2001: A Space Odyssey's Great Ancestor: Things to Come
Its episodic structure and the high ambition behind it have made "Things to Come" the great precursor of "2001: A Space Odyssey."
The film adaptation of H.G. Wells' book "The Shape of Things to Come" (1933), released as "Things to Come" on February 20, 1936, is one of the masterpieces of its time. The production of the film was undertaken by the Hungarian-born British director Alexander Korda (Sándor László Kellner), who would establish London Films, a legendary name in British film and television, and Britain's largest film distribution company, British Lion Films. While discussing producer Korda, it's also worth mentioning another significant contribution he made to British cinema. Sound. Yes, Korda worked in Hollywood during the transition from silent to sound films from 1926 to 1930, and then applied what he learned there in England. It should be noted that we are talking about a film where the director is as prominent as the producer.
Therefore, it's also a good idea to make a parenthesis for the American director of the film, William Cameron Menzies. "Production design" and "art direction" would be titles that Menzies would introduce to the cinema world, and for the first time, his name would be mentioned during his time. Menzies would both direct and design the production for another science fiction film, "Invaders from Mars," released in 1953. For his significant contributions to cinema, Menzies would also be honored in the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame, initiated in 2005, alongside several other famous filmmakers.
As for the plot of the film, covering the future history from 1940 to 2036, a span of ninety-six years, the film will not strictly adhere to the story ending in 2055 as in H.G. Wells' book. The story of the film will take place in "Everytown," a fictional British city, as in the book. In 1940, Britain, on its way to becoming an increasingly affluent and consumerist society, will suddenly come under attack, leading to decades of world war. The perception of civilization will almost collapse, manufacturing and trade will halt, and humanity will struggle to survive in a primitive manner. As a result of an epidemic disease emerging in 1966, the human population will further diminish, and people will begin to live in small groups.
The reasons for the war will begin to fade from memory. It is precisely during this period that a strange flying vehicle of unknown origin will visit those struggling to survive miserably. The pilot of the vehicle will speak of an organization that has begun to work from scratch to rebuild civilization and will instill hope in people. Indeed, over the next decades, humanity will regain its confidence and build new cities underground. By the year 2035, humanity will be on the verge of another step in its natural evolution, as the first humans will be sent to the moon, our planet's satellite. However, there will be a large group of people who believe that too much scientific progress will bring disaster upon humanity again. With impressive special effects for its time, the film will make its mark in cinema history as an epic.
A film with an intriguing scenario for those of us struggling in a period of great scientific advancement, it has become a reference to our current concerns because it was made 80 years ago. Just like its name suggests, it implies "the future of things."
With a budget of £260,000, "Things to Come" will be one of the most expensive films of its time. While The Examiner newspaper will choose "The Ghost Goes West" as the best film of 1936, "Things to Come" will receive significant recognition, being ranked ninth, which is considered a great success for that period. I'm happy to include the wonderful comment made by the British science fiction historian and film critic Gary Westfahl about this film: "Things to Come should be considered the first true masterpiece of science fiction cinema. Those who criticize the pace and characters of the film have actually missed H.G. Wells' message. Its episodic structure and the high ambition behind it have made "Things to Come" the great precursor of "2001: A Space Odyssey."