FROM 300 HUNDRED MILLION MILES AWAY... IGNITE FILMS PRESENTS THE AWARD-WINNING 4K RESTORATION OF THE 1953 SCI-FI CLASSIC  INVADERS FROM MARS

CELEBRATING THE GROUNDBREAKING FILM’S 70^TH ANNIVERSARY BLU-RAY AND 4K ULTRA HD NOW AVAILABLE!

MoMA will have a Special Screening of the beautifully restored film on Saturday, January 14 at 6:30pm, following a film preservation workshop hosted by Scott MacQueen at 4pm.

On Sunday, January 15 at 11:00am, Bedford Playhouse will present the 4K restoration followed by a presentation and Q&A with Scott MacQueen. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (JANUARY 9, 2023) – Since 2005, Ignite Films, the Dutch company formed by Jan Willem Bosman Jansen, has lived up to its motto, “Classics for the Future,”  by acquiring classics film packages and copyrights, and distributing the titles through creative and far-reaching deals.  Since 2016, Lionsgate has handled worldwide distribution of Ignite Films’ film catalogue. The 4K Ultra HD restoration ofInvaders From Mars is the first title to be manufactured and distributed by Ignite Films itself.  The sensational 4K Ultra HD restoration of William Cameron Menzies’ 1953 sci-fi classic was originally scheduled to be released September 26, 2022, but production and distribution fell victim to the supply-chain crisis and delivery was unfortunately delayed for over three months.  The pre-orders were sent out to the eager fans of the film in late December 2022 and early January 2023, and new orders are being taken for the film exclusively on the Ignite Films website.   The official new launch date is January 10, 2023, in celebration of the film’s 70^th Anniversary, announced Jan Willem Bosman Jansen, founder of Ignite Films.

“Ignite Films acquired the Eddie Alperson library of which one of the titles was Invaders From Mars. Buying the older catalogues over the years has made me a specialist in searching for restoration materials, which in a number of cases were not to be found. Invaders From Mars was one of those. Until 2012 this film was just lost to us, but then I was able to buy the original camera negative, which was in great condition, but consisted of only 70% of the movie. That’s when my cooperation with Scott MacQueen started.  Scott had then just begun his tenure as head of preservation at UCLA where most of our materials are stored. Our further search continued in 2020 and resulted in finally finding additional materials at various archives around the world, and Scott really performed his restoration magic, said Bosman Jansen.

The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) Awards Committee presented Ignite Films with the inaugural Jury Award for Restoration and Preservation for its work on Invaders From Mars.  In addition to the Jury Award for Restoration, the HPA Awards recognized excellence in craft categories including color grading, editing, sound and visual effects during the gala on November 17, 2022.

Ignite Films Director Jan Willem Bosman Jansen said, “It’s a great honor to receive this award from HPA. We have taken tremendous care to ensure that the work we have done is an homage to the genius of William Cameron Menzies, and this recognition means the world.”

For more information: https://hpaonline.com/invaders-from-mars-will-receive-inaugural-hpa-awards-restoration-honor/

The restoration of Invaders From Mars has been much hoped for and a long time coming -- but the process was not an easy one. Leading the effort was longtime enthusiast and preservationist of classic cinema Scott MacQueen, who previously was head of preservation at UCLA Film & Television Archive for more than a decade, before retiring in 2021. The biggest challenge for MacQueen was that the color negative confirmed for printing in SUPERcineCOLOR lacked many shots and needed to be sourced from 70-year-old prints. 

“Invaders From Mars was one of the most complex projects I have ever undertaken,” said Restoration Supervisor Scott MacQueen.

“In the days of analog restoration, it would not have been possible, but 21st century digital tools have been game-changers. Released in an archaic process that is irretrievable today Invaders From Mars was pieced together from five different sources. Additionally, eight minutes of European scenes and an alternate ending, and the original trailer, have been preserved. As star Jimmy Hunt says, ‘Invaders From Mars has never looked so good,’” added MacQueen.

The 4K restoration process of the sci-fi classic Invaders From Mars required a lengthy search for the final elements, which was conducted by Ignite’s Janet Schorer. Additionally, it was imperative to locate the elements necessary to fill in the gaps in the original camera negative, which was stored with great care at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The George Eastman Museum and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia were instrumental in supplying additional key elements which were essential to completing the film.

Special bonus features include a restored 4K version of the original 1953 trailer and a Newly Commissioned 2022 Trailer, an interview with the film’s star, Jimmy Hunt, an in-depth look at the restoration process led by Scott MacQueen, Restoration Supervisor, plus a new documentary about the film featuring interviews with directors Joe Dante (Gremlins), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Multiple Visual Effects Academy-Award winner Robert Skotak (Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day), and other luminaries. These extras and the documentary were produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeremy Alter (David Lynch’s Inland Empire, Doug Ellin’s Ramble On).

