Battle of the Worlds – Film Detective (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1961
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Writer: Ennio De Concini
Cast: Claude Rains, Bill Carter, Umberto Orsini, Maya Brent, Jacqueline Derval, Renzo Palmer, Carlo D'Angelo, John Stacy, Giuliano Gemma

Release Date: August 9th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 81 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Scientists are puzzled as it begins orbiting the Earth before intentions are made clear with an unleashed fleet of lethal flying saucers!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.25/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Presented from a 4k Scan from Original 35mm Archival Print."

Battle of the Worlds comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 26.7 GB

Feature: 19.7 GB

The source used for this transfer looks very good; any source damage that remains is minor. The image generally looks crisp; though colors tend to look good, they do fluctuate, and black levels are adequate. Also, any compression-related issues are minor, and though grain is present, it does not look consistent throughout.

Audio: 3.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The audio is in good shape; any source imperfections are minor. Though dialog comes through clearly, range-wise, things sound flat. Included are removable English SDH subtitles and removable Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a video essay by author Tim Lucas titled A Cinematic Outsider: The Fantastical Worlds of Antonio Margheriti (30 minutes 38 seconds, DTS-HD mono Stereo English with removable English subtitles and removable Spanish subtitles), an audio commentary with author and film historian Justin Humphreys with removable English subtitles and removable Spanish subtitles, and a 12-page booklet with an essay titled Margheriti’s World written by Don Stradley.

Summary:

Directed by Antonio Margheriti, whose notable films are The Virgin of Nuremberg, Castle of Blood, The Long Hair of Death, Web of the Spider, and Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes. Before Antonio Margheriti made a name for himself in the gothic horror genre, he was the premier Italian filmmaker working in the sci-fi genre, directing Assignment: Outer Space, Battle of the Worlds, and the Gamma One Quadrilogy (The Wild, Wild Planet, The War of the Planets, War Between the Planets, and Snow Devils).

When released in Italy, Battle of the Worlds was about fifteen minutes longer than the US theatrical release. That said, this release from Film Detective actually clocks in about two minutes shorter than Alpha Video’s 2004 DVD release.

The narrative revolves around a group of scientists given the task of destroying a runaway asteroid that is orbiting the Earth.

Over the last twenty years, just about every genre or subgenre of Italian cinema has been given the spotlight because of the DVD and Blu-ray formats, except Peplum and SciFi. Fortunately, in more recent years, in the case of the latter, it has been gaining some traction.

1950s/1960s sci-fi cinema that was made before 2001: A Space Odyssey looks primitive, and most of the narratives are far-fetched even by sci-fi cinema standards. Surprisingly, a film like Battle of the Worlds based solely on a story actually holds up really well, and many elements in it foreshadow what was to come in space travel.

Though Italian genre cinema has had a long history of hiring a name actor from Hollywood or Europe that would give their films a wider appeal outside of Italy, in most cases, when they hired someone from Hollywood, it would be someone past their prime. Case in point Claude Rains (The Invisible Man - 1933) plays the role of Professor Benson, an eccentric scientist who is in charge of the group investigating the orbiting asteroid. He delivers a maniacal performance that perfectly captures his character's determination to solve problems. That said, outside of Claude Rains, the rest of the cast is merely serviceable.

Though Battle of the Worlds does a good job maximizing its limited resources, that is not to say that it does not have its shortcomings. a narrative that has pacing issues. The first fifty minutes are just the scientists interacting and trying to figure out why the asteroid is orbiting Earth. Aliens don't make an appearance until the last thirty minutes, and when the aliens do appear, they are only flying saucers. The most surprising aspect of The Battle of the Worlds is its production design, especially the aliens' lair inside the asteroid. Ultimately, Battle of the Worlds positives outweigh its negatives. If you're a fan of 1950s and 1960s sci-fi, you are sure to enjoy Battle of the Worlds.

Battle of the Worlds gets a strong release from Film Detective that comes with a good audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer