For my review of the film itself, click here to read my LA premiere preview article from June 2005.

WAR OF THE WORLDS 2-Disc Limited Edition DVD Review :: NOVEMBER 23 2005 ::

The war has finally come home in three DVD versions: a 1-disc edition, available in either Full Screen or Widescreen formats, and a Limited Edition 2-disc release which is the subject of this review.

The 1.85:1 transfer of WAR OF THE WORLDS is a solid representation of the theatrical release, enhanced for Widescreen TV viewing as well, preserving the cinematic compositions, dramatic scope and epic scale of Steven Spielberg's retelling of this classic invasion tale.  Having seen the film in standard-TV Full Screen version, the Widescreen transfer is clearly the superior and true way to view the film in your home theater or just your living room.  If you enjoyed the film enough to purchase the DVD release, opt for the Widescreen version in either 1-disc or 2-disc release to maintain the integrity and enjoy the complete vision of the world being destroyed before your eyes and ears.

The available Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 Digital Surround audio tracks also engulfs you in the action and drama accordingly.  Turn up your stereo and enjoy that first thrill (all over again) as the towering alien tripod blasts its unworldly horn across the once-quiet New Jersey neighborhood!  It will rattle your windows and your internal organs, just as it did in theaters this past summer.

LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL FEATURES

The second disc of special features, available only on the Limited Edition DVD, offers a pleasing wealth of making-of material and extras which most DVD fans and fanatics expect from such releases.  If you're truly curious how Spielberg, screenwriter David Koepp, the ILM artisans, cast and crew brought this modern WAR OF THE WORLDS to life, don't waste your time with the 1-disc editions and spend a few dollars more to get the 2-disc LE set.   Only one of these same mini-documentaries — Designing the Enemy, a 14-minute featurette on the conceptualization of the alien invaders — is available on the single disc DVDs, added just to appease casual viewers.  In contrast, the 2-disc DVD set offers over 2 hours of documentaries, so fans in search of movie making insights on the film truly get their money's worth purchasing the Limited Edition, including in disc-order:

Revisiting the Invasion (running time 7 minutes 39 seconds), a general topic mini-doc interviewing Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Kathleen Kennedy and most of the principal players about the genesis and intent of remaking this classic science fiction epic for modern times and audiences. This track intercuts a wide variety of feature film and making-of clips tied in with the interview comments, setting the creative context for the more specific tracks to follow.

The H.G. Wells Legacy (6:35) introduces H.G.'s grandson, Martin Wells, and great-grandson, Simon Wells, who introduce the author's historical legacy which has carried down over a century to Spielberg's 2005 feature film adaptation.  From the serial publication of WAR OF THE WORLDS before it was printed as a novel, to Spielberg's inspiration by Wells as "a philosopher/scientist" telling a popular, believable tale.  Simon Wells also covers the 1938 radio adaptation by Orson Welles and the 1953 George Pal-produced feature film.

Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds (8:00) highlights the director's personal history with the 1953 film , both as a favorite cinematic experience and his early professional connection, directing Gene Barry in one of Spielberg's earliest television jobs.  In this featurette, both Gene Barry and Ann Robinson discuss their own experiences as young Hollywood actors in the George Pal production, and how history repeats itself as Barry and Robinson make cameo appearances in the 2005 feature.

Characters: The Family Unit (13:20) illustrates the writing, directing and acting choices made to emphasize and focus the drama on Ray Farrier and his children, Robbie and Rachel, as they make their individual escape amid the sweeping panorama of worldwide destruction surrounding them. Screenwriter David Koepp offers his insight on writing Ray against-type for Tom Cruise, and Cruise's enthusiasm for playing a less-heroic main character whose greatest feat is becoming the father to his children he always should have been.  Spielberg discusses how he arrived at the casting of the family who must dramatize a global disaster in human, emotional terms.

Pre-Visualization (7:42) offers an intriguing look at the computerized design and storyboarding process of the film's pre-production phase.  Unlike pre-vis gurus like George Lucas, Spielberg reveals his ongoing hesitation and distrust for digitally pre-planning film sequences.  Yet he was willing to explore the technique as a necessity of WAR OF THE WORLDS' incredibly tight production schedule of less than a year.  Some good insights into how Spielberg works, creating his own rough sketches, turning them over to digital artists, then often abandoning much of the pre-vis planning once he reaches the set.

Production Diaries: East Coast - Beginning (2:30) details the cast and crew gathering in New Jersey locations for the first days of filming.  Spielberg and fellow creators describe how they set the tone of the movie from day one, including the breakneck pace of production required to return main unit footage to ILM for special effects creation in order to stay on schedule.  Interviews from many production personnel, including producer Kathleen Kennedy, director of photography Janusz Kaminski and production designer Rick Carter, who start the war rolling.

