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War of the Buttons

The movie War of the Buttons was based on the book The War of the Buttons.

Which one did you like better, the movie or the book?  There are 5 votes for the book, and 5 votes for the movie.

Movie details for War of the Buttons

The movie was released in 1994 and directed by Steven Spielberg, who also directed The Color Purple (1985), Schindler's List (1993), Minority Report (2002), Munich (2005) and War of the Worlds (2005). War of the Buttons was produced by Dreamworks Video. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com and also IMDb.

Actors on this movie include Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Rick Gonzalez, Yul Vazquez, Lenny Venito, Lisa Ann Walter, Ann Robinson, Gene Barry, David Alan Basche, Roz Abrams, Michael Brownlee, Camillia Sanes, Marlon Young, John Eddins, Peter Gerety, David Harbour and Miguel Antonio Ferrer.

 

Read More About This Movie

Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers... Read More
Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (Jaws, Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and soon is on the road with his teen son (Justin Chatwin) and preteen daughter (Dakota Fanning) in tow, trying to keep ahead of the invasion. The film is, of course, impeccably designed and produced by Spielberg's usual crew of A-class talent. The aliens are genuinely scary, even when the film--like the novel--spends a good chunk of time in a basement. Readers of the book (or viewers of the deft 1953 adaptation) will note the variation of whom and how the aliens come to Earth, which poses some logistical problems. The film opens and closes with narration from the novel read by Morgan Freeman, but Spielberg could have adapted Orson Welles's words from the famous Halloween Eve 1938 radio broadcast: "We couldn't soap all your windows and steal all your garden gates by tomorrow night, so we did the best next thing: we annihilated the world." --Doug Thomas

War of the Worlds at Amazon.com


The Soundtrack

The War of the Worlds (1953)

War of the Worlds - The Complete First Season (TV series)

Classic Sci-Fi Movies and Their Remakes

Aliens Invade on DVD

The Prog-rock Opera (no kidding)

Book details for The War of the Buttons

The War of the Buttons was written by Louis Pergaud. The book was published in 1968 by Alianza Editorial Sa. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

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