6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One night, young David McLean sees a spaceship crash into a nearby sandpit. His father goes to investigate, but comes back changed. Where once he was cheerful and affectionate, he's now sullen and snarlingly rude. Others fall into the sandpit and begin acting like him: cold, ill-tempered and conspiratorial. David knows that aliens are taking over the bodies of humans, but he'll soon discover there have been far more of these terrible thefts than he could have imagined. The young doom-monger finds some serious help in a lady doctor and a brilliant astronomer. Soon they meet the aliens: green creatures with insect-like eyes. These beings prove to be slaves to their leader: a large, silent head with ceaselessly shifting eyes and two tentacles on either side, each of which branches off into three smaller tentacles. It's up to the redoubtable earth trio to stop its evil plans.
Starring: Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary BrookeHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Invaders from Mars and the Byron Haskin / George Pal 1953 version of The War of the Worlds premiered within just a couple of days of each other, albeit on different continents, and perhaps due to the fact that this film was reportedly rushed into production to beat the Haskin - Pal effort to theaters, there are some curious stylistic parallels between them, despite the film currently under review being rather famously designed and directed by William Cameron Menzies. Compare, for example, the "hills" on which the climactic battles in both films are fought, and there's a noticeable but arguably coincidental similarity between the two set designs and even some elements of the cinematography and framing. As much as their almost simultaneous releases and obviously tethered plot mechanics may make Invaders from Mars and The War of the Worlds kind of likely bedfellows, I'd argue that a much more interesting comparison of productions might be between this film and one which came out around three years later, Don Seigel's unforgettable 1956 version of Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Consider the fact that both Invaders from Mars and Invasion of the Body Snatchers involve some kind of interloping presence (admittedly, much as with The War of the Worlds), but perhaps more importantly, that the alien siege is uncovered by a hapless individual who then spends much of the rest of the film trying to get people to believe he's not crazy, all the while as various characters are "transformed" due to either being replaced by a "pod person" (a la the Siegel film) or having a "crystal" implanted into their brain (a la this particular enterprise). What's so viscerally emotional about Invaders from Mars, though, is that the "witness" to the incursion of (in this case) giant green men is a little boy whose own parents have been "claimed" by the extraterrestrials.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from Ignite's 1080 release. This release does not include a 1080 disc.
Invaders from Mars is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Ignite Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.37:1. Let's just cut
to
the chase and borrow a phrase from an advertising staple that was probably at least in print media when this film was first released and say this
transfer is mmm, mmm, good, especially when considering some of the obstacles the restoration team was confronted with. Typically I try
to
include comments about restorations and/or transfers from insert booklets included with releases, but in this case, there are literally pages
of
information about the exhaustive efforts undertaken by Scott MacQueen and his cohort to get this film into largely pristine shape. Suffice it to say
that
while, yes, there are still some variances in densities, palette, grain and clarity, considering the glut of optical effects this feature has, the results are
amazingly homogeneous looking, though I'd argue some of the above mentioned variances are probably understandably more noticeable in this
version when compared to Ignite's 1080 release, given the
increased resolution of this format as well as the highlight nuances delivered courtesy of HDR. Anyone who had to suffer through at times relatively
appalling DVD releases of this film will be
immediately struck by
the healthiness of the palette in particular, which is now gorgeously suffused almost all of the time, with only some very minor downturns during
things
like dissolves. Scott MacQueen addresses some of the picayune color timing adjustments that were made in the featurette on the restoration
included
on the disc, and there's even more information in the insert booklet, but the bottom line is anyone who generally thinks of either Eastmancolor
and/or
CineColor as inherently "second rate" (at least when compared to Technicolor) may frankly be blown away by the lustrous quality of the palette. This
4K UHD version's HDR offers some subtle but noticeable highlights toward both the cool (as in the blue day for night sequences) and warm (virtually
all of the "naturally" lit material) sides of the spectrum. The greens throughout the whole climactic sequence have some kind of interesting jade like
highlights in this version as well. Detail
levels are also nicely improved throughout, even from already generally excellent levels in Ignite's 1080 release, again with an understanding that
some composited effects can lead to less clarity and a bit chunkier grain.
In the grain department, it's kind of refreshing to hear MacQueen admit up front that some "minor smoothing" was done when the team was
confronted
with dupes of dupes and were trying to cobble things together so that the grain field was more or less consistent. I'd argue they did a masterful job,
even if variances can be spotted. Any major signs of age related wear and tear have been eliminated, and while there is still some very minor lateral
wobble during the opening credits, otherwise any signs of instability have likewise been removed. I will simply close by saying this is what
film restoration should look like, and I can't imagine fans of this film not being over the moon (and/or Mars) with the results on tap.
Invaders from Mars features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either English or Spanish. I frankly didn't spend a lot of time on the Spanish, but both it and the English track certainly show inherent signs of the recording technologies of the day, with a somewhat boxy sound that's probably most noticeable in either scoring or effects. That said, the overall track boasts a rather healthy midrange and low end, and all dialogue is delivered cleanly and clearly. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.
I was lucky to actually be able to see Invaders from Mars on the "big screen" at a Portland "art house" many years ago, and that print was in surprisingly good shape, but this new 4K version is simply revelatory in any number of areas. Ignite Films is off to a very impressive start with this release, and I can't wait for what they offer next. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very enjoyable. Highly recommended.
Limited Edition | with Exclusive Poster Signed by Jimmy Hunt
1953
Limited Edition | with Exclusive Poster Signed by Jimmy Hunt
1953
1953
1953
Standard Edition
1953
Warner Archive Collection
1951
1956
2K Restoration
1958
70th Anniversary
1953
1988
1958
1959
1953
1954
1957
Special Edition | The Creeping Unknown
1955
1958
Enemy From Space
1957
Five Million Years to Earth
1967
1964
1957
1959
2013
1957
1951