Friday Night Video

Here's a trailer for the original (to me) "War of the Worlds"  movie. The first time I saw this was on a late Sunday afternoon, on the black and white tv set in our basement. It was one more layer on my already haunted psyche that kept me awake throughout so much of the early sixties. Yet, like so many things in life, I both loved and feared it.

This movie had it all. It started with a flying saucer that landed somewhere out in the boonies (as they did in most movies- except maybe "The Day the Earth Stood Still"), and it never let up. You want pulse pounding action? Try this on for size:  A general mapping out intricate war plans on a chalkboard? Check! War games played out on a giant, government issued Risk board? Check! Random guy on fire, crashing into a table? Check and Double Check!

As a kid, I was dazzled by the glossy special effects. But as I've matured, I've come to appreciate the gritty realism. There is no better example of this than in the scenes of sheer mass panic near the end of this clip. This is reality in it's rawest form. None of that mamby-pamby, "We're all in this together" or  "Help thy neighbor" crap. This, my friend, reflects traditional American values- values like, "When the going gets tough, it's every man for himself." This, my friend, is harsh reality.

You think an alien invasion would be met with an orderly evacuation ("No neighbor, you were here first. Please, go ahead of me.")? Wake up and smell the coffee. Watch and learn as people get thrown through store fronts and hit on the head with crates. Take a good long look at the guy in the back of the truck, swinging his constitutionally protected club for no apparent reason. Which end of the club will you be on? Well? Think about it!

Anyway, I digress.

Somewhere around this house, I have this film on an unopened DVD. After reliving some of these exciting and suspenseful scenes, I'm tempted to crack it open and relive it again- this time in full Technicolor and "with a mighty panorama of Earth-shaking fury!" Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the Earth shaking fury might scare the crap out of Sam. So instead, I share it with you. Sit back, watch, learn, and most of all- enjoy!