Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 08:07, 20 October 2009

War of the Worlds
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Written by	Josh Friedman David Koepp H. G. Wells (novel)
Produced by	Kathleen Kennedy Colin Wilson Damian Collier (executive) Paula Wagner (executive)
Starring	Tom Cruise Dakota Fanning Justin Chatwin Miranda Otto Tim Robbins
Narrated by	Morgan Freeman
Cinematography	Janusz Kaminski
Edited by	Michael Kahn
Music by	John Williams
Production companies	Amblin Entertainment Cruise/Wagner Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (USA) DreamWorks (non-USA)
Release dates	United States: June 29, 2005 (2005-06-29) United Kingdom: July 1, 2005 (2005-07-01)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$132 million
Box office	US$591,745,540

War of the Worlds is a Template:Fy live action science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a dock worker estranged from his wife and children and living separately from them. As his wife gives their children to him to take care of for a few days, the Earth is invaded by aliens in Tripod form. Ray protects his children and tries to go to Boston to rejoin his wife.

War of the Worlds marks Spielberg and Cruise's second collaboration, after Minority Report. Cruise admired Spielberg and planned to collaborate with Spielberg again. Cruise visited Spielberg during the filming of Catch Me If You Can. After discussions, Cruise and Spielberg chose to develop The War of the Worlds into a film adaptation. Filming locations were at Connecticut, New York, California, Virginia and New Jersey. Several scenes were filmed at studios of 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios.

Tie-in promotions were made with several companies, including with Hitachi. The film released in United States on 29 June and in United Kingdom on 1 July. The film generally received positive reviews, the film received 73% "fresh" rating on the film review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 240 reviews. The film was a box office success, as it grossed US$234 million inside United States and US$357 million at foreign countries, bringing the total gross to US$591 million.

Production

Development

Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise collaborated for the first time in Template:Fy's Minority Report. Minority Report generally received positive reviews and grossed approximately US$358 million at box office. Since then, they have enjoyed working together. Spielberg stated about Cruise, "He's such an intelligent, creative partner, and brings such great ideas to the set that we just spark each other. I love working with Tom Cruise." Cruise met with Spielberg during the filming of Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can and gave three options of films to create together; the third option was The War of the Worlds. Spielberg chose The War of the Worlds and stated, "We looked at each other and the lights went on. As soon as I heard it, I said `Oh my God! War of the Worlds - absolutely.' That was it."

The film primarily focused on alien, which marks Spielberg's third film about alien visitation since Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Producer and longtime collaborator Kathleen Kennedy notes that with War of the Worlds, Spielberg had the opportunity to explore the antithesis of the characters brought to life in E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. "When we first started developing `E.T.,' it was a much edgier, darker story and it actually evolved into something that was more benign. I think that the edgier, darker story has always been somewhere inside him. Now, he's telling that story." Spielberg stated that he just thought it would be fun to make a really scary film with really scary aliens, which Spielberg had never done before. Spielberg was intent on telling a contemporary story, on bringing the aliens. Kennedy stated the story may be something born out of a fantasy notion but in fact is dealt with in a hyper-realistic way.

Numerous scripts were written for the film. Josh Friedman and David Koepp wrote the final script for the film, which Spielberg accepted. The script was focusing on one family only, the Ferriers. Spielberg accepted the script after finding it had similarities with his personal life. Several similarities includes the divorce of his parents (Ray and Mary Ann's divorce) and other reasons by Spielberg was because the survival of the survivors reflects his own uncertainty after the devastation of the terror attacks of September 11 attacks. For Spielberg, the survival needed to be a part of the main focus, as it features the Americanism style of not giving up. In Close Encounters, a suburban dad (played by Richard Dreyfuss) abandons his life on Earth, including his wife and children, to explore the heavens aboard a spacecraft. In Template:Fy's E.T., a little boy (played by Henry Thomas) from a broken home and a gentle alien marooned on Earth help each other deal with abandonment. Spielberg calls War of the Worlds "a polar opposite" to Close Encounters.

