A contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells’ seminal classic starring Tom Cruise in his second collaboration with Steven Spielberg, this reimagining of War of the Worlds is a dramatic science fiction thriller that reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive a catastrophic alien attack on Earth.
As with Spielberg’s other post-millennium science fiction thriller Minority Report, War of the Worlds sees the filmmaker reflecting on a post-9/11 world through the lens of science fiction. Much like previous adaptations of the text, from George Pals’ 1953 film to Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 radio broadcast, War of the Worlds finds Spielberg telling a timeless story in a manner which is decidedly for and of its time.
To highlight our release of Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, the newest science fiction film from one of cinema’s great pioneers of the genre, the Jacob Burns Film Center will present screenings of a Spielberg-directed sci-fi film every weekend from May 9 through June 21 as a part of our series Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi.
