War of the Worlds in '50s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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War of the Worlds

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Bill Warren	War of the Worlds	Lead	[-]
Feb 24 05 1:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	On Feb. 10th, I joined Bob Burns and Joe Dante to record a commentary track for the George Pal THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. Then, the same evening, I and other genre journalists visited the set of SPIELBERG's version. This once-in-a-lifetime double WOTW event surprised me and I wanted to talk about it, but a friend I write for begged me not to mention it on the Spielberg set, nor to announce it here. But I see that Fangoria has spilled these particular beans....
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oldmanster	Re: War of the Worlds	#1	[-]
Feb 24 05 5:21 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	So spill a few beans, Bill. Who knows, maybe one of them will germinate into a giant stalk. Actually, I'm getting more interested in Spielberg's version since I heard in was NOT based on the George Pal classic. I assume it IS loosely based on H.G. Wells? Will the finale remain true to the toxicity of Terran microbes, or is Ammurrican ingenuity gonna prevail in some other very special way -- racial profiling of Martians leads to heroic militants capturing the telepathic Giant Brain Controller down in the slime-filled cave (oops, that's Starship Troopers... or Invaders from Mars... or It Conquered the World... or...). ... Reed
Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#2	[-]
Feb 24 05 6:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* So spill a few beans, Bill. Sorry, but I have promised a good friend that I would not do so, at least not until the time is ripe. I'll add a few of the details I probably can reveal about the Spielberg version in the Tomorrow's Classic board.
JimPV	Re: War of the Worlds	#3	[-]
Feb 25 05 9:23 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Glad to hear you've done a commentery for the new (I presume) SE of WotW coming out, Bill. I always thought you'd be a natural for DVD commentaries but I'm not aware of any others you've done. Is this your first? "If I had a hidden microphone inside of my heart, I would turn the power on..."
Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#4	[-]
Feb 25 05 2:13 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I'm not aware of any others you've done. I'm not aware of doing any others. That is, yes, this is the first.
ryanbrennan	Re: War of the Worlds	#5	[-]
Feb 25 05 10:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Will this DVD release include the stereo soundtrack? For some reason, although it was used on the laser disc, it was discarded for the first DVD release.
Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#6	[-]
Mar 2 05 7:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Will this DVD release include the stereo soundtrack? If what Joe, Bob and I were told at the taping is true, yes, this next DVD of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS will have the stereo track. And the master they're using is Technicolor, not Eastmancolor, but that was true for the bare-bones DVD release, too. The movie looks significantly better in Technicolor, and the wires are hidden better, too. When we did the commentary, our "duties" sort of devolved into Joe talking mostly about the actors, Bob mostly about the effects and Charles Gemora, and me mostly about the history of the movie and the novel. Which I just reread for the first time in many years. My memory was fairly good about it in overall structure, etc.--that is, I remembered it was almost entirely from the point of view of an unnamed narrator, and that the whole story takes place in about a month--but I had forgotten that the Martians invade only England. It's a terrific novel. I bought the often-republished set of seven H.G. Wells science fiction novels, and intend to re-read all of them. I still think he's the best science fiction writer of all time; it's mind-boggling how many key SF elements he invented. That is, there were stories about travel in time before THE TIME MACHINE, but none that explained the chronological argosy in scientific terms. First scientific treatment of invisibility. First scientific treatment of aliens. And so on. I cannot remember the title, but I do remember reading a story about time travelers who need to reveal themselves to the world at large. But in their timeline, Wells never wrote THE TIME MACHINE, and there simply is nothing in society about time travel. So they go back to the late 19th century and convince Wells to write the book. When they return to the time that's their base of operations, the time travelers again check book and magazine shelves--and there are now scads of time-travel tales. . I was itching to tell the other journalists, and Spielberg, about the strange coincidence of doing stuff about both the first and the new movies of WAR OF THE WORLDS, but my lips were sealed by a promise. No, not to Paramount, but to a friend. Minor side note: like several other remakes/new versions, the Spielberg movie drops the initial article--it's WAR OF THE WORLDS, not THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, the title of the novel and of Pal's movie. This also happened with THE DESPERATE HOURS and THE NARROW MARGIN. I cannot fathom the reasons for these changes, but they're harmless enough.
paleoguy	Re: War of the Worlds	#7	[-]
Mar 2 05 9:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I bought the often-republished set of seven H.G. Wells science fiction novels, and intend to re-read all of them. I still think he's the best science fiction writer of all time; it's mind-boggling how many key SF elements he invented. I completely agree, Bill. There will never be another Herbert George Wells. (Although, Jules Verne sometimes comes close.) Martin
ryanbrennan	Re: War of the Worlds	#8	[-]
Mar 3 05 1:48 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If what Joe, Bob and I were told at the taping is true, yes, this next DVD of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS will have the stereo track. And the master they're using is Technicolor, not Eastmancolor, but that was true for the bare-bones DVD release, too. The movie looks significantly better in Technicolor, and the wires are hidden better, too. Well -- with all that and your commentary this sounds like a must have. Speaking of the wires. I remember having seen the film a couple of times theatrically (at a Saturday afteroon kid's matinee!) and being impressed with how well the wires were disguised. A short while later the film was telecast on NBC and I was going about this to all my friends who hadn't seen the film. When the film was broadcast it was a major embarrassment as the wires were quite clearly visible throughout the film. I've read somewhere else that the three-strip Technicolor process somehow "hid" the wires. I guess NBC got hold of an Eastmancolor print.
capmonte	Re: War of the Worlds	#9	[-]
Mar 3 05 11:39 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm confused...is the new WOW DVD using the same print as the first one? I thought the wires were HIGHLY visible the first time around.
