Passes the Bechdel test
War of the Worlds
2005. Directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp and H.G. Wells.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
29 women characters. 3 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 34. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
An ordinary man has to protect his children against alien invaders in this science fiction action film freely adapted from the classic story by H.G. Wells. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dockworker living in New Jersey, divorced from his first wife Mary Ann (Miranda Otto) and estranged from his two children Rachel and Robbie (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin), of whom he has custody on weekends. On one such visitation, looking after the kids becomes a little more difficult when, after a series of strange lighting storms hit his neighborhood, Ray discovers that a fleet of death-ray robotic spaceships have emerged nearby, part of the first wave of an all-out alien invasion of the Earth. Transporting his children from New Jersey to Boston in an attempt to find safety at Mary Ann's parents' house, Ray must learn to become the protector and provider he never was in marriage.
- Released
- 29 Jun 2005
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 73 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. 16 wins & 49 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ray 313 lines, man
- Rachel 131 lines, woman
- Robbie 89 lines, man
- Harland 39 lines, man
- Mary Ann 19 lines, woman
- Manny 15 lines, man
- Sheryl 12 lines
- Friend 4 10 lines
- Reporter 8 lines, man
- Friend 3 7 lines
Full cast, 110 people
- Tom Cruise as Ray
- Dakota Fanning as Rachel
- Miranda Otto as Mary Ann
- Justin Chatwin as Robbie
- Tim Robbins as Harlan Ogilvy
- Rick Gonzalez as Vincent
- Yul Vazquez as Julio
- Lenny Venito as Manny the Mechanic
- Lisa Ann Walter as Bartender
- Ann Robinson as Grandmother
- Gene Barry as Grandfather
- David Alan Basche as Tim
- Roz Abrams as Herself
- Michael Brownlee as TV Reporter - Osaka
- Camillia Monet as News Producer
- Marlon Young as News Cameraman
- John Eddins as News van Driver
- Peter Gerety as Hatch Boss / Load Manager
- David Harbour as Dock Worker
- Miguel Antonio Ferrer as Brazilian Neighbor
- January LaVoy as Brazilian Neighbor's Wife
- Stephen Gevedon as Neighbor with Lawnmower
- Julie White as Woman
- Marianne Ebert as Hysterical Woman
- Rafael Sardina as Mechanic's Assistant
- Amy Ryan as Neighbor with Toddler
- Ed Vassallo as Intersection Guy
- Michael Arthur as Intersection Guy
- Danny Hoch as Intersection Guy Cop
- Sharrieff Pugh as Man Studying Street
- Erika LaVonn as Photographer
- Christopher Evan Welch as Photographer
- John Michael Bolger as Man Holding Woman
- Omar Jermaine as Man Holding Woman
- Robert Cicchini as Guy in Suit
- Jim Hanna as Bus Driver
- Tracy Howe as Crowd Onlooker
- Adam Lazarre-White as Crowd Onlooker
- Vito D'Ambrosio as Crowd Onlooker
- Laura Zoe Quist as Crowd Onlooker
- Ana Maria Quintana as Crowd Onlooker
- Lorelei Llee as Crowd Onlooker
- Mark Manley as Ferry Worker
- John Scurti as Ferry Captain
- Becky Ann Baker as Disaster Relief Volunteer
- Mariann Mayberry as Mother
- Ty Simpkins as 3 Year Old Boy
- Jerry Walsh as Smart Guy
- Tommy Guiffre as National Guardsman
- Daniel Franzese as National Guardsman
- Ed Schiff as Older Man
- Ellen Barry as Woman from Upstate
- Amy Hohn as Panicky Woman
- Dan Ziskie as Informative Guy
- David Conley as Ill-Informed Guy
- Daniel Eric Gold as Conspiracy Buff
- Booker T. Washington as Conspiracy Debunker
- Maggie Lacey as Upset Mother
- Eric Zuckerman as Doomsday Guy
- Daniel A. Jacobs as Younger Man
- Asha R. Nanavati as Woman in Crowd
- Joaquin Perez-Campbell as Young Soldier in Tank
- Dendrie Taylor as Well Meaning Mother
- James DuMont as Well-Meaning Father
- Travis Aaron Wade as Soldier
- Benny Ciaramello as Soldier
- Ricky Luna as Soldier
- Columbus Short as Soldier
- Kent Faulcon as Soldier
- Kevin Collins as Marine Major
- Terry Thomas as Marine Major
- Clay Bringhurst as Airforce Pilot
- Jorge-Luis Pallo as Army Private
- Suanne Spoke as Businesswoman
- Kirsten Nelson as Businesswoman
- Melody Garrett as Older Woman
- Lauri Johnson as Older Woman
- Takayo Fischer as Older Woman
- Shanna Collins as Teenager
- Elizabeth Jayne Hong as Teenager
- Art Chudabala as Man in Basket
- Jeffrey Hutchinson as Man in Basket
- Dempsey Pappion as Man in Basket
- Chris Todd as Man in Basket
