Starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite, Sandro Giglio
Directed by Byron Haskin
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Investigations into meteors that crash land on Earth reveal they are actually spaceships from Mars, carrying deadly machines out to conquer the planet.
Legendary fantasy film producer George Pal presents one of his keystone films, an updating of H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi drama that had been earlier presented as a famous radio drama by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre. The visual design of the Martian death machines is iconic, and although it probably doesn't hold up as well to modern audiences, it had to have made a huge impact on 1950s viewers, accompanied by unnerving sound effects of destruction. When we finally get to see a Martian, the creature's composition is also unique and memorable among cinematic aliens. Barry and Robinson make fine leads, but the film's lasting power really resides in the bleak story and the quality of the pyrotechnic special effects.
No comments:
Post a Comment