the terrible tragedy, the hero cannot think rationally and is clearly asking for trouble, which is why Ray has to kill him.
