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April 29, 2023

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.

Invaders from Mars young Jimmy Hunt

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.

Invaders From Mars star Jimmy Hunt

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

Ignite Films began acquiring classic film properties in the 1990s and this has built a collection of more than eighty features. Using original film elements, Ignite continues to restore and upgrade its collection for posterity and appreciation by generations of cinephiles and movie lovers, old and new. Numerous celebrated and award-winning actors, directors and cinematographers continue to live on in our films. Examples range from the ill-fated romance of Letter from an Unknown Woman, (1948, Director Max Ophüls) to the chilling representation of American crime syndicates in the film noirs Force of Evil (starring John Garfield) and Joseph H. Lewis’ The Big Combo to the epitome of theatrical storytelling in Orson Welles’ Macbeth and Otto Premingers’ Saint Joan (starring Jean Seberg) – all representative of some of Hollywood’s finest contributors.
Iconic genre actors like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (Horror Express), British punk era zombies in Don Sharp’s stylized 1970s cult film Psychomania, suave frontier men like Randolph Scott (Canadian Pacific), Joel McCrea (Four Faces West) and John Wayne, resolute war heroes like Robert Mitchum (The Story of G.I. Joe) or Kirk Douglas (The Heroes of Telemark) – and the equally mesmerizing women, pitched against incredible odds – like Ingrid Bergman in Lewis Milestone’s Arch of Triumph, Anne Bancroft in Allan Dwan’s The Restless Breed or the still living legend Kim Novak opposite Frank Sinatra’s addicted character in The Man with the Golden Arm – all immortalized across decades of enduring films.