Independence Day Vs. War of the Worlds

[Nick Schovitz]

I've seen these two movies that involve the invasion of aliens to our planet and I wonder who thinks which one is better. Me personally I like Independence Day better than War of the Worlds. The beginning of WW was slack and so was the ending.

[Epiphany]

Independence Day for me as well. I didn't particularly care for the way War of the Worlds was done. I don't think it did the book justice. I'm not a large fan of Spielberg movies, it seems to me he always cares for the flashy, big booming stuff and putting children in danger than the storyline and acting.

[Shoden]

WOTW was an amazing film, more explosions and more freaky Alien vessels, the aliens actually did damage but Independence Day was kinda good.

[Captain Maxx Power]

War of the Worlds is more gritty, Independance Day is more fun-filled "Americanisation" to the max. I guess it depends on how "deep" you're feeling. Right now I'm feeling about War of the Worlds.

[Shoden]

War of the Worlds could of been better, at least it could of been in Britain like the book and no kids like the movie, both of these are Americanized.

[Crop]

Independance day for me, WotW was good but it just didnt seem that good for me.

[here for a limited time]

war of the worlds hands down

[Dreddz]

I havent seen wotw yet, but I dought it will beat the brilliance of ID, end of

[Nick Schovitz]

So it's 50/50 right now.

[here for a limited time]

I havent seen wotw yet, but I dought it will beat the brilliance of ID, end of
thought the same thing, but was disappointed

[Craig]

I absolutely love War of the Worlds, up until the point when Tom Cruise and his daughter hide in that barn with the guy, but I don't like any part of Independance Day.

So I say War of the Worlds.

[Winter Nights]

War of the Worlds was horrible and ripped alot of stuff from Independance Day to begin with. Pacing was off, all of the characters were annoying, and the ending just sucked.

Independance Day, while not a brilliant movie, managed to be likable. So.. Yah.

[Traitorfish]

ID, all though generally cornier, has some cool explosions, such as the classic White House exploding bit.
*sigh* Those aliens lived my dream...

[look_out_below]

Independence Day all the way, its not that War of the Worlds was that bad its just that the daughter was very annoying and the whole thing with the car bugged me "Oh look this entire city has been destroyed, there is rubble everywhere yet there is this perfect path, with not a rock on it, to drive our car down".

[XxSephirothxX]

I think War of the Worlds was the better film and quite an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but Independence Day was more fun to watch. It was a popcorn flick, for sure. I opt for Mars Attacks instead. :p

[Slade]

They were both pretty good but I'd have to go with War of the Worlds for the win.

[The Man]

War of the Worlds seemed to me to have two layers to its story, a literal meaning and then a symbolic one which kind of commented on the war on terror. Independence Day did not, although I may have just been too young to pick up on such things the last time I saw it. But regardless, I'd have to go with WotW, although honestly, I think there are far better movies than either.

[udsuna]

Independence day was a comedy. War of the Worlds was a joke.


WotW sucked in ways that I wasn't aware could be possible. The only good thing about that movie was the special effects. Nothing else. Not the plot, not the acting, not the actors. Then again, I really didn't even like the book all that much. All that running around, and bacteria got them?


A better story could have been made if they chose instead to make a documentary about the panic which was caused when they played the story on Halloween, and people actually believed it was real.

[Hawkeye]

I opt for Mars Attacks instead.
I get nightmares from that movie :cry:

[Winter Nights]

WotW sucked in ways that I wasn't aware could be possible. The only good thing about that movie was the special effects. Nothing else. Not the plot, not the acting, not the actors. Then again, I really didn't even like the book all that much. All that running around, and bacteria got them?
Can we say "Worst Ending EVER"? These supreme all-knowing beings that schemed their take-over for millions of years couldn't comprehend the concept of bacteria? Not to mention that the movie doesn't have much of a conclusion. It's really abrupt. Their in the thick of it, then it's just over. Just like that.


I opt for Mars Attacks instead. :p
Now that's an alien movie. Funny as <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif">.

[Slothy]

War of the Worlds was the better movie by leaps and bounds if you ask me. I watched some of ID a few months back on TV. I've come to the conclusion that I really do need to be 10 years old again if I ever want to watch it in the future. It's saving grace is that I get to watch the whitehouse get blown up. I just think that for the most part, WotW did have a better story, better acting, and as much as you may think that the aliens in that movie dying from bacteria makes no sense, the whole computer virus disabling the alien ships was worse if you ask me.

[Old Manus]

Alien ships use Windows 95, that is why they failed

[Shoden]

In WotW the aliens were killing humans and making the plants to try and develop an immune system for earth but they failed and died.

