War of the worlds

[Hobbes]

Watch Trailer #1 on the Media section....it almost sounds like an opening scene for an X-COM movie

 

https://www.waroftheworlds.com/

[Strong Bob]

I'm thinking the entire plot of War of the World's is mimicked by X-COM.

 

Save for a global military fighting the aliens in unison of course.

[Slaughter]

I'm thinking the entire plot of War of the World's is mimicked by X-COM.

 

Save for a global military fighting the aliens in unison of course.

And the fact that it's a remake of a 1953 movie

[Hobbes]

And the fact that it's a remake of a 1953 movie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Or it can be argued that it is a new version of the H.G. Wells novel.

 

"No one would have believed that in the early years of the 21st century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own.

That as men busied themselves about their various concerns, they observed and studied. With innocent complacency, men went to and fro around the globe, confident of their empire over this world.

Yet, across the gulf of space, intelects vast and cruel and unsympathetic regarded our planet with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us."

 

The lines spoken at the trailer are actually an adaptation of the starting lines of Wells' book.

[FullAuto]

Ah, remakes. How I do detest thee.

[Kernel]

I wonder how many people *cough*Americans*cough* will run out of the movie cinema's screeming "The martians are invading"?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_th...lds_%28radio%29

 

 

Seriously though, from what I've read this is shaping up to be a pretty decent movie.

[Hobbes]

I wonder how many people *cough*Americans*cough* will run out of the movie cinema's screeming "The martians are invading"? 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_th...lds_%28radio%29

Seriously though, from what I've read this is shaping up to be a pretty decent movie.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well it premiers here on my birthday so I guess I might see it, it might be a good treat even if it is less than good.

 

Would this mean that the world is going to end on my birthday? Cool.

[Accounting Troll]

If it is a true remake of the 1953 film, that means another irritating lead female character who spends the whole film screaming in terror in a way that shows her figure to best advantage It was entirely dependent upon the special effects that were excellent for the standards of the day.

 

I preferred the book because the main character is not all that heroic. He does plenty of things that he isn't proud of, like running in terror at the sight of one of the aliens when they were sill thought to be peaceful, and his fight with the curate in the aftermath of the fall of London.

 

My favourite alien invasion story ever is The Kraken Awakes by John Wyndham. What I really love about it is the procastination and ineptitude of the human governments.

[Hobbes]

If it is a true remake of the 1953 film, that means another irritating lead female character who spends the whole film screaming in terror in a way that shows her figure to best advantage     It was entirely dependent upon the special effects that were excellent for the standards of the day.

 

I preferred the book because the main character is not all that heroic.  He does plenty of things that he isn't proud of, like running in terror at the sight of one of the aliens when they were sill thought to be peaceful, and his fight with the curate in the aftermath of the fall of London.

 

My favourite alien invasion story ever is The Kraken Awakes by John Wyndham.  What I really love about it is the procastination and ineptitude of the human governments.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I just did a search on John Wyndham because of your post since I never heard of him, and I think the Gallops brothers must be fans of him

TFTD's story must be surely based upon The Kraken Awakes story (not to mention the other title for it, From The Deep), and he has another novel called Chrysalids, which doesn't seem to have anything to do with our dear aliens but they may have used the name.

I will surely order that book as soon as I have some money. Thanks for the mention

[Accounting Troll]

I think TFTD was more influenced by the works of Lovecraft. One think I like about The Kraken Awakes is that you get to see what people are going to be like when global warming causes the ice caps to melt.

 

The premise of the Chrysalids is that centuries after civilization is destroyed by a nuclear war, a group of children who can communicate with each other telepathically are growing up in a low technology society in Newfoundland. This society is governed along Christian fundamentalist lines and anybody who shows signs of genetic mutation is regarded as evil and executed. When the children are found out, they are forced to flee...

 

Look out for the Midwich Cuckoo, which was filmed as the Village of the Dammed. The modern remake is rubbish, but the original was REALLY atmospheric. You will never look at a fair haired child with an educated British accent the same way again

[Strong Bob]

And the fact that it's a remake of a 1953 movie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're talking to someone that hated the original 1953 movie because it failed to do the original book justice.

