Things to Come is not H.G. Wells' most subtle work, and as a film, it makes for a demagogic experience. Made in 1936, it almost eerily gets things right by having a second World War start in 1940, but then of course goes on a different track as the war drags on for decades and destroys civilization. It is then rebuilt by reasonable scientists and engineers and 100 year from the the film's "now", this new society launches its first ship into space amidst controversy. So it's difficult to follow characters for any length of time, if you can really call them characters. They are mostly sermon delivery devices there to make socialist points. But then this is a symbolist work, taking place in a place called Everytown, and as time grinds on, the montages owe a lot to Eisenstein's own demagogic films. When the film really shines is the special effects, combining models and live footage in a spectacle of a quality not seen since Metropolis. But bold visuals aside, it's more a lecture than a story.
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Siskoid
Things to Come is not H.G. Wells' most subtle work, and as a film, it makes for a demagogic experience. Made in 1936, it almost eerily gets things right by having a second World War start in 1940, but then of course goes on a different track as the war drags on for decades and destroys civilization. It is then rebuilt by reasonable scientists and engineers and 100 year from the the film's "now", this new society launches its first ship into space amidst controversy. So it's difficult to follow characters for any length of time, if you can really call them characters. They are mostly sermon delivery devices there to make socialist points. But then this is a symbolist work, taking place in a place called Everytown, and as time grinds on, the montages owe a lot to Eisenstein's own demagogic films. When the film really shines is the special effects, combining models and live footage in a spectacle of a quality not seen since Metropolis. But bold visuals aside, it's more a lecture than a story.ClassicLady
Not as good as I expected it to be but still, a very good movie. Like Metropolis before it and many other H. G. Wells stories, way ahead of its time.epp
Way ahead of it's time. Even though we didn't had to wait until 2036 for our first trip to the moon.daisyaday
color version streaming now on AnazonArmoreska
watched it in Virtual Extended Version, approx. 140 minutes long, which is half-movie-half-bookthe shorter cuts must be very disjointed
daisyaday
http://www.archive.org/details/ClaCinOnl_ThingsToCome