The War Of The Worlds - Tumblr Posts
Inspired by H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, Henrique Alvim Corrêa's illustrations, and the mockumentary The Great Martian War 1913-1917.
FPE and TWotW practice fan art Fundamental Paper Education is created by Kaaatie The War of the Worlds is written by H. G. Wells, 1906 illustrations by Henrique Alvim Corrêa
Tripodette concept art #1 My attempt of moe anthropomorphizing the fighting machines in H.G. Well's The War of the Worlds; based on Henrique Alvim Corrêa’s illustrations. I think Tripodette sounds like a good name for this character.
Tripodette concept art #2 Moe anthropomorphizing the fighting machines in H.G. Well's The War of the Worlds; based on Henrique Alvim Corrêa’s illustrations.
Tripodette Art #1 Based on Henrique Alvim Corrêa’s illustrations in H.G. Well's The War of the Worlds.
Tripodette Art #2 Based on Henrique Alvim Corrêa’s illustrations in H.G. Well's The War of the Worlds.
ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT (George Pal, 1961).
Special effects maestro turned director George Pal followed his acclaimed adaptation of H G Wells' The Time Machine (1960) with the mythical fable Atlantis: The Lost Continent.
Out sailing with his father, Greek fisherman Demetrios (Anthony Hall) rescues the shipwrecked Atlantean Princess Antilla (Joyce Taylor). On returning the Princess to the mythical kingdom, Demetrios is imprisoned and forced into slave labour. It turns out the technologically superior Atlantiaeans are a sadistic lot, inflicting punishments on their captives such as turning them into man-beast hybrids. Demetrios rebels, attempting to win the affection of the princess in the process. He then must free the other slaves and exit Atlantis before its inevitable demise.
After the excellent Time Machine, Atlantis: The Lost Continent was seen as something of a disappointment. Actually, the movie is a fun and pretty wild ride but lacks the gravitas of earlier Pal classics such as The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, 1953) tom thumb (Pal, 1958) and, as mentioned, The Time Machine.
It features some impressive visual effects, most notably during the empire’s spectacular fall which serves as the movie’s climax. The cast is made up of faces largely unfamiliar to modern audiences, save for maybe John Dall as baddie Zaren and Edward Platt as the sympathetic High Priest Azar. While the performers do a proficient enough job they do get a little lost among the spectacle.
With influences of Jules Verne-esq sci-fi and the then popular sword and sandal movies, Atlantis: The Lost Continent has a somewhat uneasy footing in both genres. As a special effects laden sci-fi adventure it pales in comparison to superior epics Journey to the Center of the Earth (Henry Levin, 1959) and Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963).
Yet, I have a lot of affection for the movie. If you are fan of George Pal you will definitely enjoy this. Ultimately it is little more than matinee fluff, but it’s matinee fluff on a grand scale.
Read an unedited version of this review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
7 FACES OF DR LAO (Dir: George Pal, 1964).
George Pal first came to prominence in the 1930s with his series of animated Puppetoons shorts. Switching to live action, first as producer and then director he was responsible for a series of special effects heavy sci-fi and fantasy films, including The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, 1953) and The Time Machine (Pal, 1960) which are now rightly deemed classics of their genres. His 5th and final feature as directed was 1964’s 7 Faces of Dr Lao, based upon Charles G Finney’s 1935 novel The Circus of Dr Lao.
Tony Randall stars as the titular Lao, an aged (7322 years!) Chinese gent and owner of a fantastical, magical travelling circus. When the circus stops at the dusty Arizona town of Abalone the townsfolk are taught some valuable life lessons from the highly unconventional exhibits include the mythical soothsayer Apollonius, Merlin the Magician, Pan the God of Love and the fabled Gorgon Medusa. All of whom are portrayed by Randall in a truly mesmerising performance. Aided by some outstanding make-up from William Tuttle who rightly won the Academy Award for his efforts.
Some would rightly question the casting of white American Tony Randall as the Chinese Lao. Yet while the performance does exhibit elements of racial stereotyping it is not malicious. Right or wrong, such casting was perfectly acceptable in the era the movie was made and it would be unfair to castigate it for being out of step with more enlightened viewpoints more than 50 years after release.
7 Faces of Dr Lao is an unusual movie; mixing elements of the western genre with gently moralistic Bradbury-esq fantasy, it is probably fair to say it is a little bit of an acquired taste. If you are a fan of Pal then this movie needs no recommendation. For others, a philosophical fantasy aimed at family audiences might be a hard sell. However, it’s status as one of Pal’s lesser known features is entirely unwarranted. The excellent performances, top quality make-up and effects and feverish, almost surrealist atmosphere of the movie make for a heady mix. In my opinion 7 Faces of Dr Lao is one of the finest fantasies ever committed to celluloid.
Visit my blog: JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
When my sister was younger she was terrified of the Martians from War of The Worlds, and especially the little 'wwaaaaaaooo' sounds from the album anyway we had electric toothbrushes and I realised that by moving my mouth while I used it it made different sounds and I'd stand outside her room at night or while we were brushing our teeth and make the wwaaaaaoooo and scare her also I'm so sorry to anyone who actually read this I knew how to phrase exactly 0% of this post have a nice day
The War of the Worlds (1953)
I have this edition. So creepy!
The War of the Worlds - art by Edward Gorey (1960)
Illustrations of my book-accurate interpretation of the Martians and most of their machinery featured in H.G Wells’ The War of the Worlds.
It’s been a while and I decided to update my envisionment of the martian war machines as described in The War of the Worlds! + Bonus Martian
War of the Worlds (2005) by Steven Spielberg.
I love Spielberg's adaptation of War of the Worlds.
It's a remarkable film, and one of Spielberg's great dream films, in the way that sometimes you'll have a dream, and it will start out meaning one thing, but by the end it will mean something else.