The War of the Worlds (1953)

1953 • 85 minutes

4.6

205 reviews

89%

Tomatometer

Rating

Eligible

About this movie

Gene Barry (TV's Bat Masterson) and Ann Robinson (TV's Fury) are among the humans intrigued when a meteor-like object crashes to Earth ... but its occupants are definitely not friendly. The assault on Earth is underway, and the Martian machines -- hovering "swan"-shaped vehicles of destruction -- are both beautiful and terrifying as they cut a relentless path of annihilation.

Rating

Ratings and reviews

4.6

205 reviews

Stephen Jacewicz

August 17, 2022

This classic is just beautiful and mesmerizing. Delievers classic scares, destruction, and such a powerful adaptation. It goes a bit all over the place and should be set in England like the book since it was the first adaptation but overall it's a wonderful film. 4 and a half out of 5.

Ryan G.

August 4, 2015

...the protagonist fails to emote fear or sadness of the invasion. Instead he comes off as enjoying the invasion & being an anarchist. Still better than Spielberg's version.

8 people found this review helpful

Jeffrey Doak

July 15, 2014

HGWelles nightmare of an invasion from Mars. As a child this movie gave me nightmares for weeks. After 60 years the fantastic holds up as a pinnacle of sci-fi. ( I STILL get the creeps when I see the machines!) :D