Good start, but then it gets ruined

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is quite a troubling movie. It is so broad in its scope and so cynical in its intent. Until the election of 2016, I thought this was a bit far fetched. Unfortunately, we have our own Cabal for the time being and we hope things don't disintegrate as they could. What we have here is a devastating war which results in the destruction of most of the world. Evil people are doing evil things and technology has virtually disappeared. It has devolved into tribal peoples (naturally) and the prospects for recovery are not good. Eventually, a force develops which has plans to recreate society. The problem is that societal evolution is hard to plan because human beings are the objects of the plan. On the one hand, there are all the incredible advancements brought about by necessity; on the other, a fear of men playing god. This is quite a curiosity. The film's fate depends on restoration because of the kinds of film that were used in those days. This is certainly worth a look, however, even though the quality is quite poor.

I've seen this film several times, and most of the time I see it as a simple version of one man's view of "the future". But occasionally my political and social hackles get all fired up, and I see the intent of the author. But then I settle down because the 1930's science fiction film really didn't get too much right, but it is kind of entertaining to see anyway.Wells' film takes its cues from the first World War, and attempts to prophesier the fate of mankind should war continue unabated. The narrative describing the story is somewhat odd because it's more driven by a future historic narrative than any real plot per se. Instead of a plot with characters and story we see a familial line contend with a speculative history.And that structure is the charm of such manifestos like this one, because it breaks the mold of traditional story telling. We see ancestors and forefathers. We see the world that is (or was), and we see how the world was transformed from near barbaric annihilation to a more hopeful outlook, and beyond.As per Christopher Frayling's interview on the Criterion blu-ray / DVD, the film is essentially a political and social manifesto of what Wells' believed could be the future, and how his version of an ideal society would come about. Again, it's a 1930's version of "the future", so you have to put yourself in the mindset of a white male living a successful life in 1930s UK or New York. Technical notes; the special effects are respectable, save for some of the miniature work. The sets are lavish, the props and costumes are okay (save for one item), and for a 1930's production it's fairly decent science fiction film making. Seventy years later Wells' predictions haven't exactly come to pass, so in the immediate sense thematically it does come across as a bit of an anachronism, but if you don't take it too seriously it is kind of entertaining as a sort of alternative Earth, like so many other science fiction stories. But, thematically again, like a lot of science fiction, the short comings of the film come from Wells' proposed solutions to mankind's ills. And not to put too much of a 21st century spin on this review, but all of the survivors of the human race in this film, are white. Again, it's a 1930's white male perspective on the future.As a piece of science fiction spectacle, it's worth seeing once or twice.

I saw this film as a young boy and really enjoyed it as a kid. I saw it again several more times as an adult and through the eyes of a b/w movie lover. This movie will always stand great through the passage of time. The plot , story line of this movie is so predicting of our actual future that it is incredible. Then again H.G. Wells is well known for his genius of fantasy and creativity. The acting was very accommodating for the story they were playing out. I was fortunate enough to recently find that this movie had been high quality colorized which made it even more interesting to watch. The color seems to add to the details of the picture. I can highly recommend this movie to old movie buffs. I couldn't live without it. It is one of thousands of movies in my collection but it will always stand out as one of my favorites. It is a great si-fi futuristic movie of the 1930's.

It starts in 1940 Christmas Everytown. The world is at the brink of war. Once it starts, war lasts for decades destroying civilization along the way. Diease and pestilence are spread. The world collapses into a dark age of perpetual war rule by warlords and limited resources. There's even an epidemic of zombie-like sickness. In the end, the world is conquer by a new world order of peace and prosperity as human beings launch into space.Sometimes the story drags with clunky dialog, and clunkier acting. There aren't any standouts. The characters change through the years, and it's hard to maintain interest in one single character. The characters aren't that compelling. And the story just doesn't have an emotional impact.The special effects are using all the old silent era movie tricks. Also there are big sets and big props. They're using real planes as well as miniatures. Director William Cameron Menzies is using everything within his arsenal. It's interesting to see the predicted world through the years. Some of it is outlandish and unrealistic. However there are some fun production designs. This is an interesting look at H.G. Wells predictions as well as a big production with special effects.