Things to Come

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DanTheMan 2 @DanTheMan2150AD Apr 11 Conceived, written, and overseen by H.G. Wells himself as an adaptation of his own work, Things to Come is an extraordinarily ambitious production, a triumph of imagination and technical audacity, but equally to its own detriment. The scope of the film is undeniable, with director and noted designer William Cameron Menzies delivering plenty of stunning sequences in both composition and design; unfortunately, that design overshadows many of the performances, and the stilted, overly talky stage-play script does not help matters. Its overwhelming seriousness is a problem, driven so heavily by ideas rather than anything else; the human element often feels secondary, with the ending in particular lacking any form of impact beyond Wells' plea for betterment. Intellectually confused but stunning realised, Things to Come is a wonderful repository of art deco, modernist design and eerie predictions of the ages to be, but far from engaging beyond those measures. See more g j @RT02395222 Aug 13 Shows its 90 years in some stilted acting and a poorly paced second act, but is nevertheless an outstanding achievement that, in places, feels decades ahead of its time. See more Doug P @Vestapol May 14 "Things To Come" (1936, H.G. Wells and William Cameron Menzies) impressed me. Not right away. The first 35 minutes or so, I was skeptical of what seemed to be a rather raggedy story line with stereotypical characters. The Chief and his ambivalently loyal wife; the wise scientist and his beautiful daughter; the rugged individualist, friend of the scientist and drawn to the daughter. As the story progressed from 1940 to 1960, 1970, and to 2036, the theme of balancing scientific progress with humanism became clearer. The film's subject, conflict and peace, was integrated seamlessly with the theme. What made the film fully engaging was the special effects depicting a 2036 as imagined in 1936. Overall, "Things To Come" is a bit pedantic in tone, melodramatic in its characters and relationships, but impressive overall for its socio-political vision as well as for the SFX representing prescient technological vision. See more David M @DavidMcKimmie 01/24/2025 From a very different time, but must be seen for the exquisite design if nothing else. See more Denny S @pinetree51 10/31/2024 A must see for any fan of sci-fi movies. Way, way ahead of its time with visual impact and whole dramatic presentation. Some of it drags a bit and some clues date the film, but I'm just nitpicking. See more Aldo G @RT54480587 03/15/2024 Sensational early sci-fi film. Imaginative production design. Excellent cinematography. I bet George Miller studied this film before producing his first Mad Max film. See more Read all reviews

Things to Come

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