Although accepting the script, Spielberg went through several changes in the script. Spielberg had been against the idea of the aliens arriving in spaceships. The original Martian cylinders were discarded, where Spielberg replaced the origins of the Tripods with stating they were buried in the underground of the Earth long time ago. Koepp fitted in a really neat homage to the cylinders, and specifically, the unscrewing of the lid. Koepp stated far more clearly in the script, "as ray climbs to his feet, that entire circle starts to rotate again, like a big turntable, causing tremors that ripple out from its center." Naven Bradford also wrote a script for the film, which features a whole number of difference in the characters and the storyline. Party in Fresno was used as a fake working title for the film.

Filming

Filming locations were mainly inside the United States. The film was shot for 72 days (estimated; 2 months 12 days), which was a similar amount of time used by Spielberg to film Schindler's List (Template:Fy) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Template:Fy). In 2004, the production crews quickly were set up on both coasts to prepare for the start date, scouting locations up and down the Eastern Seaboard and preparing stages and sets which would be used when the company returned to Los Angeles after the winter holiday. Pre-production took place in essentially half the amount of time normally allotted for a film of similar size and scope. Spielberg notes, however, "This wasn't a cram course for War of the Worlds."

"This was my longest schedule in about 12 years. We took our time." Director of photography and longtime Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski and Spielberg noted that they wanted to complete the film as fast they could. Spielberg collaborated with crews at the beginning of pre-production with the use of previsualization. The scene, which depicts Ray and other pupils viewing the Tripods was filmed at Newark, New Jersey. Later, Spielberg filmed several scenes at Virginia. The continuous scene was filmed at California.

The ferry scene was filmed at Athens, whereby Mary Ann's house was located at Brooklyn (but was featured in the film at Boston). The plane, a Boeing 747, which crash landed was filmed at Howell Township, New Jersey, where the crashed landed plane was kept for Universal Studios back-lot tour. Scene depicts Ray's house was filmed at Bayonne (at a soundstage), New Jersey, meanwhile the valley war sequence was filmed at Lexington, Virginia and Mystery Mesa in California. Half the film was scheduled to shoot on five sound stages at California: 20th Century Fox, JF Kennedy Blvd., Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.

Design and visual effects

The Tripods used for the film was different than the Tripods in other film adaptations. The Tripods' first scene was where Ray and other neighbors face off the Tripods coming out of the street. While Spielberg had used the computer to help visualize sequences in pre-production before, Spielberg said, "This is the first film I really tackled using the computer to animate all the storyboards." George Lucas, Spielberg's good friend whom collaborate together in many films, was visited by Spielberg himself who showed him how the process was working for him. Lucas said, "I got all the experts who had been working with ILM on 'Star Wars: Episodes I, II and III' for George. When they wrapped, I took most of them with me." Spielberg hired Star Wars' previsualization supervisor Dan Gregoire and Star Wars' special effects artist Dennis Muren to create previsualization and special effects for the film. Industrial Light & Magic was the head of the special effects category for the film.

A scene which depicts Ray and his family are driving in their minivan when they come upon an increasing number of wandering people, which Janusz Kaminski and Spielberg wanted a lot of interactive light in that scene. So, they added different kinds of lights, including Coleman lamps, oil lanterns, flashlights and Maglights. Crews of Industrial Light & Magic admitted that the bridge scene in the film was the most toughest scene to be made with heavy usage mix of CGI effects and live action elements. The scene involved Tripods shooting Heat-Ray towards the minivan and minivan escapes from it involved a lot of CGI layers to work out. The visual effects suited the storyline of the film, concluding a tribute to science fiction film of the 1950s. Over 500 CGI effects were used in the film.

Costume designer Joanna Johnston created 60 different versions of Ray's leather jacket, to illustrate the degrees to which he is weathered from the beginning of the journey to the end. "He begins with the jacket, a hoodie, and two t-shirts," explains Johnston. One piece of Dakota Fanning's costume that takes on a special importance is her lavender horse purse. "I wanted her to have something that made her feel safe, some little thing that she could sleep with and put over her face," Johnston notes. "That was the lavender horse purse. We tied it up on a ribbon and Dakota hung it on her body, so it was with her at all times." Johnston dressed Robbie for an unconscious emulation of his father, "They're more alike than they realize, with great tension on the surface," Johnston says.

