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Things to Come

Play trailer Poster for Things to Come Released Apr 17, 1936 1h 35m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
It's Christmas 1940, and Everytown resident John Cabal (Raymond Massey) fears that war is imminent. When it breaks out, the war lasts 30 years, destroying the city and ushering in a new dark age of plagues and petty despots. But there is hope in the form of Wings Over the World, a group of pacifist scientists and thinkers lead by Cabal. Their dream is to build a utopian society on the ruins of the old. But first they'll have to unseat the latest ruling tyrant (Ralph Richardson).
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Things to Come

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Critics Consensus

Eerily prescient in its presentation of a dystopian future, Things to Come's special effects may be somewhat dated, but its potent ideas haven't aged at all.

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Critics Reviews

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Frank S. Nugent New York Times Things to Come is an unusual picture, a fantasy, if you will, with overtones of the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon comic strips. But it is, as well, a picture with ideas which have been expressed dramatically and with visual fascination. May 31, 2007 Full Review Variety This is England's first $1 million picture. It's an impressive but dull exposition of a bad dream. May 31, 2007 Full Review William Thomas Empire Magazine Spookily prescient in many of its ideas, this is fascinating whilst being a little clumsy and dated, even for its time. Rated: 4/5 May 14, 2007 Full Review Brian Susbielles InSession Film An early masterpiece of the sci-fi genre... Mar 7, 2023 Full Review Jorge Luis Borges Sur "Grandiose" in the worst sense of that bad word. Dec 15, 2021 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins The speculative qualities of this epic sci-fi drama are worth seeing, particularly due to the early year in which it was theatrically adapted. Rated: 6/10 Jul 30, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Doug P "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. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/14/25 Full Review David M From a very different time, but must be seen for the exquisite design if nothing else. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/25 Full Review Denny S 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. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/26/24 Full Review Aldo G Sensational early sci-fi film. Imaginative production design. Excellent cinematography. I bet George Miller studied this film before producing his first Mad Max film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/15/24 Full Review Shioka O I'm overwhelmed by the first 15-20 min seeing the endless bombings and catastrophic images, then being patient, majestic imagination came after. It's a very early take of Sci-fi dystopian in a pure Art Deco, and definitely ahead of its time. I find the visual, the technology, and the speeches dominate over the story by H.G.Wells. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/28/23 Full Review CodyZamboni Z Some interesting visuals and montages. But a mainly boring sci fi, with cheap looking fx, with dull characters. Should be alot more exciting given it goes all the way to 1970, and predicts WW2 and features zombie infected hordes. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Things to Come

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Cast & Crew

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William Cameron Menzies

Director

Raymond Massey

John Cabal

Ralph Richardson

The Boss

Margaretta Scott

Roxana

Cedric Hardwicke

Theotocopulos

Maurice Braddell

Dr. Harding

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Things to Come

Things to Come (1936) Things to Come (1936) Things to Come (1936) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis It's Christmas 1940, and Everytown resident John Cabal (Raymond Massey) fears that war is imminent. When it breaks out, the war lasts 30 years, destroying the city and ushering in a new dark age of plagues and petty despots. But there is hope in the form of Wings Over the World, a group of pacifist scientists and thinkers lead by Cabal. Their dream is to build a utopian society on the ruins of the old. But first they'll have to unseat the latest ruling tyrant (Ralph Richardson).
Director
William Cameron Menzies
Producer
Alexander Korda
Screenwriter
H.G. Wells
Distributor
Madacy Entertainment Group Inc. [us], GoodTimes Home Video [us], Sinister Cinema, Unknown Video, LS Video, Film Classics Inc., United Artists, Network Enterprises [us]
Production Co
London Film Production
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 17, 1936, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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