Invasion USA: Top Five Movies/TV Shows Depicting the US Being Invaded by Other Countries or by Aliens
by Ernie on 12/08/10 at 10:18 am
5. War of the Worlds: The radio program, as narrated by Orson Wells and based on H.G. Wells’ novel, was the original invasion USA event, since many thought he was narrating actual events, rather than a fictional account. But Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation does a good job of showing the terror of an invading force in modern Brooklyn, as seen through the eyes of down-on-his-luck divorced father Tom Cruise.
Spielberg’s version:
Orson Welles’ version (audio only):
And let us not forget the 1953 movie!
4. They Live (1988): Besides having the best line of dialogue ever uttered in any movie ever in the history of film (“I’ve come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass . . . And I’m all outta bubblegum”), They Live features a delightfully creepy reveal of an ongoing alien invasion, as seen through the eyes of down-on-his-luck Rowdy Roddy Piper (the wrestler) and separated father Keith David (a man who really really really doesn’t want to wear sunglasses).
3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978, 2007 as The Invasion): Some viewed it as an allegory for the dangers of creeping communism, others for the dangers of McCarthyism. It works either way. In fact, it is suitable as an allegory for any person who dares to think for himself in a world of mediocrity and orthodoxy.
2. Red Dawn (1984): It’s become a classic, much beloved by the right wing in particular. It’s the nightmare come true: Soviets invade the U.S., using Cuban-trained Mexican troops to overcome a weak and underfunded Reagan-era US military (I know, I know), and it’s up to a group of rebellious Midwestern red-blooded American teens to save us all! One of the most violent mainstream movies of its time, it is now being remade.
1. V (1983, 2009): The miniseries that almost bankrupted NBC, it’s a 10-hour imagining of the US invaded by visitors from space who say they come in peace but who actually are here to steal our water and eat us. Complete with collaborators, a resistance movement, a fifth column, and extensive propaganda, its length gives it time to build suspense and complexity, despite the high-80s cheese factor. Unusual for having the resistance headed by a woman, its other main character is divorced father Mike Donovan. It’s been remade as a new series starring Morena Baccarin.
Extra: Amerika (1987): an alarmist miniseries about the Soviet takeover of the United States . . . aired a mere two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was very controversial, and little-watched.
Extra extra: 1941 (1979), Steven Spielberg’s one big failure, this comedy starring John Belushi, is about southern California in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, when there was widespread fear that the Japanese were about attack the mainland. So it’s not really about an actual invasion, just the fear of an invasion.
Plus, fun factoid: John Milius wrote and directed Red Dawn, and was executive producer on 1941.
Robert Donohue
Aug 12th, 2010
They Live is a humble tale with an advanced case of paranoia but it’s an important stop on The Pipers arc from heel to hero.
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Michael Mezalick
Aug 12th, 2010
Other countries or aliens ?
I vote for the classic ” Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”
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