Music

John Williams, who collaborated with Spielberg in Indiana Jones series, Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Jaws, also scored music for the film. The soundtrack ran for a duration of sixty-one minutes and eight seconds. The film's narrator, Morgan Freeman, also narrated track one and track fourteen. Spielberg wrote the liner notes for the soundtrack, where Spielberg notices that "this music is so rhymic and primal that one has to wonder how a composer with such a background could have so much abandoned his own style." The soundtrack was mixed by Shawn Murphy at Sony Pictures Studio, Culver City, California. The track list includes 15 tracks, "Prologue", "The Ferry Scene", "Reaching the Country", "The Intersection Scene", "Ray and Rachel", "Escape From the City", "Probing the Basement", "Refugee Status", "The Attack On The Car", "The Separation of the Family", "The Confrontation With Ogilvy", "The Return to Boston", "Escape From the Basket", "The Reunion" and "Epilogue".

Cast and characters

• Ray Ferrier, played by Tom Cruise. Divorced father of two, Ray makes his living as a dock worker and lives in semi-squalor. His children have little respect for him and he seems to, until the time period of the movie, had only superficial knowledge of their lives. During the course of the film he builds a much stronger bond with his son and daughter.
• Rachel Ferrier, played by Dakota Fanning. Ray's ten year old daughter. Rachel suffers from emotional panic and relies upon multiple techniques to calm herself, none of which are familiar to her father. She is also allergic to peanut butter, which is someting Ray only learns on the cusp of complete disaster. She is closer to her brother than her father in the film.
• Robbie Ferrier, played by Justin Chatwin. Oppositional-defiant Robbie is Ray's carbon copy son, who spends much of the movie butting heads with his father in an attempt to prove that he is not the same. Robbie's estrangement from his father extends to his abandonment of Ray and Rachel in order to view, or even possibly join in a pitched battle between the US military and the Tripods approximately halfway through the film. Robbie rejoins his father without explanation at the end of the film for a heartfelt reunion.
• Mary Ann, played by Miranda Otto. An ex-wife of Ray, after a conflict (not described in the film) occurred between them. Mary now lives with her wealthy boyfriend Tim in an upscale exurban home.
• Harlan Ogilvy, played by Tim Robbins. Harlan is possibly the only survivor in a farmhouse outside the scene of the epic Tripod battle in which Robbie vanishes, taking in Rachel and Ray to his basement. Harlan eventualy is revealed to be mentally unstable, posing a threat to Rachel and Ray in their concealment by attempting to pick a fight with the Tripod aliens armed only with his shotgun.

Meanwhile, the other small-role characters are David Alan Basche as Tim; Mary's new wealthy husband, Lenny Venito as Manny and Ann Robinson and Gene Barry as grandmother and grandfather for Rachel and Robbie respectively. Morgan Freeman narrated the beginning and ending of the film.

Plot

The film opens with Bayonne, New Jersey resident Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) returning home after finishing his third shift as a dock worker. At his house, Ray encounters his ex-wife, Mary Ann (Miranda Otto), who is dropping off their children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin), while Mary goes to Boston to meet with her parents. While Ray sleeps, Robbie takes Ray's car out of the house without his permission. Meanwhile, Rachel take cares of the house. When Ray wakes up and discovers the missing car, he goes out to search for Robbie. While searching for Robbie, Ray notices strange wall clouds, which send out electromagnetic pulses, disabling any electronic device in the area. Ray and numerous people are attracted to a hole in the ground caused by a lightning strike. They are surprised when the ground rips appear and a massive machine standing on three long legs appears. After emerging, the Tripod begins vaporizing the bystanders. Ray manages to escape and return to his house finding Robbie has returned. Knowing it is no longer safe there, Ray manages to steal a working vehicle, and along with Robbie and Rachel leave as the tripod destroys the town around them.

