William Cameron (Things to Come/Gone With the Wind) Menzies' 1953 War of the Worlds variant, Invaders From Mars has re-established itself in the pop-cultural landscape with restored, Blu-ray and 4K UHD manifestations from Ignite Films.
Released by 20th Century Fox, produced by Edward L. Alperson and scripted by Richard Blake (from a story by John Tucker Battle), the movie is renowned for its surreal imagery, as told through the eyes of an astronomy-prone boy named David MacLean, played with identifiable conviction by Jimmy Hunt.
One nocturnal morn, MacLean witnesses a flying saucer land beyond his home (descending into the ground, no less) and soon thereafter, detects alterations in the behaviors of the town's inhabitants (who sport peculiar marks on the back of their necks). This includes his parents, played by Leif (Night Monster) Erickson and Hillary (The Woman in Green) Brooke. From there, mind-meddling, Martian mutants are revealed, depicted in dreamy, Eastman color by cinematographer Robert F. Seitz and cloaked in a haunting score by Raoul Kraushaar. (David squawks about the burgeoning invasion, often in vain, until the Army springs into action to crush the freedom-devouring menace.)
Genre favorite, Arthur (Monster on the Campus) Franz and Helena (The Pathfinder) Carter are compassionate scientists who substantiate David's troubling claims. Morris Ankrum, Douglas Kennedy, Walter Sande and Milburn Stone are among the impressive line-up, getting involved (and taking the necessary, melodramatic steps) during the frantic, Red Scare-slanted plot.
The movie's Martians, portrayed by Luce (The Wizard of Oz) Potter, Lock (The Day the Earth Stood Still) Martin and pro-wrestler-to-be Max (Jungle Jim--Killer Ape) Palmer, are unforgettable in their weird guises and flanked by Menzie's imaginative set designs, though the most striking piece is stationed aboveground: an expressionistic, fence-fringed hilltop.
To accompany Invaders From Mars' stunning, 4K restoration (captured from the original negative, no less), the Ignite special edition includes expanded sequences and an alternate, British ending (maybe it wasn't a premonition-reverie, after all, eh?!); insightful words from Jimmy Hunt, James Curtis (Menzies' biographer) and Menzies' granddaughter, Pamela Lausen; John Sayles' TCM intro; an affectionate featurette starring Joe Dante, John Landis, Mark Goldblatt and Robert Skotak; a twenty-page booklet-essay by Scott MacQueen; a restoration comparison; a gallery of press-book pages; behind-the-scenes photos; plus the 1953 and 2022 trailers.
Invaders From Mars is one of those frightful flicks that got under the skin of many an impressionable kid, maybe because its protagonist is of their own, but many adults have savored the odd outing's ambiance throughout their lives, including Tobe (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) Hooper, who remade the fable in 1986 with nostalgic, loving care.
To celebrate the original Invaders, order straight from Ignite Films and enjoy to the sublime wonderment time and again.
https://www.ignite-films.com/products/invaders-from-mars
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