The War of the Planets (1966)
"I diafanoidi vengono da Marte" (original title)

In the 21st century, aliens (weird, green, lights which sometimes manifest themselves as large clouds of smoke) invade the solar system. Using Mars as their base, they steal all of Earth's ... See full summary »

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Renato Moretti (story), Ivan Reiner (story),

Stars:

Tony Russel, Lisa Gastoni, Franco Nero

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Russel	...	Cmdr. Mike Halstead
Lisa Gastoni	...	Lt. Connie Gomez (as Jane Fate)
Franco Nero	...	Lt. Jake Jacowitx
Carlo Giustini	...	Capt. Jaques Dubois
Enzo Fiermonte	...	Ken
Linda Sini	...	Lt. Fina Marlie
Nando Angelini	...	Capt. Tice (Recon)
John Bartha	...	(as John Barth)
Marco Bogliani	...	(as Mark Bollen)
Calisto Calisti
Aldo Canti	...	(as Aldo Kant)
Lynn Desmond
Corinne Fontaine
Iver Gilborn	...	(as Iver S. Gilborn)
Franco Lantieri	...	(as Frank Lantier)

Storyline

In the 21st century, aliens (weird, green, lights which sometimes manifest themselves as large clouds of smoke) invade the solar system. Using Mars as their base, they steal all of Earth's space stations then brainwash or kill the crews. Next stop: Earth, unless Tony Russel and his crew can stop them.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | world domination | mind control | futuristic

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

4 June 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Gamma I Quadrilogy Vol. 2

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mercury Film International, Southern Cross Feature Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Cmdr. Mike Halstead: He's gone Galaxy!

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Connections

Follows I criminali della galassia (1965)

User Reviews

Visually impressive Euro B Sci-fi movie.

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.