Things to Come – 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.
Things to Come (1936)
Director: William Cameron Menzies
Writers: H.G. Wells
Stars: Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, War
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Release Date: February 21, 1936(London, premiere)
Filming Location: Denham Film Studios, Denham, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Studio, uncredited)
Synopsis:
A global war begins in 1940. This war drags out over many decades until most of the people still alive (mostly those born after the war started) do not even know who started it or why. Nothing is being manufactured at all anymore, and society has broken down into primitive localized communities. In 1966, a great plague wipes out most of what people are left but small numbers still survive. One day, a strange aircraft lands at one of these communities, and its pilot tells of an organization which is rebuilding civilization and slowly moving across the world re-civilizing these groups of survivors. Great reconstruction takes place over the next few decades, and society is once again great and strong. The world’s population is now living in underground cities. In the year 2035, on the eve of man’s first flight to the moon, a popular uprising against progress (which some people claim has caused the wars of the past) gains support and becomes violent.
Reviews:
THINGS TO COME was an ambitious undertaking at the time, not only in its subject matter – that of predicting 100 years into the future – but also in its cinematic creation. This was the first time that a noted author was directly involved in every aspect of adapting one of his novels for the screen. Wells collaborated closely with everyone; from producer Alexander Korda and director William Cameron Menzies, to set designer Vincent Korda and composer Arthur Bliss, to cinematographer Georges Perinal and special effects supervisor Ned Mann. While there were clashes over creative control, everyone’s contribution remains intact making THINGS TO COME a testament to their considerable talents.
There are those who find fault with the rather cold demeanor of several characters in THINGS TO COME, but I disagree; technological advancement has its obvious advantages, but it can also bring about a decline in emotional interaction. Indeed, there’s already some indication of this in our current tech-obsessed, insatiable society. I like how the characters stand for certain types, symbols if you will, rather than individual personalities. THINGS TO COME is a broad, visionary tale with a message, not a character study.
The visual design, even today, is stunning, and when combined with that terrific music, it all produces a unique and memorable film experience. It anticipates by thirty-two years “things to come” with Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (MGM, 1968).
Credit to : Artflix – Movie Classics
