THEY'RE ALREADY HERE

"Lightning never strikes in the same place twice."

Ray Ferrier

War of the Worlds

Release Date: June 29, 2005

A contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells’s seminal classic, Steven Spielberg's 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 it. 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 genre to tell a story for its time, much like the 1953 George Pal production of Wells's story before it.

Tom Cruise stars as Ray Ferrier, a divorced dockworker and absentee father. Soon after his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) and her new husband drop off his teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning, Taken) for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down. At an intersection near his house, Ray witnesses an extraordinary event that will change his family's lives forever. A towering three-legged war machine emerges from deep beneath the earth and, before anyone can react, incinerates everything in sight. An ordinary day has suddenly become the most extraordinary event of their lifetimes—the first strike in a catastrophic alien attack on Earth.

Ray scrambles to get his children away from this merciless new enemy, embarking on a journey up the Eastern seaboard that will take them across the ravaged countryside, where they're caught in the desperate tide of refugees fleeing from an extraterrestrial army of tripod war machines. But no matter where they run, there is no safety, no refuge...only Ray’s unconquerable will to step up and protect the ones he loves.

Directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and David Koepp (Jurassic Park), based on the novel by H.G. Wells, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. The startling visual effects are by Industrial Light and Magic, under the supervision of Dennis Muren and Pablo Helman, with creature and special effects by Stan Winston Studios. Spielberg's regular collaborators on the film also includes cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, production designer Rick Carter, costume designer Joanna Johnston, editor Michael Kahn, and composer John Williams.

About the Film

About the Film

CAST
  • TOM CRUISE,
  • DAKOTA FANNING,
  • MIRANDA OTTO,
  • JUSTIN CHATWIN,
  • TIM ROBBINS
DIRECTOR
  • STEVEN SPIELBERG
SCREENWRITERS
  • JOSH FRIEDMAN AND DAVID KOEPP
PRODUCERS
  • KATHLEEN KENNEDY,
  • COLIN WILSON
CINEMATOGRAPHER
  • JANUSZ KAMINSKI
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
  • RICK CARTER
COSTUME DESIGNER
  • JOANNA JOHNSTON
VFX SUPERVISORS
  • DENNIS MUREN,
  • PABLO HELMAN,
  • ED HIRSH
EDITOR
  • MICHAEL KAHN
COMPOSER
  • JOHN WILLIAMS

Where to Watch