The War of the Planets

While this is a rather poor sci-fi film, for the time it wasn't all that bad. While compared to the artistry of "2001" which debuted just two years later it comes up severely lacking, all sci-fi from around 1966 was pretty shabby compared to the groundbreaking "2001". So, cut this cheesy Italian film a bit of slack when it comes to special effects! Now I am not saying it's all that good a film. But, at least it is watchable.

"The War of the Planets" begins in the near future. Space travel is routine and things look a bit like "The Jetsons" in this film. However, when a strange greenish cloud-like 'thing' appears in the sky, BAD things will follow! A group of astronauts are transformed into zombie-like people--who are A LOT like the "Star Trek" notion of The Borg. In other words, the infected people all think as one and are emotionless jerks. Can they be stopped or will everyone become duller than Dick Cavett on Valium?! The film has the usual 60s fare--the usual sort of spacey outfits , silly paranoid plot and sexist banter. It's all a bit silly but for fans of cheesy sci-fi (and I am one), it's all enjoyable silliness. Not all bad--and the plot idea wasn't bad at all.

C'mon! It's so bad that it's almost funny! Those costumes would be great for a fantasy party! Hairdryers for communicators, flame pistols and gas propelled spaceships... It's a miracle that they did not set fire to the stage! It's a pity that we never get to see those evil aliens, except in the form of that green spray. I'm sure it would have been fun! nd that plot... If it wasn't for the large amounts of bad acting, I would almost feel sorry for those actors! Also be ware of some outrageously sexist scenes. The special effects would be already outdated in 1955 not to mention in 1965... Oh! The spacewalks are hilarious, not to mention the planets and the spaceships! All together it might have cost around $35... Watch it for the fun!

It's not even close to being the best spaghetti science-fiction film ever made - far from it, in fact - but Antonio Margheriti's War of the Planets is another refugee from TNT's 100% Weird that recently popped up commercial free (and sadly pan and scan) on Turner Classic Movies. Starring American expat Tony Russel - who got his screen start as a bartender in Elvis' King Creole - as the commander of Earth's space forces, War of the Planets is a very low-budget story of alien invaders attacking our solar system from their base on Mars. The aliens, ever mindful of the filmmakers' need to keep costs down, are represented by dry ice and flashing green lights. The great Franco Nero co-stars and there's a suitably spacey Angelo Francesco Lavagnino score.

(aka: WAR OF THE PLANETS)

Caught this one on TCM and it's typical for Italian space operas of the time, with the notable exception of Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1966).

The main problems are that the script is so poorly thought out, that it was probably written as they filmed each scene on the spot. And the sets look so low budget that even Ed Wood did a more credible job with PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. At least Ed's film was 'entertaining', unlike this boredom.

Aliens in the form of green smoke and flashing lights take over orbiting space stations around the Earth. It brainwashes some people into committing acts of sabotage while others are just left immobile with a little green tinge to their skin. I guess they did this to keep the film budget down.

It's up to the Earth space forces led by Tony Russell to save the world from the aliens and with pretty Lisa Gastoni (as well as dumb #2, Franco Nero) by his side, we are treated to one of the cheapest looking space battles in cinema history.

I also notice that this film has the MGM logo at the beginning of it. They must have been so desperate for product in 1965 that they had to resort to importing Euro turkeys like this one. Besides which, Anthony Margheriti did much so much better in the horror genre that he should have stuck to it.

So if you're into MST3K-type effluent (which I'm not), then this is the film for you.

2 out of 10

I have seen this film just once - back in 1969 when it got a second release as a morning show in one of the local cinemas in my hometown, Bangalore. All right, it is blatantly outlandish and extremely B-movie from the Italian stable, but as with many European films of its genre, has its moments. I thought that some of the special effects were very impressive - particularly the HAPPY NEW YEAR formation spacewalk by the astronauts in the beginning of the film. The 'invasion' of humans by the green Martian 'space mist' is decidedly silly from modern standards, but that and several other scenes in the film do raise unintentional laughs. Tony Russell is the obligatory American lead intended for the Western market but it is nice to see a young Franco Nero in one of his early roles. The sets are occasionally creaky but not as bad as some reviews make out. In all, a worthwhile addition to anyones camp-movie collection if it is ever released on DVD.