The War of the Worlds
Science fiction pushes the boundaries, explores the improbable, and envisions the future of humanity. It also exposes us to extravagant visual effects and the inventive power of cinema, reflecting our deepest fantasies. In cinema, science fiction is immersive, creating worlds suddenly within our reach. This summer, over one hundred films from the history of cinema will allow us to witness this!
Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects in 1954
In The War of the Worlds, adapted from the novel of the same name by H. G. Wells, a massive meteorite crashes in California and the population is shocked. Scientist Clayton Forrester concludes, however, that the radiation in the impact zone is too high for it to be a simple meteorite. And now other similar objects crash all over the world...
Byron Haskin
Byron Haskin was an American film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. After studying at Berkeley, Haskin began working as a cartoonist for a newspaper. Starting in 1920, he became a cameraman for documentaries and commercial films, then an assistant director at Selznick International Pictures. By the late 1920s, he became a director and head of the special effects department at Warner Bros. Haskin worked in this sector on about fifty films. For Walt Disney, he directed the first live-action adaptation of Treasure Island (1950), Tarzan's Peril (1951), and Long John Silver (1954). In the mid-1950s, Haskin began a successful collaboration with producer George Pal. For him, he directed the science fiction classic The War of the Worlds (1953), adapted from H. G. Wells' novel. The film won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Academy Award for Best Special Effects in 1954. Haskin introduced the first 3D special effects in Hollywood, although the era did not allow him to fully exploit these techniques. In 1960, he nonetheless directed September Storm, one of the first film to use 3D with underwater sequences. He directed another science fiction classic, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, in 1964, then retired after his final film, The Power, in 1968.