Ray drives to the house of Mary's new wealthy husband to take refuge that night. Taking refuge in the basement, they hear an earsplitting noise and are shocked by a massive explosion outside the windows. The next morning they discover that a (Boeing 747), unable to fly after the EMP, has crashed into the houses. While searching the wreckage for food, Ray encounters a small news team. They show Ray slow-motion footage of a pod that the aliens apparently "rode" down the lightning into the ground where the Tripods were located. After hearing the siren of an approaching Tripod, the news crew and Ray, along with his children, flee to join with Mary in Boston. On their journey to Boston, they stop on the road so Rachel can have a rest break. Rachel attempts to relieve herself on the banks of a nearby river, but is horrified when numerous corpses float by. When they encounter the U.S. Army passing, Robbie takes interest and attempts to join them. Ray stops Robbie from begging and convinces him to continue their journey. While driving along NY 385, they come across a mob, whom attack them in order to take their vehicle. Ray gives up the vehicle to a man with a gun as he is desperate to get his children away from the mob. Later they manage to reach a Hudson River ferry, where many people fight to get in the boat. Ray and his children manage to get on the ferry. However, multiple Tripods appear and one capsizes the ferry. While the Tripods take many people captive and vaporize others, Ray and the kids are able to swim to the shore and escape.

The family then encounters more U.S. Army forces preparing to mount an attack on the Tripods. The family started to move away from the battle, however Robbie declines Ray's decision to do so as Robbie wants to help the U.S. Army. As Robbie runs away from Ray and Rachel, an enormous fireball crashed at the last place Robbie is seen causing Ray and Rachel to assume Robbie is dead. Ray and Rachel are offered shelter and protection by a stranger, named Harlan Ogilvy (Tim Robbins). Harlan claimed his family was killed by Tripods and vows revenge, but Ray's only desire is to keep his daughter safe. While hiding in the remains of Harlan's basement, they witness the Tripods spreading a strange red weed-like substance over the ground. Later a metallic snake-like probe descends into the basement to search the structure. Ray, Rachel and Harlan manage to hide, but after the probe leaves, four aliens appear. Harlan almost attacks them but Ray manages to stop him from exposing their location. However, Harlan suffers a mental breakdown after they witness a Tripod harvest blood and tissue from a human captive to create the weed. Concerned that Harlan's yelling and ranting will attract the Tripods, Ray kills Harlan to silence him. Ray and Rachel's hideout is exposed however when another probe catches them while they sleep. Ray cripples the probe using an axe, but Rachel is so scared she flees the house.

Ray chases after Rachel but she is caught by a Tripod. Ray finds several hand grenades in a destroyed army truck and uses them to attract the Tripod's attention. The Tripod catches Ray and places him in a metal cage with many other captives, and a traumatized Rachel. A metal arm grabs Ray and attempts to pull him inside the Tripod, but the other prisoners fight to save him and successfully pull him out of the Tripod. Ray reveals that he left the remaining grenades primed within the Tripod, and the grenades detonate causing the Tripod to collapse. The cage drops and Ray and Rachel, along with other prisoners escape. Soon afterward, Ray and Rachel arrive in Boston, finding the red weeds are starting to dry up and die. They witness a Tripod acting strangely and Ray notices that the Tripod's shields are no longer functioning. Alerning nearby soldiers, they attack and destroy the Tripod, which crashes into a field nearby. Approaching the downed Tripod, a hatch in the bottom appears releasing a large amount of orange fluid. The alien 'pilot' slowly appears and as Ray and the others watch, dies and shrivels up. Ray and Rachel reach Mary Ann's parent and find her and to their surprise Robbie. The film ends with Ray and Robbie hugging, Ray cries in relief, meanwhile the narrator (Morgan Freeman) reveals that the aliens were dying because they were suffering from terrestrial diseases, for which they had no immunity.

Story

Themes

The film was described as an anti-war film, as civilians run and only trying to save themselves and their family instead of fighting back the Tripod aliens. Debra J. Saunders of San Francisco Chronicle described the film as "If aliens invade, don't fight back. Run." Saunders compared the film to Independence Day, where the civilians do run, but they support the military efforts. Reader's Digest described the film's theme as "Dark, Ominous, and Very Loud". Reader's Digest stated Spielberg's aliens in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were benign, even cuddly, and they ultimately inspired optimism, not fear, calling it "Time Has Changed". The survival of the survivors and the missing-persons displays was used by Spielberg in the film to create the atmosphere of September 11 attacks. The film also played major role in religion of Christianity, as a Tripod destroyed a church as it's first target in the film.

