Customer Reviews

War of the Worlds

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I won't discuss the content of the mp3 file, as if you are reading this then you probably already know that this is one of the most entertaining and convincing products of the entertainment industry in history.

However, in addition to the obvious artifacts of 1930's era recording technology (cackling which do not distract from the content), there are many metallic whistling mp3 artifacts as well. If this were available in another format, such as an uncompressed wav or possibly a lossless flak, it would be much better.

I always wondered why this radio program caused so much panic back then. So after listening to this, I realized how people could've easily mistaken it for the real thing had they missed the beginning. This is a kind of a radio program that was way ahead of its time in 1938. We're used to it now, we are more jaded and habituated to this type of broadcast. But if you transpose the Mars aliens to terrorist in planes etc.. we could just as easily believe it and create panic now. Orson Wells in incredible!

I was running errands on a Saturday with my 13 year old son. We had WOTW in the car CD player, and after some silence, he suddenly remarked, "I can't believe I'm being drawn into this". He and I realized that we would actually stop breathing, listening to the story unfold. A great father/son moment, like watching "Casablanca". With material like this, you can't miss. It still has the power to grab you, if you let yourself go for an hour. This truly was a "Golden Age".

This is a landmark of radio. Orson Welles successfully pulled off the greatest farce? tragedy? show? of all of radio history. And the way they did it, cutting in and out of the music of the day (much like if CNN did it today, but a video version) many people thought this was real. It's a testament to the power of Orson Welles, though he did, at the beginning, let people know that this was just a show. It's the latecomers (let that be a lesson to you) that panicked. History aside, it is a great radio show, the only that I own. Buy it. Love it. And think about it.

Seventy years after its broadcast, Orson Welles's rendition of "War of the Worlds" is as fresh and invigorating as ever. I grew up hearing about it--a sort of psychological experiment, a source of mass hysteria. It's amazing how, listening to it now, you can understand why people were genuinely afraid. The play is masterfully put together: the mysterious background noises, the conversational tone, the improvisational-sounding panic in the voices. Welles was a master at making people feel ill-at-ease, questioning the reality around them. This broadcast is as unsettling today as it was in 1938, and is a must for anyone interested in hearing a classic piece of psychological horror at its finest.

I've been a fan of Old Time Radio since I was a kid, when my Dad, probably to shut me up, gave me a tape of "The Shadow" to listen to on a long car-ride to the beach. As it happened, in the episode I was given, The Shadow was portrayed by Orson Welles, and from the first time I heard his smooth, powerful, well-oiled, disdainfully aristocratic voice I was hooked. It wasn't long afterward that I got "The War of the Worlds" on cassette. Of course I'd heard stories about this notorious broadcast, which in 1938 had convinced millions of credulous people that the Earth was being invaded by Martians, and after giving it a listen I understand why.

"War of the Worlds" is an adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic tale of alien invasion. In telling the story, however, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater on the Air (which featured such great voices as Frank Readick and Ray Collins) opted to play the first half hour absolutely straight - that is, he began with a phony muscial broadcast "live" from New York City, which is repeatedly interrupted by CBS news bulletins, first about what seem to be volcanic eruptions on the surface of Mars witnessed by astronmers, then about meteor impacts in New Jersey. News teams report in from Jersey in a very realistic manner. Their transmissions are cut off when the aliens rise from their smoking crater and attack, whereupon we get other news reports and then increasingly agitated government and military broadcasts as it becomes clear that the "meteor impacts" are actually the landings of Martian spacecraft whose hideous occupants are bent on destruction and conquest. Only after all American resistance is crushed and civilization seems to be caving in like a burning house does the story shift to a more traditional, narrative format, with Welles portraying a Princeton scientist who has survived the initial massacre and is now walking around a devastard, desolate New York City. The ending of the story is perhaps a bit too convenient given the apocolyptic events leading up to it, but fans of irony will certainly enjoy it.

A few technical notes. Not surprisingly, given that this broadcast was made live and recorded in hi-fidelity, there are a lot of surface noises and volume drops. What's more, the length (47 mins 11 seconds) indicates that several minutes have been cut out, as the original broadcast was at least 51 mins 15 seconds; however this is probably only the brief intermission and some end commentary. Still, it's worth noting this is not an uncut version. A digitally remastered version clocking in at 59:16 was released in 2011, but it's ten times as expensive as this one.

In closing, given the atmosphere of international tension which marked the late 1930s, the fact that the broadcast happened on Halloween night, the very realistic way the catastrophe unfolded on the air, and the unquestioning trust which people placed in their radio to begin with, it is perhaps not surprising that "The War of the Worlds" caused as much havoc as it did. But the drama caused by the broadcast is really only a historical footnote. What matters to the listener is the performance, and this one is very, very good. To sum up, if you like Old Time Radio or are a fan of Orson Welles, this is an absolute must for your collection, and if you've no experience with OTR, this is a great place to start.

I know the source has limitations, but the transfer introduces additional artifacts, and it seems like no processing or cleanup has been done at all. It's almost unlistenable.

This product is a faithful presentation of the original 1938 Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast of "War of the Worlds". It provides the complete program (except for the station breaks & commercials).
I was pleasantly surprised to hear how clear it is, considering that the original medium is now 70 years old! I am very happy with the product & would recommend it to anyone interested in this little piece of American history. Except for the fact that it was a regularly-scheduled program, I can see how people may have 'misplaced their reason' in the excitement (though I doubt they would have stopped for COMMERCIALS, had we really been invaded by Martians)! This is well worth adding to your collection.

This is the original Orson Welles "Mercury Theater on the Air" production of October 30, 1938, that fooled so many CBS radio listeners. Even though Welles announced at the beginning of the program that it was only a fictional dramatization, many people tuned in late, and hearing what sounded like legitimate live news reports that killer Martians were attacking the United States, thousands panicked. The broadcast prompted a suitably contrite apology from Welles -- just 23 at the time -- on behalf of the Mercury Theater and CBS the next morning. The "War of the Worlds" is a classic, Welles is a classic, and any collection of important, historic radio broadcasts is incomplete without this landmark recording -- digitally restored and remastered on this CD. And it's still fascinating listening today.

Quality of this mp3 is poor. Sound is crackly and faint. I'm disappointed with this purchase and will not likely purchase other Amazon.com digital offerings. This one should never have been offered for sale. My wife later found a free mp3 of this same offering elsewhere on the Internet (apparently a legal download) which was 12 minutes longer than this one yet over 10 Mb smaller in filesize and much cleaner, clearer and louder. I don't recommend this product. Yes, the work is classic but the product is not.