[The Man]

It's actually very realistic that the aliens would die from infection if they had utterly removed diseases from their culture, which given their advanced level of technology is quite likely. It's very similar to the reason so many Native Americans died of disease when the Europeans came to America; they didn't have any defenses against the Europeans' diseases.

granted, it's a pretty clich&#233;d ending now, but that's only because everyone and their mother copied H.G. Wells.

[Itsunari 2000]

Independence Day sticks in my mind for the speech the President makes before he goes up in a fighter jet to take on the aliens ... for all the wrong reasons of being drenched in over-zealous gung ho American pride.

[Ishin Ookami]

War of the Worlds was horrible and ripped alot of stuff from Independance Day to begin with. Pacing was off, all of the characters were annoying, and the ending just sucked.

Independance Day, while not a brilliant movie, managed to be likable. So.. Yah.

This may shock you, but Independence Day was actually a rip off of War of the Worlds, the original 1953 film which was an adaption of the late 19th century novel.

And I do like the idea of bacteria killing the aliens. Towards the end the novel takes on a bit of religious tone, there is a character who is a clergyman who looses his mind due to the destruction and innenant extinction of the human race, and he sacrifices himself to the aliens thinking they are gods sent to punish the human race for their sins. The bacteria saving the human race was supposed to be interpreted of a sort of humbling revelation, when all of mans vaunted science and knowledge failed, the smallest and simplest of gods creations was what saved humanity. The original film, while adding a pretty hawkneyed romantic subplot still managed to recreate the tenseness of the book, as humanity falls into despair and turns on itself, and how a single scientist realized that knowledge, not military might was the key to fighting the aliens. last summers abomination starring tom cruise should in no way have been called WOTW. I dont care how deep the aliens vessels were buried, shifting of the earths crust along with technological decay over millions of years would have had some effect on their machines. And the whole point of the film, about becoming a better dad in the face of global extinction just ran counter clockwise to the philosophical and intellectual tones of the prior movie adaption and novel. so yah, I hated it.

Independence day wasnt exactly Dickens either, but at least it knew where it stood and just tried to be entertaining. Which it did.

[Winter Nights]

This may shock you, but Independence Day was actually a rip off of War of the Worlds, the original 1953 film which was an adaption of the late 19th century novel.

And I do like the idea of bacteria killing the aliens. Towards the end the novel takes on a bit of religious tone, there is a character who is a clergyman who looses his mind due to the destruction and innenant extinction of the human race, and he sacrifices himself to the aliens thinking they are gods sent to punish the human race for their sins. The bacteria saving the human race was supposed to be interpreted of a sort of humbling revelation, when all of mans vaunted science and knowledge failed, the smallest and simplest of gods creations was what saved humanity. The original film, while adding a pretty hawkneyed romantic subplot still managed to recreate the tenseness of the book, as humanity falls into despair and turns on itself, and how a single scientist realized that knowledge, not military might was the key to fighting the aliens. last summers abomination starring tom cruise should in no way have been called WOTW. I dont care how deep the aliens vessels were buried, shifting of the earths crust along with technological decay over millions of years would have had some effect on their machines. And the whole point of the film, about becoming a better dad in the face of global extinction just ran counter clockwise to the philosophical and intellectual tones of the prior movie adaption and novel. so yah, I hated it.

Independence day wasnt exactly Dickens either, but at least it knew where it stood and just tried to be entertaining. Which it did.
Yes, I know that War of the Worlds was a remake and that Independance Day was inspired by the original. That's not quite what I meant. It wasn't really plot points that bugged me, it was shots in WotW that seem to mimc frame-for-frame shots in ID. Like Spielberg was watching ID while shooting, for ideas.

And the bacteria bit probably wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so abrupt. The aliens just start dying, then a narrator tells you what happened.

As for the characters. None of them were remotely likable. At the beginning of the movie, Tom Cruise is an asshole who has no clue or interest in his two kids, who are equally irritating. At the end, Tom Cruise is still an asshole, but he likes his kids now.

Another plot point I didn't like was the murder of Tim Robbins' character. There was no other option to be had? Knock him out, tie him up, and gag him? That seems like it may work. No, Tom Cruise's first instinct is to kill him. Not only is it unnecessary, it makes you dislike Cruise's character even more. And yes, I understand that the guy was making a bunch of noise and Tom was scared for his daughter. But for murder to be his first thought is a little disturbing.

[edczxcvbnm]

I like Independence Day better because if was more of my 'pace' of movie. It just flowed the way I like things to flow and it wasn't too serious.

The bacteria/virus was bad at the end of both movies. The computer virus even more. How do we know that their technology is the same as ours. How do you destroy the OS that you have never seen. How does their file structure work? Too many bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> stuffs.

