War of the Worlds
H G Wells had War of The Worlds published in 1898. A brilliant imagination gave us a insight to the future.
War of The Worlds by H G Wells is a classic read. It is futuristic and portrays the imagination of the author, brilliantly.
The story telling of the invasion of aliens on the planet earth, captures the reader from the very first page. The determination of those willing to fight and survive is deeply moving, the descriptive paragraphs create images in the mind, the invasion of London, the author uses one voice to tell the story, it is captivating as you follow the storyline. This passage, taken from the book describes the first time the aliens are seen.
Two large dark-coloured eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framed them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one might say, a face. the extraordinary intensity of the immense eyes–were at once vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous. There was something fungoid in the oily brown skin, something in the clumsy deliberation of the tedious movements unspeakably nasty. Even at this first encounter, this first glimpse, I was overcome with disgust and dread.
With modern television we are offered images such as these in sci -fi movies, but the year this book was published the writer had to really work hard at getting the imagery across.
Several variety of films were produced and in 1978, Jeff Wayne released a musical version of the book, the music and light show was a hit. The musicians are alive on the stage, they are having fun, the music is intense and the excitement, tension and pleasure of the audience and performers alike, can be felt with every beat of the music and every flash of light ray.
The lights add to the intensity of the musical, the audience had no time to draw breath and clap out their delight before another magnificent performance pounded out around them.
There was a radio play that created panic in 1938, when listeners thought the story was true and the aliens were landing.
An imagination goes a long, long way and a brilliant writer can give you the world, aliens and music for years to come.
Liked it
A cool take on a cool book!
Now that was a very interesting piece to put together….you told me a few things that I had forgotten.nicely done and i like what you said in the end.
“An imagination goes a long long way and a brilliant writer can give you the world,aliens and music for years to come”
I did not know that there was a film in the past about war of the worlds. I thought that the first one was that recent one of the Director Spilberg. Thank you for the information
I did not know that this book was written so much earlier than the radio play which made it famous. There must not have been many radio listeners who were familiar with the book – otherwise they would not have mistaken it for a real news story.
Very interesting.
Very cool Article. Loved the book and the movie.
great post,i learn something new today,thanks Glynis
I am a VBF (Very Big Fan) of the Orson Welles radioplay you mention, that got a lot of believers running!… Fifty years later, in 1988, a radio station did it again, in Spain!… Good you reminded us of the musical too!
Wow! Glynis. A great piece. I love the music to the film and the video clips are awesome. Really worth reading.
Very well-written and great piece maam.
Cool article. I liked the 1953 Gene Barry film more than than the 2005 Tom Cruise one. It was funnier in its seriousness.
Hey thanks! I just noticed this has been published and look at you all commenting, thank you!
It’s a great movie! I have seen both version of War of Worlds!
I love the way the story kicks in through out the first video and then the singer comes on with a powerful song, then the storyteller, then the song, it mesmorises me.
The second video was a hit for the Moody Blues and as a young nurse it was pounded out throughout the nursing home I lived in, ahh the memories, the storyteller has lost his love.
I love the third video for the storyline of man realising nothing can be done,but hold onto faith.
If you haven’t looked at the videos, go back and treat yourselves
You have done a really good job with this Glynis. I have never read the book but saw the films. I also used the music as a stimulus for dance when I was teaching. The children always enjoyed the music.
I can’t get into your Vineyard article for some reason. I don’t know if anyone else has had trouble.
Love Christine
I’ll check on this book, thanks for your info. Take care!
Uh huh.
I must say I am somewhat disappointed by the amount of people who admit to not having read the book.
There are classics of literature that a writer should read; this is one of them. The use of language and the execution of an idea is so neatly and prosaically put, that it deserves perusal.
It is a naive work now, however the naivety adds, for me, more luster. It is ironically, a time machine that allows us to peer backwards to a keen nineteenth century mind.
Uh, (exasperation)… My colleague feels I should explain the obvious, for those of you not well read. My comment above is a reference to one of Well’s other great works, The Time machine.
All of Wells works are available to read free of charge on various sites; just Google and ogle.
