This is a powerful, yet spooky and somewhat cheesy science fiction film made in 1936, produced by alexander korda based on the h. The following introductory remarks, which will serve as background for the readings from the book, is a brief outline of dr. But cabals efforts go unheeded by the selfinterested classes, and war arrives with tanks and aeroplanes and gas bombs. Wells things to come is one of the more interesting early entries in the history of science fiction movies.
Wells book all of humanity will all one day be living in vast elaborate shopping malls and wear togalike outfits with capes. Although greene made it clear that a third of the film is magnificent, the second third. If you are a fan of things to come, the uk 2disc special edition network, 2007 is really the only one you want to buy until an inevitable new restoration for bluray is announced. The film things to come was wells last will and testament to his world socialist brethren, the summa of his ideas for a socialist world state. Eerily prescient in its presentation of a dystopian future, things to comes special effects may be. Things to come 1936, directed by william cameron menzies. Things to come is basically the same thing in motion picture form, but written by hg wells and made in the 1930s, so needless to say i enjoyed it quite a lot. A war which continues for decades reducing what is left of society to small isolated groups struggling to survive. You can find it here on my channel or at the link below. Conquest of the air is a 1936 documentary film or docudrama on the history of aviation, until the early stages of world war ii. The last question, with its echo of aristotle, might be of interest to nathalie, ms. Things to come lavenir is a masterclass in restraint that proves that a film does not need to be ostentatious in order to be powerful. Things to come also known in promotional material as h.
Made in 1936, things to come speculates on the future of society in the aftermath of a global war in 1940. Wells novel of the same name, the film takes only its title and some character names from the shape of things to come, wells. John cabal raymond massey lives in a town called everytown. Raymond massey, edward chapman, ralph richardson, margaretta scott, cedric hardwicke, maurice braddell, sophie stewart 1936, 92 minutes, directed by.
Things to come 1936 letterboxd social film discovery. Read the full synopsis of things to come, 1936, directed by william cameron menzies, with raymond massey, edward chapman, ralph richardson, at turner classic movies. Did you know that there are some people and critics who consider this score to the be the greatest of all time. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Wells from his own 1933 science fiction novel the shape of things to come, was the most ambitious production to date from kordas london films, and cemented its reputation for producing intelligent drama on an epic scale. Hupperts character in things to come, mia hansenloves new movie. Postapocalyptic warlord the boss ralph richardson is irritated with his court and especially with hightech visitor cabal raymond massey in h. Unlike films such as fritz langs metropolis, wells believed that man could achieve utopia, and not the horrible dystopia or postapocalyptic worlds we still get in todays scifi movies. Things to come 1936 its christmas 1940, and everytown resident john cabal raymond massey fears that war is imminent. One such community is visited by a stranger determined to impress his vision of a new, better and progressive civilisation. Things to come 1936 watch old movies online youtube. Advertisement we live in interesting, exciting, and. The shape of things to come is a work of science fiction by british writer h.
The story behind the making of the things to come is almost as interesting as the music itself. Its preapocalypse and postapocalypse shots are photographed from an airplanes view, taking advantage of the aircrafts indicting qualities. The movie itself seems to be from 1936, so the action, the war, starts four years into the future, 1940, then it vigorously spans nearly a whole century until the year 2036. Skipping through time, things to come bears witness to world war, disease, dictatorship, and, finally, utopia. Things to come is a 1936 film based upon the novel the shape of things to come by h. Things to come 1936 is a british science fiction film, produced by alexander korda. Hg wells thought metropolis to be quite the silliest film, but a decade later alexander korda gave him enormous creative freedom to write a movie version of the shape of things to come, which. By the way, all the young lady zombies wear complete eye makeup and lipstick and so on, just like before they got sick. When it breaks out, the war lasts 30 years, destroying the city and. Things to come opens with a nearfuture forecast of christmas 1940 in the metropolis of everytown obviously london, a city threatened by world war.
The complete film is available here at ia in the feature films collection. Its an unusual film in that it doesnt have a conventional plot the action takes place in three distinct time periods the near future i. Things to come is a trip back to the retrofuture the. Cedric hardwicke cuts a preorwellian figure as the artist and dissenter theotocopulos in william cameron menziess things to come 1936, a film. Things to come 1936 william cameron menzies synopsis. Things to come was voted the ninth best british film of 1936. That is this future worldafter wars and the plague, wandering sickness the film which is based on the text of the shape of things to come which although marketed as science fictionis really more like toflers future shock or al gores recent booka discussion of the politics and economics and scienceand the values of future society. The film features historical footage, and dramatic recreations, of the developments of commercial and military aviation. It was the 16th most popular film at the british box office in 193536. Futuristic tanks and airbattle scenes are featured in the warstory, also chemical and biological warfare. Things to come is a 1936 british blackandwhite science fiction film from united artists, produced by alexander korda, directed by william cameron menzies. Adapted for the screen by wells himself, the film follows a concept and plot similar to the book, and is seen mostly through the eyes of cynical but visionary john cabal raymond massey or one of his descendants also raymond massey and centered on a fictional english city called everytown. Things to come 1936 was an unprecedented event in british filmmaking, an extraordinarily ambitious and expensive production in which the full resources of cinemaan enormous cast, largescale sets, and sophisticated visual designwere invested in realizing an epic of humanitys future, as conceived by one of the worlds most famous living authors.
This film also reminds me of another great futuristic movie that was made in that era. Wells things to come is a 1936 british blackandwhite science fiction film from. It stars isabelle huppert as middleaged philosophy professor nathalie chazeaux, whose life is going through a series of separations things to come received critical acclaim and was selected to compete for the golden bear at the 66th berlin international film festival. Wow, they bring advanced capabilities developed during the previous century. Wells things to come is a 1936 british blackandwhite science fiction film from united artists. With the assistance of a group of scientists from a group which calls themselves, wings over world. Things to come was an ambitious project with a vast scope covering a century of future history and a scale to match. William cameron menzies gigantic sciencefiction film things to come 1936 reflects corbusiers view of airplanes in spades. The sciencefiction epic starred raymond massey in a dual role as the visionary cabal, who survives the fall of one futuristic society. After a centurylong global war, during which a plague wiped out half the worlds population, the surviverd are able to rebuild. Pacifist intellectuals, such as john cabal massey, try to turn the tide.
Wells, published in 1933, which speculates on future events up to the year 2106 a long economic slump causes a major war that leaves europe devastated and threatened by plague. Wells, accurately predicts the worlds very dark future. Things to come is a 1935 british science fiction film directed by william cameron menzies, based on the story by h. Things to come 1936 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Wells was a socialist who believed strongly in a one world government, and an. Wells things to come, 1936, directed by william cameron menzies view the tcmdb entry for things to come 1936. The nations with the strongest airforces set up a benevolent dictatorship that paves the way for world peace by abolishing national. Arthur bliss 18911975, was handpicked by alexander korda producer and h. Wells, producer alexander korda, and designer and director william cameron menzies, things to come is a science fiction film like no other, a prescient political work that predicts a century of turmoil and progress. Finding le corbusiers aircraft in things to come william. Film historians consider this to be one of great britains first major science fiction movies.
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