Cultural references

The film also featured "Hushabye Mountain", sung by Ray Ferrier's daughter, Rachel, was adapted from Template:Fy's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Two Spielberg films' references was also featured in the film, where Jaws's film poster was in Ray's room. The shots of the pickup truck and Dakota before the aliens pick her up, camera shots appear to be modelled after Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The toys of Son Goku appeared as Rachel's toy in her room; Emperor Pilaf in Mr. Herculese Satan's car. Poster of The Saddle Club was also featured in the film; as it was sticked on the wall of Rachel's room.

Release

War of the Worlds was premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre on June 23, 2005, ahead of its worldwide June 29 release date. The public and media was revealed by Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes about their relationship at the premiere after sharing a few kisses. The film was released in approximately 3908 theaters worldwide, and was rated PG-13 (parental guidance 13) during it's release.

Secrecy

Spielberg kept most of the parts secret in the filmmaking, as the casts and crews were left confused about how the aliens look. The media reporters' questions about the rumored plot was answered, but the reporters' said we may not get "straight answers". An IGN reporter interviewed David Koepp about the secrecy of the screenplay, Koepp answered, " wouldn't give to anybody". Koepp explained he would e-mail it to him, and he would give a section of the script that was relating to whatever somebody was doing. Marry Ann Ferrier's portrayer, Miranda Otto, thought of not even discussing the story with her family and friends. Otto said, "I know some people who always say, 'Oh, everything's so secret.' I think it's good. In the old days people didn't get to know much about movies before they came out and nowadays there's just so much information. I think a bit of mystery is always really good. You don't want to blow all of your cards beforehand."

Spielberg admitted that after keeping things secret for so long, there is in the end the temptation to reveal too much to the detriment of the story at the press conference of War of the Worlds. So, Spielberg only revealed the hill scene (Ray tried to stop his son) and not the other scenes, as he stated, "To say more would reveal too much." British Board of Film Classification refused to reveal the identities of War of the Worlds censors, a controversial 12A rating, keeping habit of secrecy. The actual budget of the film was US$132 million, currently fortieth most expensive film ever made. The budget were not confirmed till the release of the film, several British publications claimed the film's budget surpassed budget of Titanic, as the budget of Titanic was US$200 million.

Marketing and home media releases

Paramount Pictures Interactive Marketing debuted a human survival online game on it's official website, waroftheworlds.com, on April 14 to promote the film. Hitachi collaborated with Paramount Pictures for a worldwide promotional campaign, under the title of “The Ultimate Visual Experience”. The agreement was announced by Kazuhiro Tachibana, general manager of Hitachi’s Consumer Business Group. Kazuhiro stated, "Our ‘The Ultimate Visual Experience’ campaign is a perfect match between Spielberg and Cruise’s pursuit of the world’s best in film entertainment and Hitachi’s commitment to the highest picture quality through its digital consumer electronic products."

The film simultaneous released in DVD version in three versions; Widescreen Edition, Fullscreen Edition and Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition. The DVD version released on November 22 (excluding DVD version that released in Region 2 on November 14). The DVD Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition version featured production featurettes, documentaries and trailers. Meanwhile, the Widescreen Edition released in different languages; French (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and DTS ES), so as the other two versions. Whilst, the Fullscreen Edition version does not featured any extra features in it. The film grossed $113,000,000 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $704,745,540, ranking tenth place in the 2005 DVD sales chart.

Performance

Box office

On June 29, 2005 (2005-06-29), the film grossed approximately US$21 million worldwide, and earned the thirty-eight biggest opening week gross with grossing $98,826,764 in 3908 theatres, averaging $25,288 in each theatres. Meanwhile on the biggest opening weekend, War of the Worlds grossed $64,878,725 in 3908 theatres also, giving an average of $16,601, ranking third-biggest film opening on Independence Day weekend. The film earned $200 million in 24 days, ranking thirty-seventh place in the list of fastest films to gross $200 million. The film has grossed an estimated $592 million worldwide, making it the forth highest grossing film of 2005 and the forty-eight highest grossing film worldwide.

Reviews

The film received highly positive reviews from critics. Based on 240 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, War of the Worlds currently garners an 73% "fresh" rating. The film's reception was more ambivalent within the 41 reviews in Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop" subset, reaching a 68% positive consensus. By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 73 from the 40 reviews it collected.

