Movie · 1953 · Science Fiction, Action · 1h 25m · G · English
Curator score: 5.2/10 (71.9K ratings)
Mighty panorama of Earth-shaking fury as an army from Mars invades!
Overview
The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.2/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.40/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 78
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Byron Haskin
Production
Paramount Pictures
Cast
Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Lewis Martin, Les Tremayne, Frank Kreig, Vernon Rich, Sandro Giglio, Ann Codee, Robert Cornthwaite, Cedric Hardwicke, Houseley Stevenson Jr., William Phipps, Jack Kruschen, Paul Birch, Paul Frees, Henry Brandon, Peter Adams, Eric Alden, Hugh Allen, Ruth Barnell
Curator Review
Verdict
A landmark early sci-fi invasion film with striking panic, memorable effects, and a distinctly postwar sense of dread. Its human drama is a little dated and the romance can feel padded, but the atmosphere and spectacle still carry real force.
Best for
classic sci-fi fans
viewers interested in Cold War paranoia
fans of early special effects and practical creature design
people who like tense disaster stories with a historical edge
Skip if
you want modern pacing and polished dialogue
you dislike 1950s acting styles and sentimentality
you need deep character development over concept and spectacle
Overview
This is one of the defining alien invasion films, and it earns that status by turning a familiar Wells premise into a postwar nightmare. The movie’s power comes less from individual characterization than from its relentless escalation: a small-town curiosity becomes mass panic, then national catastrophe, then near-total collapse. Even now, the scale of the destruction and the film’s anxious tone feel unusually severe for a studio sci-fi picture of its era.
Worth noting
What makes it especially interesting is how clearly it reflects the atomic age. The story plays like a warning about human vulnerability, with military force rendered useless and faith, science, and ordinary courage all tested under pressure. The effects are dated in places, but the design work and staging remain imaginative, and the film’s visual ingenuity still gives it a sense of wonder mixed with dread.
Bottom line
The human material is more conventional, and some of the romantic and religious elements soften the edge a bit. Still, the movie’s bleak momentum and historical significance make it easy to recommend, especially if you enjoy classic genre cinema that feels like a time capsule of real-world fears.
Top Letterboxd reviews
SilentDawn (3★) · 246 likes
55/100
Hokey wisdoms. Tourism shifts to war and desolation. Every seam is visible but all of it tells a story. A delirious mix of craft and horror, viewing the alien truth alongside a gee-whiz mentality. Don't raise and wave your white flag. It won't work. Run instead.
🎥K (3.5★) · 236 likes
Overall it was pretty good, I really liked the beginning but it kinda started to drag towards the end. The creature, and ship designs were awesome. The acting was decent for the time I guess, and the set pieces were really fun to look at.
Travis Lytle (4.5★) · 221 likes
There is a remarkable streak of bleakness running through Byron Haskin's "The War of the Worlds." Beginning with news reel footage of past wars before showcasing the invasion of Earth by extraterrestrial forces, the film heaps destruction upon humankind with little rest until the film's climax. It is a downcast war film, as serious as any that might portray nonfiction conflicts, that offers a gripping story of a world with little hope for survival.
Based on H.G. Wells' novel, "The… more
Sara Clements (2.5★) · 197 likes
Get Amy Adams and her whiteboard out here stat!
Jake Alda Coffey (4.5★) · 171 likes
My dad died today from cancer. Whenever we would have a movie night together (which was usually once or twice a week), he would always jokingly suggest the original War of the Worlds. I don’t know what about that movie he liked so much, but it became a running joke for years. He would suggest that movie every movie night. I’d always chuckle and then we’d watch something else. Unfortunately we never got to watch the original War of the… more My dad died today from cancer. Whenever we would have a movie night together (which was usually once or twice a week), he would always jokingly suggest the original War of the Worlds. I don’t know what about that movie he liked so much, but it became a running joke for years. He would suggest that movie every movie night. I’d always chuckle and then we’d watch something else. Unfortunately we never got to watch the original War of the… more