The bacteria I can see but only if the Aliens were that stupid and ignorant...which they couldn't be because they have mastered inter-galactic travel. I view that as almost a huge gapping plot hole.

[Randgris]

War of the World stinks... :grumble:

I find the story dificult to understand. Plus It's too damn dark. :grumble:

[Winter Nights]

I like Independence Day better because if was more of my 'pace' of movie. It just flowed the way I like things to flow and it wasn't too serious.

The bacteria/virus was bad at the end of both movies. The computer virus even more. How do we know that their technology is the same as ours. How do you destroy the OS that you have never seen. How does their file structure work? Too many bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> stuffs.

The bacteria I can see but only if the Aliens were that stupid and ignorant...which they couldn't be because they have mastered inter-galactic travel. I view that as almost a huge gapping plot hole.
Yes.. But, you could forgive the virus in ID for the shear fact that the movie was just a popcorn flick and it knew it. WotW is supposed to be dark and serious. But, how can you take it seriously when the writers obviously didn't?

[Big D]

The bacteria I can see but only if the Aliens were that stupid and ignorant...which they couldn't be because they have mastered inter-galactic travel. I view that as almost a huge gapping plot hole.That was, however, a pretty clever bit of writing way back in the day when they first thought of it: the idea that aliens would be totally unprepared and unadapted to the new micro-organisms on our world. Not something you'd usually find in an 'old' sci-fi.
There's the further possibility that an alien race might come from a world where viruses and bacteria simply don't exist, and thus they'd have had no reason to be wary of them, but that's probably a different debate.

[Del Murder]

Independence Day was awesome. I have not seen War of the Worlds.

[Yamaneko]

Independence Day was pretty terrible. I have not seen War of the Worlds.

[Del Murder]

No way! It had Jeff Goldblum and an ass kicking president!

[Yamaneko]

Didn't he ride a bike in the movie?

[Discord]

Didn't like either, though ID was a little more lively than WoW, which was pretty boring, if you ask me.:rolleyes2

[SoulTaker*]

I havent seen the new version of WotW but I have seen the original version and it fit perfectly into the era, of the Christian movement and the whole cold war theme, and ID fit perfectly into America's pre 9/11 ideal that we are untouchable, although WotW's aliens getting beatin by bacteria is less believable than ID beatin the aliens with the help of a computer virus, I doubt aliens this intelligent would not take into account how their bodies would react to earths envirment. While I believe in ID the aliens relied on their shields as their crux in taking over other worlds, and once their shields were takin away and their mother ship blown to pieces it was basically a slaughter in the movie. I think they even try to explain it in ID that they trasmitted the virus using the aliens own signal or something to that effect, not very believable but most believable between the 2 films.

[~SapphireStar~]

Independence Day man! The White House gets blown up for God sake! Its a masterpiece of film-making by far. Brilliant alien movie. And oh yeah, Will Smith owns Tom Crusie :D

[Discord]

The only thing that owned about the WoW is their broadcasting:



Broadcast
Monument commemorating where the Martians "landed" in Van Ness Park.H. G. Wells' novel is about a Martian invasion of Earth at the end of the 19th century, as related by a narrator seeing the events unfold in England. The story was adapted by and written primarily by Howard Koch, with input from Welles and the staff of CBS's Mercury Theatre On The Air. The action was transferred to contemporary Grover's Mill, a section of West Windsor Township, New Jersey, and the radio program's format was meant to simulate a live newscast. To this end, Welles even played recordings of the radio reports of the famous Hindenburg disaster to the cast to demonstrate the mood he wanted.

Approximately one-half of the 50-minute play was a contemporary retelling of the events of the novel, presented as a series of news bulletins in documentary style. This approach to radio drama had never been done before (at least not with as much continued verisimilitude), and the innovative format has been cited as a key factor in the confusion that would follow.

The program, broadcasted from the 20th floor at 485 Madison Avenue, started with an introduction and a short introduction to the intentions of the aliens, and noted that the adaptation was set in 1939. The program continued as an apparently ordinary music show, only occasionally interrupted by news flashes. Initially, the news is of strange explosions sighted on Mars. The news reports grew more frequent and increasingly ominous after a "meteorite"--later revealed as a Martian rocket capsule--lands in New Jersey. A crowd gathers at the landing site, and the events are related by reporter "Carl Philips" up until the Martians incinerate curious onlookers with their "heat rays". (Later surveys indicate that many listeners heard only this portion of the show before contacting neighbors or family to inquire about the broadcast. Many of these people contacted others, in turn; leading to rumours and later confusion.)

More Martian ships land, and then proceed to wreak havoc throughout the United States, destroying bridges and railroads, and spraying a poison gas into the air. An unnamed Secretary of the Interior advises the nation on the growing conflict. (The "Secretary" was originally intended to be a portrayal of then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but CBS insisted this detail, among others, be changed. The "Secretary" did, however, end up sounding very much like Roosevelt as the result of directions given to actor Kenny Delmar by Welles.)

