Invaders from Mars (1953)

“Gee Whizz!” Big green men invade a small town in this classic sci fi film If the plot of Invaders from Mars seems familiar then that’s likely to be because it’s proven to be hugely influential on subsequent generations of filmmakers. The likes of Joe Dante and John Landis are fans while Martin Scorcese has named it as one of the best uses of lighting and colour in film. While it does appear to fulfil its title admirably it also sets a template for future invasion pictures to follow or extrapolate from. Re-released last month with a fantastic restoration, we can have a more vivid experience watching it than even those 1953 cinemagoers did. Like a lot of movies of this era, it moves incrementally starting with one incident- a boy called David spots a flying saucer landing near his house in the middle of the night on the edge of town. “Gee Whizz!” is his somewhat vintage reaction. He has trouble convincing anyone to take his claim seriously. His parents- caring and warm – suddenly…