The Great Martian War 1913–1917 (2013)
Documentary-drama recounting the Martian War of 1913–1917. Europe was on tenterhooks in the 2nd decade of the 20th century, everyone was expecting a Great War between the major European powers. But then, in 1913, something crashed into the forests of SW Germany. Troops were sent to investigate but were wiped out. Martian fighting machines began making their way across Western Europe and the countries of Europe combined forces to resist them. With aspects taken from ‘The War of the Worlds’ by H.G. Wells and from WWI itself, this dramatisation presents a documentary style look at events as they unfolded and the effect they had of our world today. Lots of references to real events including the mass attacks and defeats as men were thrown against machines on the Western front, the Christmas truce and the Angel of Mons, America's isolationism and late entry into the conflict, the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic that killed more people than the war, and many other things.
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How could anybody use WWI footage and make a mockery of it with Alians. It s very disrespectful
We all have to suspend belief when alternate history is the subject, and it's often a fun intellectual curiosity. Like what would America be like of JFK did not die. Or that Hitler has not been born. Or the great library of Alexandria survived. These are all key crossroads in our history that forever altered the future. In this case it is current day historians looking back at The Great Martian War. The Martians have landed in Germany in 1913 and the world mobilizes to fight them. Archival footage of that time is used and CGI seamlessly spliced in to give it an authenticated look and feel of that time. Various experts talk and show their displays - all with the reverence that real artifacts of that time deserve. Even veteran's of that time tell of their experiences. Various viewpoints are offered on different arguments, and prospects for the future. All in all what one would expect from a detailed and well crafted documentary. Except. It never happened :)
I watched this BBC production "The Great Martian War" and found it a hoot to watch, especially for those that have spent the last several years watching History, History International, PBS and/or BBC productions sealing with historical events such as WWII, the Depression, Rise of Hitler, etc.Yes, as the previous viewer says, they re-use the same "historical" film clips from the War (1913-1918) over and over and over. Because that is EXACTLY what they do in the shows they are making a parody of!! Plus, think about it-- how many bits of film do you suppose you'd SEE from the Martian War? Watch a documentary on WWI and see how many times you see the same clips. If I had a beef with technique, it would not be the low budget graphics (which, again, lends itself to being a "documentary", not a sci-fi movie) but the fact that the past interviews seen in the film, although they go for the quality of film or video for the time still seem a bit out of sync. The 1990s interviews, for instance are still a bit too clear for video transfer. The 1970s look more like 1980s videotape, for instance.Of some interest is how they splice the history of WWI into an alternate history of the Great Martian War. The rise of underwater sea war and power (for instance), the general use of new technology for warfare, the sinking of the "Aquitania" that begins to drive the Americans to enter the War, etc. Even the end-- with the spread of the "Martian Flu", parallels the spread of Spanish Flu after WWI. All and all, I'd say a "documentary" to be seen by those fans of the History Channel (back when it played history shows) and historical documentaries in general. If you are looking for "The Avengers" science fiction, go look somewhere else.
I completely disagree with the first reviewer (JoeB131). This was an original idea done well. The historical footage was well modified, and the story mostly hung together. I enjoyed it a great deal.The quality of the CG was, I believe, deliberate. It would have looked out of place to have high quality CG in the middle of historical footage. The interviews were fascinating. They did liberally borrow from any part of the world they wanted to and from any time period.The story did not follow the original tale, but that is to be expected in this kind of adaptation. Over all, well done.