H.G. Wells - Things to Come
by William Cameron Menzies
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DVD details
Actor: Cedric Hardwicke, Edward Chapman, Margaretta Scott, Ralph Richardson, Raymond MasseyDirector: William Cameron Menzies
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-02-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of H.G. Wells - Things to Come
DVD Review: Things to Come
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the first three movies shown on broadcast TV in New York in 1947.
Hollywood was afraid of the new medium and would not allow any domestic films to be aired.
The British Alexander Korda productions "Thief of Bhagdad", "The Man Who Could Work Miracles", and "Things to Come" became our favorite treasures for years.
DVD Review: More interesting than entertaining
Summary: 3 Stars
Calling the acting stiff would be an understatement, and no one in the movie ever says anything - everyone declaims, and in bold, often stentorian tones. Every point made in the movie is made with the subtlety of a jackhammer. To modern ears the result is vaguely ridiculous, and sometimes irritating.
Like everyone else in his era, Wells was a great deal too optimistic about the Wonders of Science (the capitals are essential). But the movie made a lot of good points and Wells clearly made a handful of good guesses. He foresaw European war (even if he clearly had no idea what the battle lines would be drawn over), and anticipated germ warfare, non-lethal crowd control, and the general "scaling up" of science. Even where he was wrong (his ideas on spaceflight were unworkable, his apparently fond hopes for an uprising of scientists and engineers unlikely) the guesses were interesting. (Whoever it was that dreamed up the movie's clothing fashions for the far future era, though, was out to lunch.)
I can't imagine the impact that would have had on a 30's audience. It was probably little short of mind blowing. Watching it with that in mind makes it worthwhile. And some of the sets were fascinating, providing eye candy for when when the actors aren't quite holding up their end. If you like sci-fi at all, worth a rental.
DVD Review: History Repeating Itself
Summary: 5 Stars
Great story from the past that looks strangely familiar.
This movie is a reminder of the proverb, "There is nothing new under the sun"... "All that is has already been done".
Of course another view of this is that everything they are doing to us they have done before, and have refined the same techniques through careful deliberation and much practice. It is clear that the present new world order scheme is an old world ambition for world domination and total population control. There is a "thread" that runs throughout history, and is revealed in the study of Ponerology.
DVD Review: a caucasian future
Summary: 3 Stars
I just saw this film on TCM. For a film made in 1936--considering what happened later--it was eerily on target on some things. The dialogue was somewhat stiff and unrealistic and did anyone notice that only caucasians seemed to have survived into the future? What happened to all the Asians, Africans, and Hispanics/Latinos? DVD Review: Good Movie -- Good Restoration...
Summary: 4 Stars
I first saw H.G. Wells "Things To Come" when I was about 12 and even then it made an indelible impression on me. The last time I saw it was in college (too many years ago to mention) for a film history class and it held up well. So this restored DVD version is only my third viewing of this flick.
But the film itself still holds up, addressing many social, political and scientific implications of a progressing society that many of us would do well to heed today. For purposes of complete disclosure I must admit up front that I am a serious technocrat and believe that our intelligent ability to use science and technology to uncover the secrets of nature is the main thing that will carry us through our current difficulties and out into the future. And is apparent that H.G. wells thought much the same. (After you see this movie you will understand that, if I had the option, I would join "Wings Over The World" instantly...).
No doubt that this movie is a bit dated -- cinematic sensibilities have changed a lot since the production of this film. Yet, there are many stylistic choices in the areas of lighting and photography that lift it out of the ordinary. And given the technical limitations of its day, the special effects in "Things To Come" (especially the scale model work) is extremely creative and inspiring.
The restoration of this classic is very well done, and probably the best that can be achieved, given the age of the materials thay probably had to work with. Though I prefer watching the original black and white, the colorized version on this disc is not too bad -- it affects an impressionistic quality, using color in a pastel fashion to overlay rather than replace information. It reminds one of the hand-tinted color photographs from gread-grandpa's day -- quaint and charming if not dynamic.
Alltogether, I would recommend this DVD to anyone who has an interest in the history of cinema, the history of science fiction films or the history of social evolution. The ending scene where Raymond Massey's character spells out why Man has to explore the Universe (taken right from Well's original text) still sends chills up my spine and stokes the fires of inspiration and imagination. Check it out -- I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Description of H.G. Wells - Things to Come
One of the most important science fiction films of all time, H.G. Wells's "Things to Come" opens prior to World War II and takes the viewer on a hundred-year time trip to 2036 A.D. when a man and a woman are rocketed to the moon. This inspired saga predicts television, jet planes and evil dictators. Featuring fabulous sets, a rich musical score and sweeping visual grandeur, "Things to Come" is a truly spectacular film event! Features a pristine new film-to-video transfer from original source materials.Based on H.G. Wells's speculative meditation on the price of progress, this 1936 English science-fiction epic shows the painterly touch of director William Cameron Menzies, an American whose career in art direction and production design, as well as uncredited directorial work, attached him to such visual triumphs as Gone with the Wind, Alexander Korda's sumptuous 1940 Thief of Baghdad, and Menzies's better-known SF achievement as director, the original Invaders from Mars. Things to Come traces a generational saga that begins, presciently, with a global war that outlives its own political purpose, unraveling society to a Balkanized world of isolated communities. In the wake of a subsequent, devastating plague, a new technocracy arises, evolving toward Menzies's striking vision of vast, subterranean cities, rendered in matte paintings building on then-contemporaneous art-deco "streamlined" aesthetics. Driven more by theme than plot, Things to Come lacks the sheer momentum of other Wells classics brought to film (The Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, and The Time Machine, among them); but Menzies's bold look and a strong cast including Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke and a young Ann Todd explain the film's enduring appeal. --Sam Sutherland
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