Remember The Great Martian War of 1913, the war that almost wiped mankind off the face of the Earth? No? That would be because it didn't (obviously) happen, but this footage of invading Martians spliced into actual footage from World War I could probably convince some people otherwise.
It comes from a Canadian History Channel "mockumentary" that aired last year called The Great Martian War, which featured "historians" attempting to decrypt Martian code and looking back on a war that looks like it was ripped straight from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.
Check out the sizzle reel of footage below, directed by Christian Johnson, (Plazma). and Steve Maher (impossible factual). In addition to the footage below, History Channel's website has a few excerpts from the special itself.
It's some chilling footage, though the music kind of subtracts from the whole experience. The way the tripods move and their strategic placement in each shot look eerily real, as soldiers flee from or fire at the towering Martians as they rain death from above. Some of these metal behemoths are massive enough to drag down ships.
Johnson and Maher didn't just add the Martians to the footage either: they've also inserted planes, explosions and other visuals effects to create some truly compelling stuff. This mockumentary makes no claims to be "real", unlike other History Channel shows like Ancient Aliens or Discovery Channel's faux Mermaid documentaries, which intentionally mislead viewers. The Great Martian War, on the other hand, is upfront about the absurdity of its concept. That's what makes it great. Sometimes it's just fun to ask "what if?"
