Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 24, 2022

General Douglas MacArthur quoted a venerable maxim in a speech to Congress when he stated, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away". In that regard, it might be salient to wonder what happens to old movie stars, and the answer for some of them at least might be that they simply try to find new international outlets for their talent when the "Big Makhers" in Hollywood or other bustling hubs of filmmaking activity no longer come calling. Claude Rains was in fact still fielding regular offers from some of the biggest names in the movie industry in the sixties, as Rains' filmography easily proves, since it includes such well remembered sixties titles as Lawrence of Arabia and The Greatest Story Ever Told, the latter being Rains' final big screen credit from 1965 (Rains died in 1967). That said, Rains was still open to arguably less "elite" offers, and a couple of years before Lawrence of Arabia Rains ventured into his own kind of cinematic desert when he agreed to star in two science fiction outings, which might remind some of one of Rains' earlier legendary efforts, The Invisible Man. 1960's The Lost World had the imprimatur of Irwin Allen and could probably be easily accepted as a "mainstream" effort, though 1961's Battle of the Worlds might not be categorized similarly, if for no other reason than that it was an Italian production with arguably no other "marquee" stars apart from Rains.

If the name Antonio Margheriti doesn't have quite the resonance as Irwin Allen, that doesn't mean Margheriti didn't have his own claims to fame, at least in his native Italy, where he helmed a rather dazzling array of low budget offerings, many of which had science fiction underpinnings. He's billed here as Anthony Dawson, one of several pseudonyms he used, and while at least some of the other cast and crew have Italian sounding names, the film's screenplay is by the decidedly Russian sounding Vassilij Petrov, though somewhat hilariously that turns out to be a pseudonym as well, for the much more Italian sounding Ennio De Concini. As Justin Humphreys gets into in his commentary, Battle of the Worlds has a generic plot setup that perfectly reflects its equally generic sounding English language title, with an "intruder" planet hurtling toward Earth and threatening destruction.

Rains portrays a curmudgeonly scientist named Benson, whose analysis of the object hurtling toward earth comes to the conclusion that it's actually not going to collide with our home planet, something that every other scientist disputes. If Benson unsurprisingly turns out to be right, there are a couple of "surprises" along the way which were probably at least somewhat innovative in 1961 when the film was released, but which are going to seem more than a bit familiar for anyone raised on sixties era science fiction television outings, ironically not just of the Irwin Allen variety, but perhaps more to the point, of the Gene Roddenberry variety.

If Rains is the putative main attraction for western film audiences, he's actually kind of a sidebar here, as the main story focuses on another scientist named Dr. Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini), who, along with his main squeeze Eve Barnett (Maya Brent), are suddenly made aware of the interstellar satellite, dubbed The Outsider, just as they're preparing for their own "happily ever after" as a married couple. Their next door neighbor in a bizarrely isolated environment is none other than Benson, who insists there's nothing to be really concerned about.

Things get a bit more convoluted after The Outsider misses Earth, which is when a number of ensuing developments may remind some of a couple of episodes from Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 1 involving what might be called "computerized warfare". It's a somewhat interesting twist that Battle of the Worlds exploits for some passing intrigue, though the film's obviously low budget means that any real science fiction "wonderment", at least in terms of visual excitement, is decidedly limited. The film is kind of interesting with regard to some late plot machinations which give things a somewhat bittersweet feeling, especially a closing shot that will probably tug pretty vigorously at the heartstrings of any dog lovers, as odd as that may sound.

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Battle of the Worlds is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Film Detective with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The front and back covers of this release touts a 4K scan from an "archival 35mm print", and therein lies the rub. A fantastic high resolution scan is still dependent upon the source element, and as can probably easily be seen from the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, while the source utilized for this transfer is commendably free of major damage, densities are less than impressive and the entire palette looks kind of wan and variable. If you watch closely, you can actually see color temperature kind of modulate from moment to moment between tilts toward pink, red, or purple, something that's especially noticeable with regard to flesh tones. There are definitely passing moments where things improve for a second or two, but on the whole, my hunch is the color timing here will probably be the biggest complaint from fans. Otherwise, though, things look surprisingly good, considering the rarity of this title and the fact that a better element is evidently unavailable. Close-ups offer good to very good fine detail levels (see screenshots 2 and 4, and screenshot 4 in particular is a good example of densities and color temperature improvements). There is recurrent if minor damage that can be spotted, mostly in the form of smaller nicks, scratches and dirt. Grain resolves naturally for the most part, but can be a little frozen looking at the corners of the frame for some reason on occasion. There are some scenes drenched in red where detail levels are minimal and the entire presentation can look a bit fuzzy (see screenshot 19). My score is 3.25.

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Battle of the Worlds features a serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. While it appears that many, maybe even most, of the actors were speaking English during the shoot, I'm assuming this was post looped per Italian tradition, and therefore sync is, as they say, loose. There's some background noise and noticeable crackle at times (especially noticeable in the opening credits sequence). On the whole the track shows reasonable fidelity, even if it's undeniably thin and boxy sounding. Optional English subtitles are available.

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Cinematic Outsider: The Fantastical Worlds of Antonio Margheriti (HD; 30:38) offers Tim Lucas discussing the film's director.


• Audio Commentary by author and film historian Justin Humphreys

Additionally, The Film Detective provides an insert booklet with an interesting essay by Margheriti biography Don Stradley.

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As Don Stradley and Justin Humphreys get into in their supplements to this release, some people feel that Battle of the Worlds is some kind of undiscovered masterpiece. I think that might be a bit of a stretch, but it's at least a little prescient in some ways, and it's a fun showcase for a somewhat hyperbolic Claude Rains. The color timing is probably going to be the biggest bugaboo for some viewers, with some deficiencies in sound probably inviting umbrage from audiophiles, but on the plus side, the featurette, commentary and insert booklet essay are all worthwhile, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.