Things to Come (1936)
The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
- William Cameron Menzies
- Geoffrey Boothby
- H.G. Wells
- H.G. Wells
Rating: 6.4/10 by 188 users
Alternative Title:
Daqui a Cem Anos - BR
Les Temps Futurs - FR
Tider skola komma - SE
Nel 2000 guerra o pace? - IT
La vida futura - ES
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 40 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: future, progress, black and white, scientist, h.g. wells
This is a rather fanciful adaptation of the HG Wells tale. Mankind is all but obliterated by war; reduced to tribal existences - under the overly theatrical leadership of Ralph Richardson and Margaretta Scott - fighting plague, tyranny and the elements. Then they encounter Daniel Massey ("John Cabal") who helps reconcile and rebuild society to an almost Utopian level. It manages to intertwine megalomania with human aspiration; an overpoweringly rousing score and some truly Shakesperian style soliloquy. It comes to force a future upon us that is eerily portentous of an Orwellian style dictatorship; of interstellar exploration to spread our plague of self-destructive ambition to other worlds - and all, broadly speaking with the consent of the masses. Sadly, i saw a colourised version which robbed this film of almost every element of potency; indeed it rendered it little better than a very poor cartoon. It's still just about worth watching; but Massey is no Olivier and I found it all rather preposterous.
