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An updated and very loose adaptation of the influential science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, this visually sumptuous film directed by Steven Spielberg not only has the apocalyptic scope one would expect but also focuses on individual human emotion in a way that makes the horror and terror more readily comprehensible. Tom Cruise portrays a divorced New Jersey dockworker whose upwardly mobile ex-wife (Miranda Otto) gives him weekend custody of their two children (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) and heads for Boston. Hours later, alien invaders who have been hiding underground in mammoth machines of war begin to surface and set out to obliterate Earth. The bulk of the film is devoted to Cruise and his kids’ flight from his working-class neighborhood -- the site of one such alien unearthing -- with the previously irresponsible parent instinctively rising to the challenge of protecting his offspring. The effects astound, as one expects in a Spielberg film; and the Josh Friedman-David Koepp screenplay offers some very powerful sequences, which the director realizes with his trademark precision and emotional clarity. Perhaps the most striking subplot involves father and daughter, who seek temporary refuge in the home of a quietly deranged man (exceptionally well played by Tim Robbins) who may also be a pedophile. This brief, uneasy respite comes to a startling end when an alien patrol combs the dwelling for survivors; the masterful handling of this lengthy, almost wordless sequence leaves no doubt that Spielberg was just the right guy to direct the film. It's an impressive motion picture in every respect, made with extraordinary attention to detail and utterly, shockingly realistic in its depiction of an Earth laid waste by alien invaders. For sci-fi fans, it's a not-to-be-missed item that sacrifices none of its effectiveness by being shrunken to the dimensions of a TV screen. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

An ordinary man has to protect his children against alien invaders in this science fiction thriller, freely adapted from the classic story by H.G. Wells. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dockworker living in New Jersey, divorced from his first wife Mary Ann (Miranda Otto) and estranged from his two children Rachel and Robbie (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin), of whom he has custody on weekends. On one such visitation, looking after the kids becomes a little more difficult when, after a series of strange lighting storms hit his neighborhood, Ray discovers that a fleet of death-ray robotic spaceships have emerged nearby, part of the first wave of an all-out alien invasion of the Earth. Transporting his children from New York to Boston in an attempt to find safety at Mary Ann's parents' house, Ray must learn to become the protector and provider he never was in marriage. Also starring Tim Robbins, War of the Worlds was directed by Steven Spielberg, who had been planning the project for years, but set it aside until a wave of "alien invasion" films (led by Independence Day) had run its course. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 678149456226
• Source: DREAMWORKS VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Language: Français
• Editions: Special Edition, Subtitled, Dubbed, Bonus DVD
• Time: 1:57:00
• Sales Rank: 51,094

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