George Pal’s influential mid-‘50s version of the H G Wells classic (does anyone still read it?) looks uncomfortably like one of those stiff, color saturated, studio bound pics Cecil B De Mille was making in the ‘40s. And with good reason as De Mille was an unofficial godfather to the production and his tech people are all over the credits. Still, if you hold your nose over the acting ensemble and concentrate on the painterly effects and the crazy art moderne alien mechanical designs (along with the George Pal ‘Puppetoon’ legacy, note all those strings on the spaceships) the film remains a fun watch.* Did Spielberg use the briefly glimpsed aliens as a template for his own E.T.?
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *A meticulous 2018 restoration improves image & sound in all sorts of ways, including those piano wires, far less visible after color correction.
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