James Berardinelli gave the film positive consensus, praising Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin performances but called the ending of the film is very weak. Berardinelli stated the ending as "this isn't war, it's slaughter. It's about fighting to survive, not fighting the enemy", calling the film "misnomer." According to Total Film, Spielberg still exhilarates and the review commented the film was "taking goggle-eyed viewers on an enterprising journey as it morphs from grey", giving it four stars and stated the chances were "a million to one".

Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan, who felt the special effects was unusual, stated Spielberg may actually have done his job in War of the Worlds "better than he realizes", showing us/the people how fragile the world is. Turan claimed Spielberg raised a most provocative question: "Is the ultimate fantasy an invasion from outer space, or is it the survival of the human race?" However, Broomfield Enterprise's Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi did not share Berardinelli and Turan's opinion. They felt the narration (ending narration by Morgan Freeman) was not needed, instead they suggested to put about the aliens died of cold and "The End" on the screen. Marcucci and Serougi felt the first half of the film was better than the second half of the film, stating the second half "ruined" everything.

Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three and a half stars (out of four), calling War of the Worlds definitely wins it's battle, but not the war. Wilmington stated the film brought the viewers on a wild journey through two sides of Spielberg; the dark and the light, also stating the film was a core sentiment, which only can be founded in Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. About.com's Rebecca Murray stated the seventeen minutes of the film's one hundred and seventeen minutes duration was just plain horrible as it screwed the whole film with the ending that doesn't fit, gave the film a "B" rating but gave positive reaction also, stating "Spielberg almost succeeds in creating the perfect alien movie". Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader praised the special effects in the film and the performance of Cruise, calling it "isn't bad". Roger Ebert called the alien invasion not good enough despite the film's mega-budget, but Ebert felt impressed with the airliner crashing, image of a train and others were better, stated, "Such scenes seem to come from a kind of reality different from that of the tripods".

