Animal Farm (1954)

Animal Farm (1954)

Dirs. John Halas + Joy Batchelor

Mr. Jones is abusive towards his animals, causing them to revolt and take over the running of Manor Farm. The animals agree that they must work together in order to prosper, but deep down not all of them believe in the 'Animalism' ideal. The political allegory, satire and hard-hitting subtext are easy to pick out, but they each keep their place, allowing Aristotle's ingredients for persuasion as evoked by some of the animals to really stand out when needed.

The animation and voices are excellent; the latter performed entirely by Maurice Denham. Also, the music by Mátyás Seiber does its job perfectly, upfront and powerful, and at times even becoming the primary narrative voice.

All in all, even if it was secretly part-funded by the CIA in the hopes of helping to promote their secret Cold War agenda — unbeknownst to the film's directors — the animated adaptation of George Orwell's novella still manages to do its source proud, for creatures great and small.

Godzilla: Shōwa Era Films (1954-74)

01. Godzilla (1954) 

Dir. Ishirō Honda

NOTE: for simplicity's sake I've used English language titles for each of my Godzilla reviews, but it's always the original Japanese language versions of the films that I refer to.

The monstrous growl that's heard over the film's opening credits foreshadows what's to come, which can be summed up as the Japanese people facing a monstrous terror that the rest of the world has never seen. It begins at sea and then moves inland.

The creature responsible for the inhuman roar — the monarch of kaijū eiga — is a force to be reckoned with, for sure, and is more than just an excuse to have a guy in a rubber suit trash tiny models. You don't need to be a history scholar to pick out the many wartime parallels: nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific, irradiated wells, air raid sirens, and footfalls that sound like distant bombs impacting and exploding are all highlighted.

Classics Illustrated: The War of the Worlds (2008)

Classics Illustrated: The War of the Worlds (2008)

Author: H.G. Wells | Adaptation: Harry Miller | Illustrator: Lou Cameron | Page Count: 49

'There being no further movements from the pit, horror gave way to an uncontrollable curiosity and I began moving closer.'

For thirty years (1941-71) the Classics Illustrated comic books adapted literary classics into the comic book medium for a younger audience to enjoy. (It can be more accurately thought of as 'Classics Adapted, Illustrated and Abridged', but that's not a catchy title.)

Originally issue #124, H.G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds (1897) was chosen to be the first issue in a digitally recoloured reprint for a modern audience. I'm not an advocate of recolouring artists' works, but if it helps younger readers discover the stories of yesteryear, then I'll roll with it as best I can.

I won't be attempting a traditional story synopsis, but will share some thoughts on the book, in general.