- Johnny Kastl as Boston Soldier
- Juan Carlos Hernández as Boston Soldier
- Bruce W. Derdoski Jr. as Boston Soldier
- John N. Morales as Boston Soldier
- Morgan Freeman as Narrator (voice)
- Peter E. Tasciotti as Soldier (uncredited)
- David Gere as Survivor (uncredited)
- James Boss as Refugee (uncredited)
- Martin Dew as Looter in Diner (uncredited)
- Joe Duffy as Refugee Fleeing Martians / Ferry Passenger (uncredited)
- Freddie Johnson as Boston Survivor (uncredited)
- Anthony Jennings as Amputee (uncredited)
- Ingrid Johnson as Ray's Neighbor (uncredited)
- Tanda Kerín as Woman in Crowd (uncredited)
- Miho Nakamura as Passenger (uncredited)
- Vladislav Kozlov as Survivor (uncredited)
- Channing Tatum as Boy in Church (uncredited)
- Kyle S. Brown as Marine Rifleman (uncredited)
- Jason Latief Anderson as Refugee (uncredited)
- Dustin Ardine as Refugee Outside the Diner (uncredited)
- Cass Asher as Soldier (uncredited)
- Alan Kemper Armani as Survivor (uncredited)
- Timothy Burd as Burned Victim (uncredited)
- Paul Bunnell as Boston Survivor (uncredited)
- Joseph DeBona as Newark Deliveryman (uncredited)
- Dannielle Rose as Ferry Passenger (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 34
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 to 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 to 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 4 to 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 5 to 5 | 11 | 9 |
| 6 to 6 | 4 | 19 |
| 7 to 7 | 24 | 29 |
| 8 to 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 to 9 | 0 | 36 |
| 10 to 10 | 5 | 12 |
| 11 to 11 | 3 | 24 |
| 12 to 12 | 16 | 48 |
| 13 to 13 | 3 | 1 |
| 14 to 14 | 6 | 23 |
| 15 to 15 | 5 | 7 |
| 16 to 16 | 3 | 5 |
| 17 to 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 to 18 | 0 | 6 |
| 19 to 19 | 0 | 12 |
| 20 to 20 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 to 21 | 3 | 6 |
| 22 to 22 | 11 | 32 |
| 23 to 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 24 to 24 | 6 | 18 |
| 25 to 25 | 4 | 24 |
| 26 to 26 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 to 27 | 5 | 19 |
| 28 to 28 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 to 29 | 5 | 29 |
| 30 to 30 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 to 31 | 6 | 39 |
| 32 to 32 | 0 | 10 |
| 33 to 33 | 12 | 28 |
| 34 to 34 | 8 | 39 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MARY ANN: I'll just get it in the door. RACHEL: It's got rollers, just roll it. MARY ANN: Well we can't roll it up the stairs now can we?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.
152 lines from women, 505 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
29 women and 70 men in the cast. 3 women and 16 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 12 of 701.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 63 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 15% of the words (806), men 85% (4,463). Women have 23% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
3
Two men
36
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Steven Spielberg (man)
- Written by
- David Koepp (man), Josh Friedman (man)
- From the novel by
- H. G. Wells (man)
- Produced by
- Colin Wilson (man), Kathleen Kennedy (woman)
- Shot by
- Janusz Kamiński (man)
- Edited by
- Michael Kahn (man)
- Music by
- John Williams (man)
- Production design by
- Rick Carter (man)
- Costumes by
- Joanna Johnston (woman)
- Cast by
- Terri Taylor (woman), Debra Zane (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
13 women, 22 men, 28 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 33 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 7 men, 21 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 12 men, 21 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 9 men, 18 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 10 men, 12 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
7 women, 2 men, 12 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 7 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 41 on average. Men: 35 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Dakota Fanning 11, Miranda Otto 37, Lisa Ann Walter 41, Ann Robinson 76
Men
Justin Chatwin 22, Rick Gonzalez 25, Lenny Venito 36, Yul Vazquez 40, Tom Cruise 42, Tim Robbins 46
Exhibit H: the money
It made 4.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $132 million
- Box office
- $604 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 34 scenes and 701 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
