Things to Come
Things to Come
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)
Society in 2036 has devolved into a leisure-saturated body of mass consumers. Important decisions are relegated to an elite few. World wars have left parts of the globe in ashes; localized conflicts continue as a way of life. Social and medical epidemics rage. The comfortable bourgeoisie dwells like moles, living below sea level. Its members rest on cellophane sofas, inhale filtered oxygen, ingest preserved food, and entertain themselves by synthetic light. While the intelligentsia obliterates the sick to create a utopia for the earthlings who remain, others plan a mysterious trip to the moon, purportedly for humanity to reach the next rung on its evolutionary ladder. (official distributor synopsis)
(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%.
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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.
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