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

Though it was much discussed upon the movie's 2005 release, in recent years you'd be forgiven for forgetting that Spielberg intentionally invokes 9/11 imagery throughout the film.

Most notably, during the initial tripod attack sequence in which Ray's fellow humans are turned to dusty plumes of ash around him, the scene is intended to be reminiscent of on-the-ground footage from Ground Zero in 2001, where citizens were left fleeing from clouds of ash.

Elsewhere, the various missing person posters and general sense of a community struggling to fight back against an insurgent force was noted by many critics to invoke the national mood in the days and weeks following the terrorist attack.

While screenwriter Koepp stated he didn't include any explicit 9/11 references in the script, Spielberg confirmed in an interview that he wanted viewers to parallel the alien invasion with more pressing real-life concerns.

He said, "[The aliens] are a wake-up call to face our fears as we confront a force intent on destroying our way of life."