By Lubna Abdel-Aziz What is the great god of war up to these days? Another war of course as only Mars is capable of waging. It is raging and ranting simultaneously on a million silver screens around the world, since 29 June. Its leaders are highly recognised for innumerable conquests in the last decades. At the helm generalissimo Steven Spielberg aided by admirable actor Tom Cruise based on a strategy authored by British science-fiction genius H G Wells. Since the beginning of time man has looked up to the heavens in awe and wonderment. By day the blazing sun dazzled him, by night the dreamy starlight mesmerised him. The Egyptians identified the bright planets and set them aside from the fixed stars. They called the fiery planet "Har Decher" -- (The Red One). In 400 BC the Babylonians recorded the existence of this reddish planet, calling it "Nergal", the underworld personification of the sun God. The Romans imbued the planet with the nature of violence and death. They called it Mars, God of war and portrayed him in full battle attire with a crested helmet and shield. The name stuck. Mars became the focus of observers of the 16th century which saw the birth of both science and science fiction. Throughout the 19th century scientists speculated on the varied terrain of the planet, the red colour, the vegetation, the rivers or canals that seemed engineered rather than natural. Surely there was life on Mars. Astronomer Percival Lowell (1855--1916) went so far as to describe a system of irrigation. It was during this Mars mania that sci-fi British writer Wells published his War of the Worlds (1898). This is where our story begins. In War of the Worlds Wells conceived of Martians forced to flee from their dying planet to make a home on another planet -- Earth. A mighty Martian force lands on monstrous tripods, in an idyllic pristine Victorian England, and begin a devastating reign of terror and destruction. War of the Worlds is arguably the most important novel in the history of science fiction, establishing a benchmark for a whole new genre of alien invasion of our planet. The Wells "war" has achieved a certain longevity that is heretofore unparalleled. Not only is it still widely read but has enjoyed several reincarnations in a variety of media each time with a new treatment, location, and imagination. In 1938 the brilliant US director/ actor Orson Wells presented such a realistic radio dramatisation of the story that millions of listeners took to the streets seeking shelter from the invading Martians. In adapting the novel for radio, Wells' play sounded more like a broadcast about an invasion from Mars -- a technique intended to heighten the dramatic effect but wreaked havoc and spread panic instead. Even as the broadcast continued, fiction slowly turned into fact, as horror- stricken families packed their cars, loaded their guns, hid underground, hoarding food and masking their faces. The Wells radio rendition of a novel written by another Wells 40 years earlier, remains the greatest broadcast event of all time. The screen version was a late-comer, but during the 1950s Mars hysteria became rampant. Earth experienced several on-screen extraterrestrial invasions of various kinds, the most outstanding of those small budget attacks was George Pal's version of War of the Worlds, directed by Brian Haskin, which moved the location from 19th century London to contemporary Los Angeles. The film assumes a religious message whereby, through God's miracle, Martians lack immunity to earth's germs and collapse, thereby saving the planet. Now a new attack is on, and who else to launch it but space/fantasy-obsessed Steven Spielberg ( Close Encounters, E.T the Extraterrestrial ). In a contemporary retelling of the seminal classic the locale has changed again to Green Mills, New Jersey. Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a despondent working class man estranged from his family when his life is shaken by the arrival of space intruders bent on destroying his world. The sci-fi adventure thriller reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of Ferrier and his family in their struggle for survival. There is no bigger star on the planet than Cruise, or a more successful director than Spielberg. Together their many films have brought in more that $20 billion in revenues. This is their second collaboration (the first, Minority Report 2002), and perhaps this slam-bang action version of the classic story will be the adrenaline needed to save a lack- lustre summer season estimated to be the worst in 20 years. As for Wells, it looks like he's becoming the rage of the new millennium. Now that NASA's rovers "Spirit" and "Opportunity" have landed on Mars and given us a tour of the Martian terrain, filmdom has again been inflicted with Mars mania leading directly to Wells. His sci-fi novel has been revisited not once but five times this year. Apart from the Spielberg/Cruise heavyweight feature, a British film has a simple Victorian setting and is completely faithful to the novel. Two other films made for video and DVD include an extensive documentary of the life of the author himself. A musical version slated for 2007 starring Richard Burton, first released in 1978 as a double album, has also been made into a feature film with the able assistance of film's magic tool -- CGI (Computer Generated Image). What joy to see the amazing talent of Richard Burton one more time! Herbert George Wells himself is developing into a mini-industry almost 60 years after his death in 1946. Considered the father of science-fiction -- together with French writer Jules Verne -- his themes of time travel, space flights, and alien invasions are all fresh modern themes. The present flourish and vitality of the genre is a lasting testament to his brilliance, perfectly suited in scale and vision to contemporary filmmaking. Wells was born in 1866 to poor working class parents, Joseph a gardener, and Sarah a lady's maid, in a suburb of London. Largely self-educated, Wells developed into a versatile and prolific writer of fiction, history, essays, novels, and short stories. He turned to journalism in 1893 and continued to write till the end. His first science-fiction novel was The Time Machine (1895), an account of a fantastic voyage into the future. Wells was also a crusader against social injustice using his fiction to mirror the wrongs he witnessed around him. In his novel The Island of Dr Moreau (1896) he comments on the dangers of unchecked scientific process as Moreau tries to surgically alter the nature of the jungle beasts -- a precursor of genetic engineering. Successive movie versions of the story have updated it to contemporary scientific advances. His Invisible Man again about a scientist stepping out of bounds, was made into a series of films and TV classics. In 1898 with rumblings of a pan-European war and the spreading of astronomer Percival Lowell's view of Mars' surface, Wells creation of War of the Worlds was a natural outcome of the preoccupation of his society. Author Henry James (1843--1916) once remarked that: "whatever Wells writes is not only alive, but kicking." How right he was! Wells' works are still 'kicking'; in fact they have endured and prospered in every media in our modern age, proving to be perennial favourites with each generation. Though his writings possess a seriousness of purpose they are relieved by an engaging sense of humour and an optimism for mankind. They are as admired today as they were then, and will always find new life in living colour on the silver screen. I doubt whether in the whole course of history any one individual has explored as many avenues, turned over so many stories, ventured along so many cul-de-sac: science, history, politics, all were within his reach -- Malcolm Muggeridge (1903 -- 1990)
