Spookily prescient in many of its ideas, this is fascinating whilst being a little clumsy and dated, even for its time.
Things to Come (1936)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:19
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.5/10
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.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: In the years since they were published, H.G. Wells's words seem to have become prophecies... Society in 2036 has devolved into a leisure-saturated body of mass consumers. Important decisions... In the years since they were published, H.G. Wells's words seem to have become prophecies... 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. [More]
Starring: Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke, Ann Todd
Starring: Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke, Ann Todd, Margaretta Scott, Maurice Braddell, Sophie Stewart, Derrick De Marney
Director: William Cameron Menzies
Director: William Cameron Menzies
Screenwriter: H.G. Wells
Producer: Alexander Korda
Composer: Arthur Bliss
Reviews for Things to Come
At once dated and weirdly modern, this may not be the film Wells wanted it to be, but it's still more ambitious and impressive than most fantasy cinema of the past 30 years.
Essential viewing today for anyone interested in the history of celluloid science fiction, but general audiences will most likely find it to be dull.
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.
This is England's first $1 million picture. It's an impressive but dull exposition of a bad dream.
Wells' heart must have sunk as audiences avoided his impassioned and idealistic -- yet dour and didactic -- cri de coeur.
An astonishing black-and-white visualization of Wells' view of the future.
[An] imaginative, only occasionally naive forecast of the age of nuclear warfare in 1936.
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Things to Come at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

