War of the Worlds

Cathy and I saw the new Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg movie adaptation of War of the Worlds. Despite how much Tom annoys me with his psychobabble pseudo-science rambling about Scientology, I do think he's a good actor.

We saw the movie at the Starlight Drive-In theater just outside of Bloomington. It was a perfect night for a drive-in movie; warm and not a cloud in the sky. The fireworks from the surrounding properties just added to the sense of war from the movie. The constant stench of what smelled like a failing septic system did distract from the experience, however.

It's a shame that drive-ins are a dying breed. I remember going to the Sky-View drive-in in Lebanon as a kid. I'd wear my pajamas and would almost certainly fall asleep before the second movie was over. I remember seeing "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and "E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial" there.

While watching the movie, I wondered how many people there knew that it was based on a nearly 100 year old book? H.G Wells (1866-1946) first published "War of the Worlds" in 1898 in London. Wells, along with Frenchman Jules Verne (1826-1905), is known as one of the godfathers of science fiction. Wells wrote numerous well known stories including "The Time Machine" (1895), "The Island Of Dr. Moreau" (1896) and "The Invisible Man" (1897). Wells' books have been made into movies since the invention of film.

And of course, there is the famous 1938 Orson Wells radio broadcast. Wells adapted the book for radio so that it would sound like a news broadcast about an invasion from Mars. People actually thought the Earth was being attacked and fled for the countryside! Check out this great website.

Here's some interesting fan sites:
The Complete War of The Worlds Website
The War of The Worlds: The Historical Perspective
The War of the Worlds - Book Cover Collection