Chesterbelloc	Re: War of the Worlds	#10	[-]
Mar 3 05 12:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I'm confused...is the new WOW DVD using the same print as the first one? I thought the wires were HIGHLY visible the first time around. Yeah, I just watched this a few weeks ago, and I could also see the wires. This has to do with the way the transfer for the DVD is mastered. If too much film grain is wiped away, or if the picture and contrast are lightened more than they should be, special f/x work that was never meant to be seen will be visible. This was also a problem with the SUPERMAN III DVD. No matter what one thinks of that film, the wire work in it was outstanding. There have been calls for the DVD to be recalled because of this. SUPERMAN IV, on the other hand...you would need ILM to completely redo the film for the f/x to work in that one!
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Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#11	[-]
Mar 3 05 2:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I just watched this a few weeks ago, and I could also see the wires. This has to do with the way the transfer for the DVD is mastered. If too much film grain is wiped away, or if the picture and contrast are lightened more than they should be, special f/x work that was never meant to be seen will be visible. There are several things that can be done to a print that will make effects more visible on TV than there were in the theater. I think what you're talking about is the "gamma" setting; you could see the outlines of the "garbage" mattes very easily in the earliest videos of STAR WARS. What's happening with WAR OF THE WORLDS is, I believe, something different. The level of definition in Technicolor is slightly less than with Eastmancolor, so the wires--painted to match the backdrops--were less visible in Technicolor prints than in Eastmancolor. They were never entirely invisible, but they were much easier to see in the Eastmancolor prints than the Technicolor. I believe the Beta video release of WOTW was from an Eastmancolor print, though I'm not certain. Also, I'm again not certain, but I think the decrease in grain you refer to would make flaws in effects less visible, not more so. I know this has to do with some visual aspect called "gamma," but I haven't a good notion of what that refers to. Anyone here know?
Chesterbelloc	Re: War of the Worlds	#12	[-]
Mar 3 05 4:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* but I think the decrease in grain you refer to would make flaws in effects less visible According to restoration expert Robert Harris, film grain does hide f/x tricks, especially wirework, but I really don't understand the technical reasons for this.
Jeffrey Allen Rydell	Re: War of the Worlds	#13	[-]
Mar 4 05 4:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* If what Joe, Bob and I were told at the taping is true, yes, this next DVD of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS will have the stereo track. And the master they're using is Technicolor, not Eastmancolor, but that was true for the bare-bones DVD release, too. The movie looks significantly better in Technicolor, and the wires are hidden better, too. Bill, do you know if any additional restorative work was done for this release (please let it be Lowry Digital)? While the previous disc is recognizably Technicolor, the source used contains reels that have mildly mis-aligned matrices (the color emulsion layers), resulting in 'not quite what it could be' color & clarity. Some of the later reels look great, however. As to more/less visible wires, Technicolor has stronger contrast, which makes for deeper, more velvety blacks. This would help to mask the wirework.
Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#14	[-]
Mar 4 05 9:21 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Bill, do you know if any additional restorative work was done for this release (please let it be Lowry Digital)? *Quote:* Sorry, don't have a clue about that. Maybe Joe knows. I'll ask him. *Quote:* As to more/less visible wires, Technicolor has stronger contrast, which makes for deeper, more velvety blacks. This would help to ma Yes, I imagine that would help. Joe said that Technicolor has somewhat less definition/clarity than Eastmancolor, which aided in hiding the wires. But if you're looking for them, you will see them, even in Technicolor prints.
JimPV	Re: War of the Worlds	#15	[-]
Mar 5 05 8:28 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* According to restoration expert Robert Harris, film grain does hide f/x tricks, especially wirework, but I really don't understand the technical reasons for this. Well, the more the image is "broken up" with film grain, the more small details are lost (such as wires). This is how I understand it. I believe when they strike new prints from the negatives now, the substantially better film stocks of today make alot of detail re-appear that was originally lost in the films first run. I heard the DVD of North By Northwest came out so clear and sharp (some have complained too much so), that the wires of the miniature crop-dusting plane when it slams into the truck were, for the first time, clearly visible. They actually went back in and digitally removed them. "If I had a hidden microphone inside of my heart, I would turn the power on..."
Domenick Fraumeni	Re: War of the Worlds	#16	[-]
Jun 27 05 3:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Is this new dvd out yet?
Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#17	[-]
Jun 27 05 7:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Is this new dvd out yet? The last I heard is that it's due out the first week of November.
Domenick Fraumeni	Re: War of the Worlds	#18	[-]
Jun 27 05 7:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	November?! Ack, you'd think that Paramount would use it to push the release of the Spielberg film. Oh well, so much for rushing out to find this at the stores.I'll have to sit with my mono audio version for now :(. The George Pal WOTW was originally released in stereo, right?
ryanbrennan	Re: War of the Worlds	#19	[-]
Jun 28 05 12:39 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The George Pal WOTW was originally released in stereo, right? Yes. The last laser disc release had the stereo tracks and that made a difference. If the new DVD has a new 5.1 mix it could be fantastic.
Bill Warren	Re: War of the Worlds	#20	[-]
Jun 28 05 1:05 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Ack, you'd think that Paramount would use it to push the release of the Spielberg film. I suppose it's possible they're going to tie the Pal movie to the DVD release of Spielberg's movie.
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