Thunderchild and The Ferry

[Tripod Bait]

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in Starlog about WOTW - the article was actually an interview with James Clyne and Feng Zhu. In it it's mentioned that the ferry scene was an adaptation of the Thunderchild... I'm not sure I see the connection. Can anyone else see it?

If anything it seems more closely tied to the scene in the book in which the author attempts to cross a river and finds himself in open water in plane view of advancing tripods, and barely escapes being boiled alive after one is brought down.

[EvilNerfherder]

Asides from the obvious ferry/steamer comparison, I can't see it either. There was a distinct lack of harrassment to the Tripods while they went about tipping the ferry over.
It did count for one of the more spooky and, in a disturbing way, moving scenes from the film, though, as the tripods on land pursued people in the distance.

[redmag]

There wasnt much in the way of similarities between 'Thunderchild' and 'the ferry scene'. Perhaps if Rays brother was coincidentaly also on the ferry or if a US navy or Coast Guard escort had been present then comparison could have been easier/more obvious.
This was a scary scene though, just the thought of having a trio of tripods staring down on you with their search lights and having nowhere to go scared the s**t out of me!

[<[Iron Man]>]

They could've got away with using the PHM-1 Pegasus ships, since they're small but pack decent firepower. Still the ferry scene was just awesome though.

[theredweed]

What you didn't see what the submarine called 'lightening-kid' having a scrap with the tripod that from out of the water.

Actually when that part happened I started to sing "rock the boat"

[Leatherhead]

I did notice ONE similarity, but not from the book, instead from the musical. For those of you who are familiar with it, the narrator is seperated from Carrie as she boards the ferry. (to paraphrase the line from the musical) "...and I was swept away (in the crowd from the ferry) aimless and lost without Carrie." In the ferry scene in the film Ray's girlfriend (or whatever she was supposed to be) is caught up in the crowd and unable to board. Gosh this was moving. I have a fiance, and could not imagine loosing her like that! Perhaps that was the point of that scene. For me it made that much more personal.

[Rob]

They could have played on that a bit more I think, the seperation and the fact he had to leave the two of them behind. The feeling I got was that he was only concern about HIS family. Then again it's been a while since I've saw it last.

[Ashe Raven]

I thought the battle on the hill wad the Thunderchild scene....

Hmm just goes to show even Speilberg can't spot the irony of his own works sometimes :/

[<[Iron Man]>]

asheraven said:

I thought the battle on the hill wad the Thunderchild scene....

Hmm just goes to show even Speilberg can't spot the irony of his own works sometimes :/

Maybe, but what we're looking for is an actual physical presence of the 'Thunderchild', a War machine of somekind.

Here's a possibility, the PHM-1 Pegasus vessels. I think they only had one squadron operating from Key West, Florida. They've also been decommissioned, however considering this film is a work of fiction such technical detail isn't important.

PHM-1 Pegasus

[TOMAHAWK]

i can't really see how a "Thunderchild" vessel could have been successfully put in that scene for a number of reasons ... namely ..

What is a heavily armed warship doing at or near a ferry terminal .... I live in Hull and we have quite a few docks near me .... erm not one has ANY type of ship that would/could put up any fight

ok we have large ocean going trawlers which I suppose troops could have been deployed armed with RPGs or whatever they had time to arm with

again Ironmans suggestion doesn't make sense ......Why put an obsolete coast guard boat near a two bit ferry terminal when the armed forces would need all the equipment to protect more important facilities



also in the book the Thunderchild represented the most modern technology in ships we had at the time that was the point of the scene ...it stands alone in that sense it has no place in this film ...

look at it this way ...one of the most modern bits of kit the Usa have is ..say an Arleigh Burke type destroyer for instance .... THAT would never be anywhere near that ferry , just as a Nukie sub would never be parked in that particular bit of river.

[BrutalDeluxe]

nerfherder said:

Asides from the obvious ferry/steamer comparison, I can't see it either. There was a distinct lack of harrassment to the Tripods while they went about tipping the ferry over.
It did count for one of the more spooky and, in a disturbing way, moving scenes from the film, though, as the tripods on land pursued people in the distance.

I totally agree. During that scene another tripod skulks past them at head height while they are on the crest of the hill. I had my heart in my throat!

[<[Iron Man]>]

tomahawk said:

again Ironmans suggestion doesn't make sense ......Why put an obsolete coast guard boat near a two bit ferry terminal when the armed forces would need all the equipment to protect more important facilities



also in the book the Thunderchild represented the most modern technology in ships we had at the time that was the point of the scene ...it stands alone in that sense it has no place in this film ...

look at it this way ...one of the most modern bits of kit the Usa have is ..say an Arleigh Burke type destroyer for instance .... THAT would never be anywhere near that ferry , just as a Nukie sub would never be parked in that particular bit of river.

I missed this one! Due to my absence of course!

Well it would make sense, depending on how you present it. I wouldn't call the Pegasus vessels obsolete. I don't know why they've been decommissioned. Maybe the Navy as of yet doesn't have a use for that kind of vessel. The Hydrofoil design is actually pretty clever.

I've mentioned before that a Destroyer such as a Type 42/Spurance/Arleigh Burke class would be great. Although for it to be a lone prowler on the Hudson might not work.

Think of it, if you wanted to commit your larger and more powerful vessels such as Cruisers, Destroyers, Aircraft Carriers, Submarines etc, to more urgent areas. Then you rely on smaller vessels like the Pegasus to do hit and run & reconnaissance missions.

Also with a sudden and unexpected attack by Tripods. I'd imagine the Military would use anything at their disposal. They even used Humvees against them. Because the Tripods do not seem to go after Military targets, this would give them the advantage. Then they could commit more forces to protecting as many civilians as they can. Remember what the Officer
says in the film "Our mission, Lieutenant, is to delay their advance, till those refugees get to safety. Now, keep firing!"

Going back to the Pegasus vessels, they came in a squadron of six. They're small, fast, maneuverable and have very good range. Perfect if you want to operate them on a river, where they can pounce quickly on an enemy with their firepower.

Here's a description i found...

They had good range on their diesels, excellent seakeeping qualities, amazingly fast response to requirements for speed, and a potent punch. Since becoming operational, they established an unusually high availability rate while participating in a variety of missions

Pegasus

Consider their armaments...

8x AGM-84 Harpoon
1x 76mm gun

I don't know how knowledgeable you are on ships but that isn't bad for a small one.

If you were up against large lumbering Tripods. Wouldn't you rather some fast vessel that could launch a surprise attack. It makes sense to me.

Also the Thunderchild in the book was a Torpedo Ram. I'm no expert on late 19th century warfare, but i don't think it was the 'latest in technology'. Especially when such vessels as the Dreadnought were available. The Thunderchild was simply the closest and quickest to the scene. It's actually an irony if you think about it. The Torpedo Ram is one of the smallest vessels, just like the Pegasus.

Here's a little detail from the Wikipedia site...

While never popular with the naval services that created them, the torpedo ram can be said to have caught public attention in a manner which far exceeded its utility as a concept for a fighting ship. The heroic HMS Thunder Child in H. G. Wells's science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds was a torpedo ram, and she destroyed two Martian Tripods by ramming their legs. It has been suggested by some that, in view of the limited military value the torpedo ram demonstrated, Wells's immortalization of the type in what would become a literary classic was the torpedo ram's greatest achievement.[/b]

Torpedo Ram

Here's some pics too..





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