H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (Pendragon Pictures film)
First film adaptation set in Victorian England.
H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds is a 2005 independent sci-fi action film from the United States, co-written and directed by Timothy Hines, and based on the 1898 novel by H. G. Wells. It stands as the first movie adaptation to place the story in its original Victorian England setting, rather than updating it to contemporary America. Critics largely panned the film, pointing to its three-hour length and poor special effects, though they did acknowledge its fidelity to the source material. A reworked version, titled *War of the Worlds: The True Story*, came out in 2012.
The story takes place in late 19th-century England. A journalist from Woking, identified only as "the Writer," tries to get back to his wife after Martians invade. He witnesses the arrival of the aliens and their towering tripod war machines, then travels through a war-torn southern England. Meanwhile, his brother attempts to flee London with two women amid widespread panic and destruction.
Hines had wanted to make his own version of *The War of the Worlds* since reading the novel at age eight. He first planned a modern retelling set in Seattle, where a Martian attack would follow the neutralization of electromagnetic power, keeping the rest of the story as close to Wells' original as possible. Pendragon Pictures approached Paramount in 2000 about a remake, but nothing came of it. Hines claimed that after early Microsoft employees and others in the computer industry saw his desktop film *Bug Wars*, a $42 million budget was assembled for the updated modern version. Katie Tomlinson was set to play the lead character Jody, a foreign correspondent, and Susan Goforth was also cast. Hines planned to shoot using the new Sony CineAlta HD system, the same one George Lucas used for *Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones*.
Production began in early September 2001, with principal photography scheduled for October and a Halloween 2002 release date. Hines abandoned this approach after the September 11 attacks. Two weeks later, with support from Charles Keller, director of the H. G. Wells Society, Hines started writing a new script with producer Goforth while they were filming Pendragon's *Chrome*. The new direction was to directly adapt Wells' novel, setting it in its original 1898 British time and place.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Timothy Hines
- Producer
- Susan Goforth
- Writer
- Timothy Hines / Susan Goforth
- Based On
- The War of the Worlds · H. G. Wells
- Starring
- Anthony Piana
- Music
- Jamie Hall
- Studio
- Pendragon Pictures
- Distributor
- Allumination Filmworks
- Released
- 14 June 2005
- Runtime
- 180 minutes (Original Cut) / 135 minutes (Directors cut) / 125 minutes (Classic War of the Worlds)
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Timothy Hines had long desired to make his own version of The War of the Worlds after reading the novel at age eight. He first planned a modern retelling set in Seattle, where a Martian attack would follow the neutralization of electromagnetic power, keeping the rest of the story as close to Wells' original as possible. After early Microsoft employees and others in the computer industry saw his desktop film Bug Wars, a package of $42 million was assembled for the updated modern version. Production began in early September 2001, with plans to move into principal photography by October of that year, but Hines abandoned this approach after the September 11 attacks. Two weeks later, with the support of Charles Keller, the director of the H. G. Wells Society, Hines began writing a new script with producer Susan Goforth, setting it in its original British setting and 1898 time period.
Reader's Guide
The film is notable as the first adaptation to return to the novel's original Victorian England setting, a departure from the common practice of updating the story to contemporary America. Despite its faithfulness to the source material, the film was widely panned for its excessive length and poor special effects, with some critics comparing it unfavorably to the works of Ed Wood. The film spawned multiple re-edited versions, including a Director's cut (2005), The Classic War of the Worlds (2006), and a faux-documentary re-imagining titled War of the Worlds: The True Story (2012), which presented the Martian invasion as a historical event in the style of Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast. The film also generated controversy when Pendragon Pictures alleged visual similarities between the film and a Dark Horse Comics adaptation, a matter later settled with a public apology.
Did You Know?
- The film was originally planned for a theatrical release on March 20, 2005, but was instead released direct-to-video on June 14, 2005.
- Hines claimed the film never saw a theatrical release because exhibitors pulled out, either from being bullied by Paramount or through fear of reprisal.
- A Director's cut released in September 2005 removed forty-five minutes of footage but was not available in Region 1 (United States and Canada).
- The 2012 version War of the Worlds: The True Story was presented as a faux-documentary, inspired by the 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast.
More in Direct-to-video science fiction films 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced