The Great Martian War 1913–1917

Combining period archive materials with special effects, The Great Martian War 1913–1917 features "previously recorded" interviews with now aging or dead war veterans while looking back at the entire sweep of the interplanetary conflict. The war begins in the depths of Germany's Bohemian Forest, following a massive explosion and shock wave that is felt by the rest of Europe. Elements of the German army are sent to investigate and are wiped out without a trace. The German Emperor makes an urgent appeal to the world for military assistance in fighting what turns out to be a powerful, non-human invading force thought to be from Mars.

As the conflict unfolds, the film showcases the devastation of Western Europe, where a rag-tag human alliance digs in against monstrous Martian fighting machines, unaware that deep flaws exist in their military leadership's central battle strategy. Across the Atlantic, the film outlines the political battle for the White House as President Woodrow Wilson struggles to maintain American isolationism, all the while sending aid and men to the beleaguered European alliance. From the skies over central London, where biplanes battle a towering alien tripod, to the war's catastrophic final act, the Allies, now standing on the brink of total defeat by the alien invaders, must decide if launching an untested and potentially devastating, secretly developed biological weapon, Glanders, is worth causing a pandemic. The weapon is released and kills the alien invaders in couple of weeks, winning the war. The disease, however, mutates after coming in contact with the aliens, becoming lethal to millions of people around the world.

Exploring the war's events are modern historians with opposing views about the conflict's many controversies. They disagree on an incendiary new discovery made that becomes centered around the previously uncrackable "Martian Code", a vast century-old cache of hundreds of "Martian" documents seized following the end of the war. These documents contain the direst of warnings from the "Martians" themselves about what was truly behind Earth's invasion: The war has only been paused by the real invaders, a liquid-metal lifeform (which mankind names "Victacite" after its discovery) that entices other, intelligent species into adopting its highly-adaptable technology. Integrating itself among all intelligent lifeforms it finds, this living-metal slowly brings all intelligent species encountered under its complete parasitic control. Victasite's Second Act on Earth is currently unfolding in a way that humanity cannot comprehend. When the living-metal decides its current host (us) is ready, it will force us to continue to use war on other worlds as the means by which to spread its parasitic existence. Our fate is now to become the next "Martian invaders" on some alien world, with the parasite as our puppet master.

One film reviewer found the film gripping and "not only fascinating to watch, but very realistic right to the very end".[1] Another reviewer commented that the film may be "best described as an interesting curiosity".[2] According to a reviewer for Postmedia News, the film is "a novelty, but an inventive and surprisingly engaging novelty".[3] Still another reviewer states, "What an audacious, perfectly clever, and perfectly realized project. The utmost skill and craftsmanship have delivered this merging of faux archival-style (scratched, battered) footage (appearing as though from The Great War) with an endless CGI army of ruthless Titan alien machines. To my mind, the result was utterly awesome, and 'awesome' is not a word I throw around lightly. Indeed, the entire film seems authentic, and to have pulled it off so satisfactorily reflects uncommonly well on The Great Martian War’s creative team".[4]

• The Great Martian War 1913–1917 at the History Channel WebSite
• The Great Martian War 1913–1917 at IMDb
• "The Great Martian War 1913–1917" – GamePlay App
• "The Great Martian War 1913–1917" – Trailers (00:15); (01:01)