MovieChat Forums > War of the Worlds (2005) Discussion > Need to cross the Hudson to get to Bosto...

Need to cross the Hudson to get to Boston?

posted 8 years ago by volkstraum
6 replies | jump to latest

All the New York boroughs are east of the Hudson River, including Brooklyn which is east of Manhattan at the tip of Long Island. The nighttime crossing scene even looked like it was set at Dobb's Ferry, which is on the eastern side of the Hudson past Yonkers.

So.... how did they end up in Rockland County or points west of the Hudson River, and thereby need to cross the river? When they arrived he met someone who was presumably a neighbor and they were surrounded by thousands of other people fleeing the city. How did all these people end up over there to begin with?

When I rewatched this, I reasoned they were taking that van from Brooklyn and driving further east into the suburbs of Long Island... then they would need a ferry to cross the Long Island Sound into Connecticut. But Ray keeps referring to the Hudson crossing. Makes no sense.

I couldn't believe when I read his filmography that he played a toilet (no joke) in According to Jim

[–] virgiltx 8 years ago

Ray's house is in Bayonne, NJ, not a borough of New York City. He lived on John F Kennedy Blvd. (Google Earth 40°38'49.28" N 74°08'21.13" W), on which he stole the vehicle, first heading north, but immediately turned east onto Point View Terrace. It looks like he made his way to NJ-440, heading north, but still west of the Hudson.

The alleged ferry location was Athens, NY, which is about 113 miles north of Ray's house.
The view of the RR crossing and burning train is actually in Athens, corner of N Water St. and 2nd Ave.,
42°15'35.56" N 73°48'29.40" W, although there are actually no RR tracks there, or ferry service.
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[–] volkstraum 8 years ago

Ugh, I should have gone to the plot summary. You are right

I thought they mentioned Brooklyn, not Bayonne.

Any guesses why so many people would be trying to get into the direction of Providence and Boston instead of fleeing into the wilderness of upstate NY?

I couldn't believe when I read his filmography that he played a toilet (no joke) in According to Jim

[–] virgiltx 8 years ago

The military is assisting, so it looks like an evacuation, like the population is being moved to areas not yet attacked.
I think it makes no sense, and looks like futile desperation. But that contributes to the nightmarishness of the scene.

Why was it that Ray thought Boston would be any better than Bayonne? Or was he just trying to re-unite with his wife?

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The story is king.

[–] volkstraum 8 years ago

Well it's part of his character arc. In the beginning he is desperate to get his children back to his mother -- she has left to see her parents in Boston for the weekend.

However by the end of the trip he became a true parent and the destination did not matter (he got hugs from both kids)

I couldn't believe when I read his filmography that he played a toilet (no joke) in According to Jim

[–] psdhart 8 years ago

I think it makes no sense, and looks like futile desperation. But that contributes to the nightmarishness of the scene.

^this

[–] RustyShackleworth 8 years ago

I've never understood this either. A large city like Boston would likely get the attention of tripods and be attacked.

Even though there really didn't seem to be safe place to hide I would have gone to a wilderness area myself.