Thoughts on the big three War of the Worlds adaptations:
1953 film: It’s fantastic, iconic, and one of the best 1950′s sci-fi films I’ve seen, but despite using some elements from the book, it didn’t feel too much like War of the Worlds to me. It has one of my favorite Martian designs, though.
Jeff Wayne’s musical: The best adaptation, hands down. Not only are the songs and instrumentals hugely enjoyable, but the story follows the original almost perfectly. Between the original 1978 version, and the “New Generation” edition from 2012, I say both are great in their own ways. The 1978 version is still the best, but the extra details and having Liam Nesson narrate in the New Generation helps.
2005 Spielberg film: Hate me if you will, but it’s the best movie adaptation for me. Despite the changes and the post 911 setting, it still follows the original story in its own way, and it easily has the best, and most terrifying, tripods out of all three adaptations, both in design and sound (I sadly can’t say the same for Martians, which just looked like lame knock-offs of the aliens from ID4. Yes I know they didn’t come from Mars in this version, but I don’t know what else to call them).
