# How was Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" different from the book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362 "2009-08-23T01:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/1 "2009-08-23T01:59:34Z")
My mother just watched this, and was curious how well it followed the book. I never saw the movie, so I don’t know. I seem to remember that the ending was the same, and some people found it unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/2 "2009-08-23T02:08:16Z")
You are joking, right? I mean, aside from it being set int the contempory US instead of Victorian London, the Martians comng out of the ground like some type of evil 17-year locust instead of crashing to earth in space-faring cylinders, the aliens looking like debauched ETs instead of intelligent terrestrial octopodes, the central character being Tom Cruise and having adorable and/or heroic children instead of being a somewhat detached observer, the water battle being between a tripod and a Hudson River ferryboat that was larger than a cruise ship instead of having the fucking Thunder Child sacrifice herself heroically, and did I mention Tom fucking Cruise??? No, it was exactly like the book. Except for being a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/3 "2009-08-23T02:14:16Z")
Another difference is in the original 1898 novel the Martians are not invulnerable to human weapons like in the 50s version and Spielburg’s. As noted above the British warship H.M.S. Thunderchild destroys a Martian war machine and field artillery takes another one out. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/4 "2009-08-23T02:15:07Z")
Oh wait, the Martian Heat ray is now some sort of make-people-explode ray. The soldier hiding in the ruins is now a crazy-ass Tim Robbins, and the son who should have died defending his family shows up at the end none the worse for his ordeal despite his not existing in the book at all. Yeah, like I said, no difference from the book at all. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/5 "2009-08-23T02:41:14Z")
Tim Robbins wasn’t the soldier, the man the protagonist was trapped with (and ends up killing/being responsible for the death of) was a clergyman. There was a soldier, but he managed to survive and his character wasn’t really in the move (in some sense he was like the son, but not really). The most basic bits of the plot are the same - Martians invade, they’re nearly unstoppable, and we follow one man as he tries to survive. In the end the Martians are defeated by microbes. I don’t think the movie had the chemical weapon ‘black smoke’ used by the Martians unless I’m forgetting. There was also no escape from a ‘transport ship’. Although there is a scene where the Martians are shown harvesting human organs(? I think). I actually didn’t think the movie was so bad; it was kind of clear what most of the changes were trying to portray, even if they weren’t part of the book. I suppose I wasn’t really expecting anything like the book since its best features aren’t really very cinematic. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/6 "2009-08-23T02:48:15Z")
The only good thing about the WotW movie is a few of the special effects, like the camera panning around a moving van and then up through the windows to pick up dialogue without any visible cuts, entire blocks of houses being destroyed at once, impressive stuff for the time. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/7 "2009-08-23T02:56:21Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > The only good thing about the WotW movie is a few of the special effects, like the camera panning around a moving van and then up through the windows to pick up dialogue without any visible cuts, entire blocks of houses being destroyed at once, impressive stuff for the time. The train was pretty fuckin’ cool, too. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/8 "2009-08-23T03:00:50Z")
There were LOTs of things right about the movie. It was in a lot of places a hell of a peice of filmmaking. Of course, there were many differences from the book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/9 "2009-08-23T03:03:31Z")
I’ve never read the book, but I would assume it didn’t have Dakota Fanning screaming a lot. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/10 "2009-08-23T04:09:19Z")
If the poison gas wasn’t the novel, it was in Orson Welles’ radio play… I actually read Wells’ novel in junior high for a free choice reading assignment. Did not enjoy some of the Victorian touches, and couldn’t understand why Wells never gave his protagonist a name (as I recall). ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/11 "2009-08-23T04:13:33Z")
I had never watched the movie before, so I watched the first little bit----I loved how Cruise was able to seamlessly speed down the freeway (which was strewn with destroyed cars, except for where he wanted to go) always just seconds away from certain doom… After a few min. I was actually looking forward to the DVD release of “Small Wonder”, just for a taste of more realistic sci-fi. (and the little robot girl in "Small Wonder’ must be a better actress than Dakota Fanning.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/12 "2009-08-23T04:26:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Another difference is in the original 1898 novel the Martians are not invulnerable to human weapons like in the 50s version and Spielburg’s. As noted above the British warship H.M.S. Thunderchild destroys a Martian war machine and field artillery takes another one out. _Thunder Child_ (which incidentally is the coolest name ever for a warship) took out two, actually: One with its guns, and another by ramming it. Really, the Martians in the original were at just about a WWII level, far from being unsurpassable. And yes, the black smoke was from the book. ---
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/13 "2009-08-23T05:05:12Z")
DrFidelius - I’m not sure why you’re so angry with me. As I mentioned, I never saw the movie. Was Tom Cruise in it? I didn’t know. Thanks for all the input. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/14 "2009-08-23T08:22:47Z")
Yes, Tom Cruise was in it. For some, that ruins it automatically. Others — the majority, I think — can watch it more dispassionately. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/15 "2009-08-23T11:44:03Z")
I am a big fan of the novel, & that movie…did not have **anything** in common with it. Welles’ novel is a condemnation of Western powers using advanced military technology to dominate nonindustrial cultures. The film was about…nothing in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/16 "2009-08-23T14:10:30Z")
If you ever want to get the “feel” of the book without actually reading it, find a copy of _Jeff Waynes’ Musical Version of War of the Worlds_ and have a long listen. Smoking a J beforehand is advisable if you’re into that sorta’ thing. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/17 "2009-08-23T14:22:40Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I had never watched the movie before, so I watched the first little bit----I loved how Cruise was able to seamlessly speed down the freeway (which was strewn with destroyed cars, except for where he wanted to go) always just seconds away from certain doom… And don’t forget after the airliner crashes into the house, they drive away through the path in the wreckage. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/18 "2009-08-23T15:09:12Z")
> [@Postariti](#): > > DrFidelius - I’m not sure why you’re so angry with me. As I mentioned, I never saw the movie. Was Tom Cruise in it? I didn’t know. > > Thanks for all the input. Not angry with you, governor. That movie is my “Starship Troopers,” and I can enjoy it only as long as I avoid comparing it to the book (which is the book that got me started reading back in the day). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/19 "2009-08-23T15:30:01Z")
Points still not mentioned. The guy in the book was not running around with his kids or divorced. The movie seems to have combined the crazy preacher and the crazy solder into one character that is met in a house in stead of following the character everyplace he went.The martians didn’t come back a second time in the book unlike the movie sequel. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362/20 "2009-08-23T15:50:40Z")
The special effects of the newer one may be fancier but as a movie I find the 1953 version directed by Byron Haskin far more enjoyable. And if you thought Hollywood messed with the plot … [The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts and Zombies](http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/13-books/2197-the-war-of-the-worlds-gets-zombified.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-spielbergs-war-of-the-worlds-different-from-the-book/507362.md?page=2)