Directed by:
William Cameron MenziesScreenplay:
H.G. WellsComposer:
Arthur BlissCast:
Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke, Derrick De Marney, Ann Todd, Patricia Hilliard, Terry-Thomas, George Sanders (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
A landmark collaboration between writer H.G. 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. Skipping through time, Things to Come bears witness to world war, disease, dictatorship, and, finally, utopia. Conceived, written, and overseen by Wells himself as an adaptation of his own work, this megabudget production, the most ambitious ever from Korda’s London Films, is a triumph of imagination and technical audacity. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (2)
A sci-fi drama, well-made for its time, in which both the political situation of the 1930s, which threatened war and the widely spread pacifist sentiment and technological optimism of that time are fully reflected. However, the film is brought down by its pathos and above all by its theatrical mannerism, with the main characters often slipping into mere declamation of slogans and noble truths. At certain moments, it would have been better suited to a large theater stage than a film camera. The most interesting and best part was the middle section, which dealt with a world destroyed by a world war. Despite limited financial and technical resources, this post-apocalyptic dystopia was portrayed more convincingly than many post-apocalyptic films of modern cinema. Overall impression: 55%.
()
A somewhat unconventional sci-fi that will probably be quite difficult for the contemporary viewer to endure. First and foremost, it is because there are no main characters here, but simply people and ideas that they represent. Secondly, it is because there are quite extensive time jumps here, as the film covers an entire century. Nevertheless, H. G. Wells shows how visionary he was and how he was able to contemplate about the world.
()