Production Diaries: East Coast - Exile (19:40) is one of the longest featurettes on the disc, focusing mainly on the alien attack on the ferry and all the production artists and disciplines that put the sequence on screen, from location scouting to costuming.  Spielberg introduces his intent to introduce the "American refugee experience" into his reimagination of WAR OF THE WORLDS.  Also several segments break down the stunt work and various special effects techniques used to visualize the ferry attack by alien tripods.

Production Diaries: West Coast - Destruction (27:30), the longest documentary, covers the production's move from locations in New York, New Jersey and Virginia, to the warmer, more flexible location and studio environments of Southern California. While Spielberg and the aliens were tearing up the east coast, set builders and crew were designing and realizing Ogilvy's claustrophobic basement hideout and the nightmarish 747 plane crash in a suburban neighborhood. Though weeks of planning and labor went into this iconic set piece of WAR OF THE WORLDS, including buying and dismantling a actual 747 jet, the sequence lasts under three minutes in the final film.  Click here to view exclusive photos of the plane crash set on the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Production Diaries: West Coast - War (22:20) intercuts film and making-of clips supporting Steven Spielberg's discussion of filming on a complete studio set as most preferable to working in entirely imagined green screen environments. The 'red weed farmhouse' set built at Fox Studios hosts both Spielberg's comments and the dramatic context behind the aliens' reclamation of Earth to perpetuate their own species.  The featurette concludes with a behind-the-scenes exploration of the final military battle with the tripods, shot at Mystery Mesa, California, and how working with actual Marines made the combat set piece plausible and possible.

Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens (14:05) begins with Spielberg's idea to have the aliens unearth their tripod machines, long ago buried under our own civilization, to launch a surprise attack against both the film characters and audience to add a twist to his WAR OF THE WORLDS. Conceptual artist Doug Chiang and ILM Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren offer their creative insights into how they made the creatures and their unworldly war machines appear utterly alien to modern audiences.

Scoring War of the Worlds (18.00) concentrates mainly on composer John Williams' difficult task of writing the score to a film he hadn't seen yet — a first in his moviemaking collaboration with Steve Spielberg dating back over three decades.  Interviews with Williams and documentary on the score recording is shot by Spielberg himself.  In the 2-disc set's only disappointment, this featurette barely hints at the sound effects design of the film, offering no insights at all into the creation of the bellowing tripod horn call, nor the design of the alien weaponry like the heat ray.  The omission stands out even more starkly considering how sound design docs appear on nearly every other genre-film DVD release with a respectable amount of bonus features.  Apparently Spielberg didn't have is digital mini-cam with him when the sound designers showed up for work on the film.   Still, interesting to gain more insight into John Williams' score composition and recording sessions.

We Are Not Alone (3:15) is in reality a brief tag comment from Spielberg, in effect offering tribute to his father who first got Steven interesting and inspired by the night sky, the stars and what — or who — exists just beyond our grasp but never beyond our imagination.  The remainder of the track shows various clips along side the DVD Special Features credits.

Production Notes offer the typical production information presented in a condensed press EPK format, typical material for any such expanded DVD release.

Galleries cover a range of production stills and artwork, including Costume Design, Production Stills, Behind the Scenes and Production Sketches.  All of these offer slideshow-like glimpses into the making of the film and publicity material accompanying its theatrical release this summer.

To be honest, the above descriptions barely scratch the surface of the material wealth found on the second Special Features disc.  Casual viewers (most likely video renters) should be satisfied with the bare-bones 1-disc release, but all serious WAR OF THE WORLDS and/or DVD enthusiasts should definitely opt for the Limited Edition 2-disc release.  The extra two hours-plus of behind-the-scenes interviews and footage completely round out the film experience — and viewers who have followed production of the film on this website will be happy to learn that these featurettes are not mere copies of the web documentaries available online over the past year.  While the titling and styles of these DVD documentaries vary strangely from each other in design (very odd for a comprehensive special edition DVD release), viewers will see and enjoy video footage never available before on the internet — as opposed to, let's say, the upcoming DVD box set release of the King Kong web documentaries, which will basically be high-resolution copies of what Kong fans have already watched online for months now.  Just one more reason for WAR OF THE WORLDS fans to obtain and revel in the expansive bonus material offered on this 2-disc set.

Retail list price is $29.99, but search your favorite local or online resources for discounted prices.  I happened to pick mine up at Best Buy, which offers Reward Zone customers an exclusive collector's book premium with purchase: the shooting script of WAR OF THE WORLDS with introduction and photo captions by screenwriter David Koepp.

Visit the OFFICIAL WAR OF THE WORLDS WEBSITE