Criterion Collection has remastered The War of the Worlds (1953) from a 4k film restoration for new Blu-ray and DVD Special Editions releasing on July 7, 2020.
The film is presented in 1080p (Blu-ray) with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack and new alternative 5.1 channel surround sound. Subtitles are also provided in English.
Bonus materials with this special edition of The War of the Worlds (on both Blu-ray & DVD) include audio commentaries, a new featurette exploring the film’s visual effects, a new program about the restoration of the film, The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio adaptation, and more.
The War of the Worlds has a list price of $39.99 (Blu-ray) and $29.99 (DVD). See updated pricing on Amazon.
Special Features
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, created by sound designer Ben Burtt and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
- Audio commentary from 2005 featuring filmmaker Joe Dante, film historian Bob Burns, and author Bill Warren
- Movie Archaeologists, a new program on the visual and sound effects in the film featuring Burtt and film historian Craig Barron
- From the Archive, a new program about the film’s restoration featuring Barron, Burtt, and Paramount Pictures archivist Andrea Kalas
- Audio interview with producer George Pal from 1970 • The Sky Is Falling, a 2005 documentary about the making of the film
- The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds from 1938, directed and narrated by Orson Welles
- Radio program from 1940 featuring a discussion between Welles and H. G. Wells, author of the 1897 novel The War of the Worlds
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic J. Hoberman
ALSO READ: Steven Spielberg’s ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005) Remastered in 4k
