Radio War of the Worlds Recording

Excellent recreation of the Orson Welles Classic

(4 stars)

XMinusOne

This version isn't meant to be anything more a relatively modern recreation of the classic Mercury Theater broadcast of fifty years ago (October 31, 1938) by people who like old time radio, enjoy bringing old time radio to modern audiences in a live setting, and are good it. Is it as good as the transcript of the original? No, the wonderful sound of the background noise, the cracks and hisses are missing, as are the great radio voices of Mr. Welles and others from the original broadcast, but it's not meant to be a perfect reproduction; it's meant to be a damned good reproduction. And it is. Well worth listening to, well worth enjoyng.

Thrilling!

(5 stars)

gemmadmc

It was... Scary! You could understand why people panicked hearing this, it is very well done and reading is accurate and intense. It's easy to listen and time slips by.

Yes

(4 stars)

westexasdrifter

I must admit i like the remaking done by this group. and i do like the way they informed all listeners thet this is a remake, I will also give a 4 star for this recording, Thnks and keep up the Good Work!

Outstanding Theatre

(5 stars)

Dennis Murray

This compelling radio drama would have been truly terrifying to the audience when it was broadcast as an apparently real event

Brilliant

(5 stars)

Sonia

This reading had me captivated til the end, readings were excellent and you felt as if you were there.

excellent listening and very good to hear these historical docum

(5 stars)

Jiminylane

(5 stars)

Mszk

The best way to practice English.

Disappointing

(1 stars)

picfixer

Enthusiastic amateurs attempted to recreate Orsen Wells' radio version of "War of the Worlds, and while I'm sure the participants had a lot of fun, they did not succeed. To begin with, there were more amateurs than parts, so they just invented new characters and dialog. The stark, almost matter-of-fact realism that gave the original its impact is almost entirely missing from this "recreation." The cartoonish overacting of the "Carl Philips" part immediately eliminates any possibility of believability. As for period-piece accuracy, I'm sorry to say there were no female radio announcers in 1938, and the Army Air Corps certainly didn't have any female radio operators. I could go on, but you would probably think I was just nitpicking. The bottom line is this is a burlesque of the landmark Wells broadcast - not its recreation. By comparison, in the '80s there was an NPR updating of WOTW that got almost everything right, at least in spirit. It probably would be hard to find, but why bother since the Wells original is available on cassette tape and CD.