I think you will find them better fare than a lot of the rubbish put about these days.
… Hey does anyone ever wonder why it is that the best writer ever to have put pen to paper, died nearly 400 years ago?
I made the Hot Content List!! woo woo I am sooo happy can you see my smile? :0
Thanks for the comments and support!
Thanks for sharing this nice article, i haven’t read the book but i have seen the movie..
‘War of the Worlds’ is one of my favorites by Wells; thanks for highlighting such a deserving piece. I didn’t know about the musical, I think I’ll check it out sometime
I heard a recording of the original broadcast back in the mid to late ’60’s; I’ve seen several cuts of the movie; this is a fantastic novel and H.G. Wells was a great writer. Thanx for bringing this to our attention, Glynis.
My mom played this for me when I was younger but, able to realize it wasn’t true. I could understand why is created so much havoc. Great read Glynis.
A great commentary, Glynis. H.G is one of my favourite writers.
Great post. I love H.G. Wells. This was a very inventive well put together piece. Well done!
That is an awesome commentary, bringing the brilliance of the original author and his work, transitions of humor, and what is happening with this work now. Joined with a wonderful display of appropriate pictures making this easy and really enjoyable. Nice work!
Maybe I should pick this up for some easy reading.
this is a great articles i knew about the radio program that scared the heck out of many people who thought it was really happening but didn’t know it had been written in the 1800’s . thanks so much the videos are awesome.
A great story, I haven’t read the book but of course I’ve heard of the play and the panic it caused.
Thank you all for your comments.
Hi Glynis this was one of my favourite books when I was younger enjoyed reading your review
Seem like a good story.
Matt John
http://stumblephemera.blogspot.com/
Glynis, haven’t read the book but have seen the film starring Tom Cruise and enjoyed it. Might have to have a read. Sorry its been so long. Have a good one.
Congratulations on making the hot content front page! I can see why this made the front page. This is extremely interesting and well put together. I will definitely check out this book.
Excellent Post!!! loved it and the Comments!
Yeah–I remember listening to stories over the radio as a little girl. Quite different!
Thank yo for that.
Inna
Glynis, this is one of my all-time favorite books. I read it as a child and saw both movies. I also remember the stories from my elders regarding the radio broadcast. I had never heard of the musical though… what a treat! You brought back some amazing memories and gave me some new ones. This is well written and your use of the a/v aids was perfect! I loved every bit of it!
-M
My friends,thank you for your thoughts on this article and your support.
The SP
How dare you come and make us all so fond of you that we look upon your departure almost as a tragedy!
This was a brilliant and unusuall book and movie for the times. I loved it. I have never heard the musical. Something to look forward to.
A wonderful review. It brought back the magic I felt when I read the book, thank you!
Great article!
I’ve read the book a few years ago. Great review!
Excellent article! I’ve read the book, and have seen the movies but did not know about the musical. Thanks for sharing!
I also wondered where H.G.Wells got his inspiration from!
Very interesting article. Thank you.
Best Regards,
François
This was great.I loved it thank you
Great article Glynis! And way to spruce it up with video clips!
Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate your support.
It was such a great story and this was a great article.
You have echoed my thoughts on the work of HG Wells brilliantly and possibly what the future holds for us.
The both Films and the later Music score I love as I am a Moody Blues Fan.
Well done for wetting our apetite for HG Wells.
Tim
Glynis,
I, like many others here, am a H G Wells fan I’ve seen the older movie and at one time, had a copy of the radio program from 1938! another of my favorites is 1984. Its truly amazing how someone so long ago could depict the future as he had. Back in the 1800’s people thought writers like H G Wells were crackpots. If they could only see us now! Great work, Glynis!!! This article shows how excellent of a writer you are!!! Keep up the great work!
Randy
This is one of my favourite books/films (the first one) and thank you so much for including ‘Forever Autumn’, I’d forgotten how much I love that song! Thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you.
I read the comments left to you on all your work.I have to tell you I feel there is a love of you by them.Not just the work but for you.No one is a failure who has many friends .As you so do