8mm Forum: War of the Worlds 3 x 400ft Mini Feature.

This is topic War of the Worlds 3 x 400ft Mini Feature. in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on October 08, 2017, 09:09 AM:

Doug, sorry for another new thread but i note the other two cover the 400 and the full feature.This one is for the 3 x 400ft mini feature.
The story line needs no introduction on this this film, i would imagine that this must have been one of the most popular titles released from marketing and we were lucky enough to pick this one up for around £45 many years ago, we are also very very lucky as this one ,we assume, must be on agfa stock as there is no fade at all.on this print. Supplied on 3 x 400ft reels it fits, (as most do) onto 1 x 800ft reel with no room to spare.
Probably one of marketing's better edited editions as for once there doesn't appear to be any sudden cuts or missing elements of the film. All the main scenes are in there and with the original paramount end title, (for once) this film is probably the best of the cut-downs. Obviously the full feature is even better but these are few and far between.
The image quality is first class & not a speck of negative sparkle anywhere, sound is also fist rate with just the right amount of bass. We did also have the 400ft version some years ago which was also very good but this one definatly is a must for any classic sci fi collector.
For those who would like to know the contents of this mini feature here is the plot edited for this version,
In southern California, Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project, is fishing with colleagues when a large object crashes near the town of Linda Rosa. At the impact site, he meets Sylvia Van Buren and her uncle, Pastor Matthew Collins. Later that day, the "cylinder" opens and the inhabitants of the ship kill a welcoming party,
The United States military surround the crash site in battle formation.
Collins attempts to make peace with the Martians ends in him being killed.
The Martian war machines effortlessly defeat the military with a "Heat-Ray".
Attempting to escape, Forrester and Sylvia hide in an abandoned farm house. They begin to develop romantic feelings for each other before the house is buried by yet another cylinder. They encounter and dismember an "electronic eye" from the Martian machine,
They manage to sneak away from the aliens without being seen. Many of the major capitals of the world are destroyed in the attacks and the United States government makes the decision to use nuclear weapons against the invaders. Forrester brings the Martian camera and blood samples to his team at Pacific Tech, with hope they can study the technology. An attempt to destroy a camp of Martians by nuclear strike fails due to their shields,
As the Martians advance on Los Angeles, with nothing left to fight them, the city is evacuated, Forrester searches for Sylvia in the city while the Martians cause widespread destruction. Based on a story she had told him earlier, he deduces that she would be hiding in a church. He finds Sylvia among many praying survivors. Just as the Martians strike the church, their machines suddenly crash. Forrester finds the pilot of one such machine dead, and notes that they were "all praying for a miracle". It is revealed by the radio announcer/narrator that while the Martians were impervious to humanity's weapons, they had "...no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. Once they had breathed our air, germs which no longer affect us began to kill them. The end came swiftly. All over the world, their machines began to stop and fall. After all that men could do had failed, the Martians were destroyed and humanity was saved by the littlest things, which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this Earth..."

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on October 09, 2017, 02:13 AM:

Hi Tom

After reading your review I watched the 3/400ft tonight as its been a while. Its really well edited and I certainly enjoyed watching it....classic stuff....its one of those films, that you never get tired watching, and as you say you can get it all on a single 800ft reel [Cool]

PS Those are good screen shots [Cool]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on October 09, 2017, 07:52 PM:

Thanks Graham.
It certainly is a timeless claasic.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on October 09, 2017, 08:52 PM:

The print I have has more red in some places than others, its still acceptable. Anyway I posted a quick look, on you-tube of it... [Roll Eyes]

..I think I need to get out in the fresh air more often.. [Big Grin]

https://youtu.be/Uj1FGkIimC4

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 10, 2017, 12:35 PM:

Once again, I have to envy you, Tom! [Smile]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on October 10, 2017, 07:46 PM:

Osi, you have alien close encounters and poltergiest in scope. I'l chop off my left arm for those. [Big Grin]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 12, 2017, 11:49 AM:

the admiration society lives on! [Smile]

I'm just so thankful to know that there are copies of this on super 8 today that were thankfully placed on the RIGHT low fade film stocks so that, when i finally get the chance at obtaining a copy, it'll be great for a very long time.

On War of the Worlds in general ...

I actually prefer to see it on super 8 as, one of the big drawbacks (in my opinion) of having this on bluray or DVD, is that those copies are so sharp that you can easily see the fishing line (I think that that's what thyey used for the ships), in all those awesome special effects shots in the film, but they are not so distracting in the super 8 prints and thias allows us the illusion of reality to those sequences.

Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on October 12, 2017, 04:44 PM:

So true Osi,it's like watching TV programmes like the Thunderbirds,the marionette strings can be seen more.

Posted by David Roberts (Member # 197) on October 14, 2017, 11:37 AM:

Osi and Tom,
I have this,great film and one I often view.
my print is a little red on dark scenes,but not too bad. otherwise still very good colour.
however,you can easily make out the strings supporting the alien craft,should have done what the book did and have them on legs!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on October 18, 2017, 02:12 PM:

Thats true david, the steve speilberg remake got that right and is one of the very few remakes i really liked. Now that would have made a superb super 8 release. Full length or 3 x 400. I wonder if theres a scope 16mm print anywhere?

Posted by David Ollerearnshaw (Member # 3296) on October 20, 2017, 02:52 PM:

I originally had this version, but sold it when I got the feature. Bought the feature from Famous Films in Miami and sold the 3x400ft to Roger Lilley of Movieland.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on October 20, 2017, 04:14 PM:

Blimy david, could the one i have be your old print as mine cane from Roger and all in its original boxes like new

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