New 4K Restoration Trailer for 1953 Sci-Fi Movie ‘Invaders from Mars’
by Alex Billington
June 13, 2022
Source: YouTube
“Capturing humans at will for their own sinister purposes!” Ignite Films has revealed a new trailer for their 4K restoration of a sci-fi classic titled Invaders from Mars, originally released in 1953. This 69-year-old film will be out on Blu-ray in September, and has been touring to restoration festivals including TCM, Fine Arts Film Festival, and the upcoming Il Cinema Ritrovato in Italy. Fans have waited for the restoration of William Cameron Menzies’ sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars. Now, finally, the wait is almost over! “Fearful memories of this timeless 1953 bone-chiller still haunt the dreams of fans who have never forgotten the story of a young boy who witnesses an alien invasion.” Ignite states: “We’re grateful to finally complete the 4K restoration of the sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars after a lengthy search for the final elements. We needed the elements to fill in the gaps in the original camera negative, which was stored with great care at the UCLA Film Television Archive.” The 1950s sci-fi film stars Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke. This was the very first alien invasion film shot in color, following The War of the Worlds also released in 1953. Looks better than ever – have to watch.
Here’s the new 4K restoration trailer for William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars, from YouTube:
From TCM: “William Cameron Menzies had already distinguished himself as an Oscar-winning designer and the director of H.G. Wells’s visionary Things to Come (1936) when he helped turn this low-budget science-fiction movie into a cult favorite. His unique design style, marked by distorted sets and low-angle shots, sets this film apart from other 1950s fright fests. Rushed into theaters before producer George Pal’s The War of the Worlds (1953), Invaders from Mars was the first alien invasion film shot in color. Its tale of a child (Jimmy Hunt) who witnesses a flying saucer land near his home and then notices odd behavior from his parents and neighbors inspired countless other films, from Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)—another picture in which people become convinced their loved ones have been replaced by soulless lookalikes—to Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm (1979) and Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant (1999), whose directors saw Invaders from Mars as children.” Invaders from Mars is one of the final films directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay is by Richard Blake. The film originally opened in April of 1953, with an alternate, longer version released in the UK in 1954. Ignite Films will debut the 4K restoration of Invader from Mars on Blu-ray / dvd starting on September 26th, 2022. For more details, visit their official site.