References

1. ^ "War of the Worlds (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
2. "Minority Report (2002)". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
3. "Minority Report (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
4. ^ "War of the Worlds Production Notes (2005)". Made In Atlantis. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
5. ^ "War of the Worlds - Production Notes". War of the Worlds, Official Site. Retrieved 11 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
6. ^ Anthony Breznican (23 June 2005). "Spielberg's family values". USA Today. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
7. ^ Josh Friedman, David Koepp. "War of the Worlds". Internet Movie Script Database. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
8. ^ "War Of The Worlds: Script by David Koepp & Josh Friedman (2005)". The War of the Worlds. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
9. A. D. Murphy (9 November 1977). "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Variety. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
10. Kirsten McCumber (9 June 1995). "The Little Alien That Could". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
11. ^ Robot Genre Movies (Media notes). Lenovo. {{cite AV media notes}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |publisherid= (help); Unknown parameter |director= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |titlelink= ignored (|title-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |titleyear= ignored (help)
12. Naven Bradford. "War of the Worlds". Google. Archived from the original on 16 June 2001. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
13. "War of the Worlds - Also Known As". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
14. "Close Encounters of the Worst Kind". Wired. June 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
15. "Schindler's List". Ralph Fiennes. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
16. McBride, Joseph (1997). "Rehab". Steven Spielberg. New York City: Faber and Faber. pp. 309–322. ISBN 0-571-19177-0.
17. James Wray (9 October 2004). "More on War of the Worlds Filing in New Jersey". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
18. "Spielberg to film in Shenandoah Valley". USA Today. 29 November 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
19. Mark Schatzker (20 June 2005). "Worlds Collide". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
20. ^ "War of the Worlds (2005) - Filming locations". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
21. "If A Plane Crashed Into Your Neighborhood..." Greens Boring. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |auhtor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
22. Steve Daly. "Steven Spielberg and George Lucas: The EW Q&A". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
23. ^ "War of the Worlds". Frank Rose. June 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
24. ^ "Review of The War Of The Worlds (Steven Spielberg, 2005)". The War of the Worlds. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
25. Claudia Kienzle. "Industrial Light & Magic" (PDF). Autodesk. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
26. Bill Chambers. "War of the Worlds (2005) - Widescreen DVD". Film Freak Central. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
27. Johnny Betts. "War of the Worlds (2005) - Odds & Ends". The Movie Mark. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
28. ^ "War of the Worlds (2005)". Soundtrack Info. 28 June 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
29. "War of the Worlds (2005)". Ricard L. Befan. John Williams Fan Network. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
30. War of the Worlds (Media notes). Filmtracks. 2005. p. 1. {{cite AV media notes}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |mbid=, |publisherid=, and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |notestitle= ignored (help)
31. "War of the Worlds Soundtrack CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
32. "War of the Worlds: John Williams: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
33. "War of the Worlds - Soundtrack". War of the Worlds, Official Site. Retrieved 16 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
34. ^ Saunders, Debra (10 July 2005). "Spielberg's anti-war 'War of the Worlds'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
35. "Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise: The Fascinating Truth Behind "War of the Worlds"". Reader's Digest. June 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
36. ^ Steven D. Greydanus. "War of the Worlds (2005)". Decent Films. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
37. Jason Cook. "War of the Worlds Review (2005)". The Spinning Image. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
38. ^ "War of the Worlds (2005) - Movie Connections". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
39. "Dragon Ball Z (1989/I) - Movie Connections". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
40. Donna Freydkin (23 June 2005). "Cruise, Holmes step out". USA Today. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
41. Kerry Bennett (22 June 2005). "War of the Worlds (2005)". Parent Previews. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
42. ^ Steve Head (24 June 2005). "Headgame 7: War of the Worlds". IGN. p. 1-2. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
43. Steve Head (24 June 2005). "Headgame 7: War of the Worlds". IGN. p. 2-2. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
44. Press Conference of War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg. 23 June 2005.
45. "A deeply insidious culture of secrecy..." (PDF). Families Link. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
46. "Movie Budgets". The Numbers. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
47. "War of the Worlds -- Most Expensive Movie Ever". ShowBIZ Data. 18 August 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
48. "Titanic (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
49. "Paramount Pictures Interactive Marketing to Place Online Gamers Into the Action With 'War of the Worlds' Online Game". Prnewswire. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
50. ^ "Hitachi goes global for "War of the Worlds"". Hitachi. 20 April 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
51. "War of the Worlds - DVD details". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
52. Idato, Michael (14 November 2005). "War of the Worlds - Special Edition". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
53. "War of the Worlds (Widescreen Edition) (2005)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
54. "War Of The Worlds (2005 (Fullscreen)". DVDLoc8. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
55. "DVD Sales Chart (2005)". Lee's Movie Info. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
56. "Opening Day Records". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
57. "Biggest Opening Weeks". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
58. "Biggest Opening Weekends". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
59. "Independence Day Weekends". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
60. "Fastest Movies to Hit $200 million at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
61. "2005 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Template:Fy. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
62. "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
63. "War of the Worlds". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
64. "War of the Worlds: Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
65. "War of the Worlds". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
66. Berardinelli, James. "War of the Worlds". Reel Views. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
67. "War Of The Worlds (12A)". Total Film. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
68. Turan, Kenneth (29 June 2005). "War of the Worlds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
69. Marcucci, Dan (27 October 2005). "A basic rule of thumb is - if you see Tim Robbins, you've stayed too long". Broomfield Enterprise (in Rotten Tomatoes). Retrieved 30 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
70. Wilmington, Michael (24 August 2007). "Movie review: 'War of the Worlds'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
71. Murray, Rebecca. ""War of the Worlds" Movie Review". About.com. Retrieved 30 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
72. Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "War of the Worlds". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 30 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
73. Ebert, Roger. "War of the Worlds". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 30 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Official website
  • Trailers
• War of the Worlds at IMDb
• Template:Amg movie
• War of the Worlds at Rotten Tomatoes
• War of the Worlds at Box Office Mojo
• War of the Worlds at Metacritic
• War of the Worlds at Yahoo!
• War of the Worlds at the Internet Movie Script Database
• War of the Worlds Script by Naven Bradford.

• 2005 films
• American science fiction films
• English-language films
• Doomsday films
• Films directed by Steven Spielberg
• Films set in New Jersey
• Films set in New York
• Films set in New York City
• Science fiction action films
• Boston, Massachusetts in fiction
• War of the Worlds films
• 2000s science fiction films
• United States Marine Corps in media
• Paramount films
• DreamWorks films
• Amblin Entertainment films
• Alien visitation films
• Films based on novels