RichE Wrote:"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS" starring Tom Cruise. The 'Big S' pussed out in his original plan to do the original novel for this crappy remake of the great George Pal classic (not to mention his almost Woody Allen phobic ridden storyline!). Waste!!!!
I have to disagree with this. The film Spielberg made was a modern interpretation of the novel, not an update to the George Pal movie.
When you compare scene for scene you get a very close mirror to what HG Wells wrote; crowds going berserk, attack on the river, battle on the hill, trapped in the basement. He condensed the experience to one character rather than two (most of the action in the novel happened to the narrator's brother), and added the kiddie factor (which is just Spielberg).
I quite liked the film, but it disappointed on two levels. The first because he remained too faithful to the novel and kept the ending, which was innovative then, but rather anti-climatic now. The second was the family reunion at the end, seriously misjudged Hollywood pap.
The 'how they got here' factor was also a bit hokkum, but that it just a mcguffin.
Aside from that, I think it was a good adaptation of the book.
Dave