 

Hovering platforms, my arse...

[FullAuto]

John Wyndham's probably most famous for the Triffids, although it's not his best.

[Bomb Bloke]

I thought 'War of the Worlds' was that radio show that everyone thought was real.

[DoomMunky]

It was. Orson Welles did the radio version, which was presented as a series of newscasts, and several thousand people got seriously freaked out and headed for the hills. I think there were many more in the NY area who just listened raptly and laughed later at the "refugees".

 

 

As for Wyndham, I've read *Triffids*, but now I'm going to have to check out Wyndham's other stuff, because they sound frikkin' good...!

[Hobbes]

Look out for the Midwich Cuckoo, which was filmed as the Village of the Dammed.  The modern remake is rubbish, but the original was REALLY atmospheric.  You will never look at a fair haired child with an educated British accent the same way again

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hehehe. I saw Village of the Damned and liked it, if only as a way to kill a couple of hours time. I'll watch out for that book as well.

 

It is interesting because Wyndham doesn't seen to be that known on the world of sci-fi authors (except for the brits that is). Then again most sci-fi seems to be more about social criticism or presenting a different universe than to mix it with a little horror.

[FullAuto]

Haven't read the Chrysalids, yet. The Kraken Wakes and Midwich Cuckoos are excellent. Day of the Triffids was so-so for me, but must have been some cop because someone wrote a sequel, and that wasn't too bad.

[Accounting Troll]

Ah yes, Night of the Triffids by Simon Clark.

 

I preferred the original myself. The sequel tended to see moral issues as being a rather simplistic Good V Evil, like one of the original episodes of Star Trek - he tended to concentrate on the evils of fascism and why it must be destroyed. Some of the new laws in the New York community were just there to demonstrate the evils of fascism and had nothing to do with the survival of the community.

 

In the original, moral choices are far more difficult. The few people who get through the initial disaster intact have to decide what to do about the people who were blinded by the 'meteors'. They feel morally obliged to do what they can in the early chapters. However as the novel progresses, they realise the scale of the disaster and that old moral values have to be reconsidered if anybody is to get through the disaster.

[DoomMunky]

Yeah, it's a pretty brutal (but honest) re-evaluation of principles and pragmatism.

 

I just flashed on "28 Days Later", which alluded to the same conflicts and conundrums in the final scenes, when the main character must become even MORE bestial than those he fights in order to save the ones he loves.

[FullAuto]

I always liked the vague link between the film of the Triffids and 28 Days Later, with both protagonists waking up in a deserted hospital. Scenes like that always stay with me, though it might just be the particularly eerie quality of a busy place gone silent.

[Kizmiaz]

Hrrm, does anyone knows how run the game under XP, by any chance?

 

Creepy music on the movie site btw. Same fellow that did Fallout's music?

Never mind the last remark, just saw that John Williams is composer. Wonder if he's a Fallout player?

[DoomMunky]

Uh, what game?

 

And in all likelyhood, the Fallout composer was influenced by John Williams. That guy has been doing movie music since what, Jaws? Freakin' forever.

[Kizmiaz]

This game.

Weird picture on the cover though. My boxart is the same as the album.

Well, since I only payed about 10$ for it, I guess the music alone's worth it, slightly remixed and all.

But it would be neat to play it again, especially since I never played the Martian campaign.

[Accounting Troll]

I'd love to know how to run the game under XP as well.

 

The voice acting is as impressive as the music. Getting Nigel Hawthorne (Yes Minister & The Madness of King George III) in as the human general was a massive coup for the developers. And the Martian voices sound VERY alien

 

The best thing about the music is that it's in audio format, and you can convert it to MP3 easily enough if you prefer.

 

It's just a pity that the AI isn't up to much.

[Kizmiaz]

Well, I don't know if it's the XP as much as DirectX since I couldn't run it under 98 SE as well, if I recall correctly.

[Accounting Troll]

Has anyone been to see the film yet? If so, what did they think of it? How does it compare with the book and the 1953 film?