Let's All Go to the Lobby!: WAR OF THE WORLDS

Why Classic Movies are AWESOME!

Classic movies interest me because I like how they acted back then. I like their mannerisms, how they dressed, how they talked, and the expressions they used. For example, "Oh, a wise guy, huh?" It made me wonder if they really said that in real life, or did they just use it in the movies. They didn't use a whole lot of special effects, they mostly relied on acting. In The Hunch Back of the Notre Dame (1939), the actor, Charles Laughton, had an excellent speaking voice, but he didn't use it much in the movie. He wanted to be known for his acting and not just for his speaking.

Another good movie that didn't use a whole lot of special effects but was a great film was The Haunting (1963). The movie didn't show ghosts, but you knew they were there. It was obvious there was a haunting because of all the noises, the camera angles, and the acting. There were other versions of The Haunting but they weren't as good as the original. Mostly, because they valued special effects over acting. In the original you imagined and wondered what the ghosts would look like and that's why it did so good. And that's why I love Tuner Classic Movies.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

WAR OF THE WORLDS

This is about a war that is far worse than any war mankind could have ever created. A war between mankind and beings from another world. This was based on the 1898 science fiction novel written by H.G. Wells who earlier wrote The Time Machine. The movie was released in 1953 and is about a scientist that was on a fishing trip and gets called to investigate a meteor that had crashed near the town of Linda Rosa. When he gets there, he observes it and wonders why that it was so oddly lighter for its size, and why it didn’t make a bigger crater when it landed. He then tells some of the local town's people that it was radioactive and later that night some strange things begin to happen. None of the phones or lights were working anywhere in that area and at a local square dance everyone’s watches stop all at the same time and become magnetic. Even the local sheriff's compass is affected and pointed only towards the area where the meteor crashed.

The scientist and the sheriff head towards the crash site where they discovered that the meteor is no meteor at all, but a Martian space ship that tries destroy them with its deadly heat- ray that sticks up from the roof of the ship. The sound effects for the heat ray were pretty creative for a 1953 film.The sound of the heat ray was made by recording electric guitars and playing the recording backwords to create the deadly sound of the gun. The movie later won Oscars for their excellent special effects.

This film was remade in 2005 starring Mission Impossible Tom Cruise. This version’s story line was changed from H.G. Wells original novel. In this one, it is about an inattentive divorced father, who was supposed to have his kids for only the weekend, but now he has to protect them from an alien invasion. This film also stars Dakota Fanning as Rachel and at the end of the movie they show her grandparents, who are Gene Berry and Ann Robison, the main characters from the original film of War of the Worlds. The director of the 1953 War of the Worlds was Byron Haskin and the director for the 2005 version was Steven Spielberg.

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How I Got Into Classic Movies

When I was little, my parents let me watch Grease, starring John Travolta. It was filmed in the 70’s but they made it
look like a 50’s movie. Then, when I was about five or six, my mom got me The Wizard of Oz. Even before I watched the movie, I had a terrible fear of midgets. So, while other kids were afraid of the witch, I was more scared of the munchkins! You could say that my phobias are as unique as my taste in
movies.

I wasn’t the strongest reader when I was younger so whenever
a silent movie came on, my parents let me try to read the subtitles. I watched all sorts of movies with my dad. For example, we watched It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, starring Spencer Tracy, which is about a group of people racing against each other to find stolen money that is hidden
under a giant “W”.

Also, every St. Patrick’s Day, my dad and I watch The Quiet Man, which is about a boxer who returns to home to Ireland after accidentally killing a fellow boxer in the ring while in the United States. The movie stars John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. My parents got me accustomed to watching old movies and over time I became addicted to great acting, and that’s why I live off of Turner Classic Movies.

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-Elena