Military forces attack the Martians, but are unable to fight them off. People flee or gather in churches to pray as the Martians' machines head towards New York City, spraying poison gas in the air.

This section ends famously: a news reporter atop a large building narrates as events unfold, then he too collapses from the poison gas, and a radio operator is heard desperately calling out "2X2L calling CQ… Isn't there anyone on the air? Isn't there anyone on the air? Isn't there… anyone?"

The less famous last portion of the broadcast was a monologue and dialogue featuring Welles, portraying "noted astronomer" Professor Richard Peirson, who had earlier commented on the strange Martian explosions. The story ends as does the novel, with the Martians falling victim to earthly germs and bacteria. Following the conclusion of the play, Welles breaks character to remind listeners that the play was only a Halloween concoction, the equivalent of dressing up in a sheet and saying "Boo" like a ghost; reportedly, this "disclaimer" was added to the broadcast at the insistence of CBS executives as they became aware of the panic inspired by the program.

Public reaction
Many people missed or ignored the opening credits of the program, and in the atmosphere of growing tension and anxiety in the days leading up to World War II, took it to be an actual news broadcast. Contemporary newspapers reported panic ensued, with people fleeing the area, and others thinking they could smell the poison gas or could see the flashes of the fighting in the distance. Later studies suggested this "panic" was far less widespread than newspaper accounts suggested. However, it remains clear that many people were caught up--to one degree or another--in the confusion that followed.

Later studies also indicated that many listeners missed the repeated notices that the broadcast was entirely fictional, partly because the Mercury Theatre (an unsponsored "cultural" program with a relatively small audience) ran opposite the very popular Edgar Bergen show. About twelve minutes into Bergen's program an Opera number began, and many listeners presumably began tuning around the dial. Some listeners happened upon the CBS broadcast at the point the Martians emerge from their spacecraft. Many of these listeners were apparently confused--in fairness, it must be noted that the confusion can not be credited entirely to naivete. Though many of the program's actors voices should have been recognizable from appearances on other radio shows, nothing like the "War of the Worlds" broadcast had ever been attempted in the United States, so listeners were accustomed to accepting news flashes as reliable.

In some Northeastern cities people went outside to ask neighbors what was happening (many homes still did not have telephones at this time). As the story was repeated by word of mouth, rumors began to spread, and these rumors caused some limited panic. Contemporary accounts spawned urban legends, many of which persist and have come to be accepted through repetition as fact: Several people reportedly rushed to the "scene" of the events in New Jersey to see if they could catch a glimpse of the unfolding events, including a few astronomers from Princeton University who went looking for the "meteorite" that had supposedly fallen near their school. Some people, who had brought firearms, reportedly mistook a local farmer's water tower for an alien spaceship and shot at it.

Initially Grover's Mill was deserted, but later crowds developed as people rushed to the area. Eventually police were sent to the area to help control the crowds. To people arriving later in the evening, the scene really did look like the events being narrated on the radio broadcast, with panicked crowds and flashing police lights streaming across the masses.

Some people called CBS, newspapers or the police in confusion over the realism of the simulated news bulletins. There were instances of panic scattered throughout the US as a result of the broadcast, especially in New York and New Jersey.

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, who were broadcasting at the same time on NBC, are often credited with "saving the world." It is said many startled listeners were reassured by hearing their familiar tones on a neighboring channel.

Aftermath
In the aftermath of the reported "panic," a public outcry arose, but CBS informed officials that listeners were reminded throughout the broadcast that it was only a performance. Welles and the Mercury Theatre escaped punishment, but not censure, and CBS had to promise never again to use the "we interrupt this program" device for dramatic purposes.

A study by the Radio Project discovered that most of the people who panicked assumed Germans - not Martians - had invaded. Other studies have suggested that the extent of the panic was exaggerated by contemporary media.

When a meeting between H. G. Wells and Orson Welles was broadcast on Radio KTSA San Antonio on October 28, 1940 the former expressed a lack of understanding of the apparent panic and suggested that it was, perhaps, only pretense put on, like the American version of Halloween, for fun. The two men and their radio interviewer joked politely about the matter, though clearly with some embarrassment. KTSA, as a CBS affiliate, had carried the original broadcast.



More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)

[~SapphireStar~]

Yeah my boyfriend told me that, how the public actually believed aliens were invading Earth.

[NeoTifa]

i personally like both. but, war of the worlds left an impression upon me. that accually is the only movie in the history of mankind that ever can, will, has gave me a nightmare O.o ive been watching scary movies all my life.