Fearful memories of this timeless 1953 bone-chiller still haunt the dreams of fans who have never forgotten the story of David MacLean, a young boy (Jimmy Hunt) who witnesses an alien invasion. Invaders From Mars was filmed from a child's point of view, using exaggerated sets and upward angles. It became a modern classic and was also one of two early 50s classic alien-invasion science fiction films (the other is Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still) reflecting Cold War tensions, the Red Scare and paranoid anxiety typical of many films in the 50s.

Invaders From Mars stars Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke.

Upcoming Special Screenings of the 4K restored version of  Invaders From Mars:

On Saturday, January 14, 2023, The Museum of Modern Art will have a Special Screening of the restored version of Invaders From Mars in conjunction with To Save and Project: The 19th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, the latest edition of the annual festival dedicated to celebrating newly preserved and restored films from archives, studios, distributors, foundations, and independent filmmakers from around the world.  Prior to the screening, there will be a film preservation workshop hosted by Scott MacQueen, who led the restoration team on Invaders From Mars.

For more information: https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/8402

On Sunday, January 15, 2023, Bedford Playhouse Clive Davis Arts Center, Westchester County at 633 Old Post Road, Bedford, NY 10506 in Bedford Village will present the 4K restoration of the sci-fi classicInvaders From Mars, followed by a presentation and Q&A with the film’s restorer Scott MacQueen.

For more information:

https://bedfordplayhouse.org/invaders-from-mars-with-special-guest-scott-macqueen/

Previous Special Screenings include:

Cinecon, in Hollywood, which honored former child actor Jimmy Hunt with a special screening of the 4K restoration of Invaders From Mars at this year’s festival, in September 2022.  Other special screenings of the 4K restoration have wowed audiences at the TCM Classic Film Festival, Hollywood, CA in April, IlCinema Ritrovato in Bologna, Italy, and the Fine Arts Film Festival, Venice, CA in June.

In support of the release, Ignite Films has created The Maze, a home for critical and analytical writing pertaining to the exciting restoration and release of Invaders From Mars. Named after the landmark 3D horror noir by William Cameron Menzies, every corner and avenue of the history and subtext of Invaders From Mars will be explored in The Maze by some of film history’s greatest critical minds. Led by editor and critic Scout Tafoya. The Maze is available on the Ignite Films website at https://www.ignite-films.com/blogs/the-maze

Ignite Films commissioned a new trailer, led by creative director and editor Dan de Winter, with special effects by Deux Wave, and score by Andy Huckvale. 

Artist and Illustrator Laz Marquez is Creative Director, leading the creative vision of the release, including key artwork and packaging.

The Big Pieces Company is supporting the release in the US and overseeing international sales. Pre-order Link: www.ignite-films.com/products/invaders-from-mars

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For interviews with film preservationist Scott MacQueen, star of Invaders From Mars Jimmy Hunt, and Jan Willem Bosman Jansen of Ignite Films, please contact david@robersonpr.com

PR Assets:  Poster, trailer file, production notes, bios, clips, screen grabs, etc. Download here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1P97WP0Un_ErWsw_Wmsm1xxTbBYHjvsMK?usp=sharing 

For exclusive clips and screen grabs, please contact:  david@robersonpr.com

Official Website: http://www.InvadersFromMars1953.com

Order Link: https://www.Ignite-Films.com/products/invaders-from-mars  

Link to New Updated 2022 Trailer: https://youtu.be/0f3wEXdG7ho

Link to Restored Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/DcdMnqMrbOs  

Social Media Handles @FromMars1953

https://www.facebook.com/frommars1953  

https://twitter.com/frommars1953

https://www.instagram.com/frommars1953/

ABOUT IGNITE FILMS  https://www.ignite-films.com/pages/about-ignite-films

Ignite Films began acquiring classic film properties in the 1990s and this has built a collection of more than eighty features. Using original film elements, Ignite continues to restore and upgrade its collection for posterity and appreciation by generations of cinephiles and movie lovers, old and new. Numerous celebrated and award-winning actors, directors and cinematographers continue to live on in our films. Examples range from the ill-fated romance of Letter from an Unknown Woman, (1948, Director Max Ophüls) to the chilling representation of American crime syndicates in the film noirs Force of Evil (starring John Garfield) and Joseph H. Lewis’ The Big Combo to the epitome of theatrical storytelling in Orson Welles’ Macbeth and Otto Premingers’ Saint Joan (starring Jean Seberg) - all representative of some of Hollywood’s finest contributors.

Iconic genre actors like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (Horror Express), British punk era zombies in Don Sharp’s stylized 1970s cult film Psychomania, suave frontier men like Randolph Scott (Canadian Pacific), Joel McCrea (Four Faces West) and John Wayne, resolute war heroes like Robert Mitchum (The Story of G.I. Joe) or Kirk Douglas (The Heroes of Telemark) - and the equally mesmerizing women, pitched against incredible odds - like Ingrid Bergman in Lewis Milestone’s Arch of Triumph, Anne Bancroft in Allan Dwan’s The Restless Breed or the still living legend Kim Novak opposite Frank Sinatra’s addicted character in The Man with the Golden Arm - all immortalized across decades of enduring films.