20 Things You Didn't Know About War Of The Worlds

It's largely accepted that effects-heavy blockbusters tend to shoot at least a year before they're due for release, and often much longer than that.

In a rare move, however, Spielberg and his crew began the 72-day shoot just seven months before the film was released in cinemas, ultimately leaving less than four months between principal photography wrapping and the film going before our eyeballs.

In order to give the VFX teams as much time as possible to work on the marquee sequences, though, Spielberg smartly shot them first, saving the more modest dialogue scenes for the back-end of the shoot.

Even so, that the end result looks so polished with such a tight schedule is extremely impressive. But that's Spielberg for you - an absolute pro.