Classics Without All the Class discussion

We have probably all heard of the 1938 radio broadcast based on the novel, and some of us might have seen the 2005 movie. What do we think of these other forms of media that are based off of the novel?

For an updated version, I liked the 2005 version. Very much. Tom Cruise plays 'Everyman' perfectly.

As for the original film from 1953, my Dad had that soundtrack on vinyl. Still does actually. It's fantastic!!!!!

I've only seen the new one, not the 1953. I'll have to check that out.

Tanya wrote: "For an updated version, I liked the 2005 version. Very much. Tom Cruise plays 'Everyman' perfectly.

As for the original film from 1953, my Dad had that soundtrack on vinyl. Still does actually. I..."

I think I completely agree with you Tanya, although the role probably could have gone to a number of good actors.

I saw the 2005 movie with Tom Cruise, and I remember hating it and being a little disappointed by the limp ending. I also hated, *hated*, the daughter, played by Dakota Fanning: Wells was wise not to encumber his hero with a child!

After seeing this thread, thought, I sought out a couple of radio broadcasts, including the legendary Mercury Theatre on the Air (Orson Welles) broadcast from 1938 as well as a lesser known 1971 version by WKBW, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTEU...
Because Orson Welles has such a distinctive voice, I find it hard not to recognize that version as being anything other than a radio drama, and indeed, I think the "panic" that that broadcast caused has been exaggerated. But I enjoyed both radio versions. Indeed, I think radio is perhaps a better medium for War of the Worlds than film: it allows so much more scope for imagination.