War of the Worlds

[Slaine mac Roth]

According to this months issue of SFX, Paramount have announced that Steven Spielberg is to direct a remake of The War of the Worlds. To add insult to injury, he cast Tom Cruise in a leading role.

 

To make things even worse for all HG Wells fans (like me) once again the story is to be uprooted to America and transplanted to a contemporary period.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the Byron Haskin directed adaption from 1953. I think it is an excellent 'Alien Invasion' film (if not a brilliant adaptation of the book). One of the main questions posed in the article is to ask if the world needs another 'contemporary, Americanized take on the tale ten years after Independence Day.' If you think about, that's all ID was - a 'contemporary, Americanized' War of the Worlds.

 

Isn't it about time that someone actually did a proper adaptation of one of the classic SF stories, set in Victorian England? Althoughaccording to IMDB, there is another version, set for release next year, directed by Timothy Hines. According to the current castlist, two of the characters are labelled 'The Artilleryman' and 'The Curate' - both of whom sound as if they belong in the Victorian version of the story.