By: Ivan Gomez
Brownsville, Texas (The Hollywood Times) 4/24/20 – Over 70 years ago, the landmark science fiction film, Invaders From Mars, was released and would inspire filmmakers to create beloved stories of their own in the following decades, and now this classic has received its own restoration for a new generation.
Aside from the movie itself, this DVD also contains two trailers, the original 1953 version and a new one for the 2022 restoration, and I believe that they both do a good job of advertising the movie and showing just how much the film industry has changed when it comes to marketing between the past 70 years.
Ignite Films, the Dutch company formed in 2005 by Jan Willem Bosman Jansen, will celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Invaders From Mars, their first title released under the Ignite Films label, throughout April and May with weekly out-of-this-world goings-on. Ignite Films launched the DVD release of the award-winning restoration, along with fun and exciting new collectible merchandise.
At 4K and an aspect ratio of 1.37.1, the quality of the picture is very strong with nice, warm colors and little to no blemishes seen throughout. Ignite Films managed to restore the vibrancy of the hues while preventing any distracting bloom from occurring. Exterior scenes set during the night manage to be visible letting the audience view the action and environment in all of their glory. There are a few shots where the picture is distractingly dimmer than the rest of the scenes but the quality in the dark is stellar for the most part. The presentation is great and Ignite Films did great in making it fresh in 4K.
Thanks to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, the audio quality is generally really smooth. The dialogue is clear and easy to follow, even if you decide to forgo subtitles. The score is not tarnished by distortions or other age-related problems and manages to convey the suspenseful atmosphere of the film. Sound effects are at the right volume and don’t disrupt the dialogue or music while doing a great job of emphasizing the action. Overall, Ignite Films made a great effort in restoring the audio.
As for the film itself, it’s a decent sci-fi flick that some may find to be antiquated in this day and age. Positives come from the dialogue being rather strong and does a good job at making the characters likable, the score do a great job at setting the atmosphere (with the alien them being legitimately chilling), and the effects, while aged, are certainly impressive for what was feasible back then. The acting is generally very solid, with the performances from the main characters (Mr. Hunt as David, Mr. Franz as Dr. Kelston, and Mrs. Carter as Dr, Blake to be specific) being the best in the movie. My problem with the movie is that it lacks depth, so those looking for a flick with a lot of substance may be disappointed. While I find the main characters likable, they are rather one-dimensional and each character arc can be summed up with a sentence or two, and the story is pretty vanilla and suffers from having a disappointing resolution. Besides that, Invaders from Mars is still a good time and is worth a watch if only to see how influential it is to the sci-fi genre.
Photo Credit: diabolikDVD.com
Disclaimer: Ignite Films provided a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. Opinions expressed in this review are the honest critiques of the author
