The Day That Panicked America (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation & Audio CD-The War Of The Worlds Original Radio Broadcast
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	75:17
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	John Ross
Studio Distributor	Visual Entertainment Group	Starring	John Ross
Case	?
RPI	$29.95	Music	John Ross

    On the day before Halloween in October 1938, Orson Welles' Mercury Theater of the Air broadcast an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. The adaptation moved the action to New Jersey and was so realistic that many people thought that Martians really were invading. Some took to the highways causing major traffic jams, some headed for the hills and a lot were just plain spooked. The documentary on this disc examines this event and its aftermath.

    There is an attempt here to place the hysteria in some sort of historical context. Science fiction had gained in popularity in the 1920s through a series of pulp magazines, and the 1930s saw a number of science fiction heroes, such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, hit the silver screen. There was also doom in the air, with the continuing effects of the Great Crash of '29 and the impending war in Europe to add to people's fears. Apparently a lot of people missed the start of the broadcast after switching from a popular show on another station, and so believed that the broadcast was a genuine news story. If they had stayed with the broadcast a little longer they would have realised their mistake.

    I recall watching a 1970s telemovie called The Night That Panicked America, which is a more accurate title, as, er, the broadcast was at night. This was a dramatisation of events which was a little less than convincing in depicting the widespread panic. This new documentary is interesting but a bit overlong.There are a few too many digressions, especially into Welles' career afterwards. The programme comprises a lot of excerpts from newsreels and movies, mainly of the science fiction type, and some from much later than 1938. It is intriguing enough but would not stand up to repeated viewings. There appears to be some new animated footage of Martian tripods crossing the countryside in black and white.

    The programme is narrated by John Ross, presumably the same John Ross who wrote, produced and directed the documentary and created the music score. While the US and UK DVD covers credit Leonard Nimoy as the narrator, it seems in all cases to be Ross. The real gem in this release is the accompanying CD, which contains the complete original broadcast.

Video

    The programme is presented in what appears to be the original aspect ratio of 1.29:1.

    There is very little in the way of new material here. Most of the running time is taken up with archival footage, mainly from movies dating back to the silent era, as well as newsreel footage, old photographs and even a NASA film in which Welles reflects on the play thirty years later. It is reasonably sharp and no more, with sufficient detail for the purposes of the documentary, but it is obvious that no restoration has taken place. There are lots of film artefacts on the original material. I noticed a couple of instances of aliasing, but otherwise no significant artefacts.

    The disc is single layered and there are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
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Film Artefacts
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Audio

    The sole audio track is Dolby Digital 2.0. I guess it is stereo but there is no noticeable separation between the channels.

    The audio consists of Ross's narration, some music and audio from the original broadcast and the archival material. The audio is serviceable, with some harshness, though I think this comes from the original audio on the archival footage. I found the audio to be generally acceptable without being perfect.

    The music is fairly nondescript, consisting of some science fiction-like electronic themes.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
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Menu Animation & Audio

    A goofy animated sequence involving flying saucers and space music a la Star Trek, with some audio from the original radio broadcast.

CD-The War Of The Worlds Original Radio Broadcast (58:07)

    This CD contains the complete audio of the original 1938 broadcast featuring Welles and his Mercury Radio Theater players. Several of the cast would appear in Welles' film Citizen Kane, including Ray Collins, Paul Stewart and William Alland. It was written by Welles, Howard Koch and John Houseman, with the music directed by Bernard Herrmann, so there was quite a team of talent involved.

    It's not hard to believe that some people would be fooled by the broadcast as, while there is an unnatural telescoping of events during the invasion, it all sounds very convincing. After the intermission, any doubts would be dispelled by Professor Pierson's first person narration.

    The audio is distorted and harsh but can be listened to without too much discomfort. This extra is a very good one, and I would be more likely to listen to this again than watch the main feature. The broadcast is in the public domain so this extra probably did not cost anything to include.

    This release seems to be identical to both the US Region 1 and UK Region 2 releases.

    An average documentary worth watching once.

    The video quality is average.

    The audio quality is average.

    The major extra is excellent.

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Audio
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Plot
Overall