The Time Machine [DVD]

This is a movie I've fallen in love with after having not seen it in so many years. The 1960 film is based off of H.G. Wells' 1896 novel by the same name. There are things that were in the book that were left out of the film, and there were things in the film which were never in the book, for example, some of the events of the 20th century.The story focuses on British man with an American accent George (played by Rod Taylor). He's an intellectual, social scientist and an inventor. On the night of December 31, 1899, he has his friends over his place to demonstrate to them an experiment with a smaller version of a time machine that he's created. He said it took him 2 years to make. Of course, the sheer mechanics of such an invention were never discussed, but that's what suspension of disbelief is for.When George successfully sends his miniature time machine model into the future as it disappears before the very eyes of him and his friends, his friends seem too perplexed to even be amazed by what they've just seen. Instead, they start rambling on about whether or not such an invention can be patented and sold. There's a war in South Africa after all! The frustrated George has a heart-to-heart with his bff David (Alan Young) who tells him to destroy the machine for his own good. The evermore frustrated George waits until Alan shows himself out the door, so he can head straight for his shed, uh, laboratory.George lights a candle, sets a clock and says a prayer as he hops on his sled of a time machine and then goes forward in time by one hour and 39 minutes. George then tries his luck and goes forward in time even further, about 6 months further. He's amused by the ever-changing fashion style of the window mannequin across the street. As George is going forward in time, the room around him suddenly goes dark. When he stops his time machine, he ends up at September 13, 1917. George finds that his laboratory windows have been boarded up. He walks into his living room only to find that all his furniture has been covered up with blankets and that everything is dusty and cobweb-ridden. When he knocks down the boards of wood nailed to his front door, he walks across the street and encounters who he thinks is his friend David, but is actually David's son. David's son tells George that his father David died a year earlier in the war. The son becomes shocked when George asks "what war?" George learns that Great Britain has been at war with Germany since 1914 (WW1). The saddened George then walks back to his boarded up home to time machine on once again.While going forward in the future, George suddenly feels shaking, like he is being rattled around. He stops his time machine which then lands on the date of June 19, 1940. George looks up to see planes in the night sky battling one another. George then realizes that this is a different war (WW2). George wants to see the outcome of it and so travels forward once again, but as soon as he does so his house is hit by a bomb and fire erupts around him everywhere only to have him end up outside. While outside, he sees reconstruction taking place over the years. Then suddenly he hears a strange noise. He stops his machine again and it lands on the date August 18, 1966. When he gets off his time machine he sees people running and sees government workers dressed in ridiculous chrome suits (because according to Spongebob, "everything is chrome in the future") ushering everyone into underground bunkers. George then runs into David's son, who is now a ripe old man. George refreshes his memory of when they last met, but David's son can't believe it since George hasn't changed a bit. Then an atomic satellite approaches and George is left all by his lonesome. There's a flash of light and in an instant, much of London has been vaporized. The curious George hobbles onto his time machine, only to see that the nuclear explosion has caused a geophysical reaction from nature as volcanoes erupt (where the hell did the volcanoes come from?!) and lava flows into what's left of the nuked city.George travels forward in time again just as the area around him gets covered in lava and then cools down, forming a cave enclosure. George travels in time through the darkness which lasts centuries. He wonders to himself how long it will be until the elements wear away at the rock that has encased him. Suddenly, after hundreds of thousands of years, the rock wears away and George is free again. He looks and sees as nature begins to reclaim a desolate landscape. He sees that there are no seasons, and that there is no more war. He stops his time machine yet again and it lands on October 12, 802701.In this brave new world, George finds that humanity has divided itself into two groups; the Morlocks and the Eloi. It's somewhat insinuated later in this film by the talking rings that the apocalyptic war that began in 1966 (WW3) ended up being a 326-year war. So, it ended in 2292 I guess. Apparently, the Earth became so polluted and unable to sustain life that a bulk of the survivors of the human race went underground in "large caverns" in order to start over. The rest of humanity took their chances above ground in the sunlight. Over time, somehow, the people who went below ground (the Morlocks) managed to get the upper hand on the Eloi (or as I like to call them, the Californians), the people living above ground. Over time, the Morlocks degenerated in mutant cannibal albinos who were physically unable to step into the sunlight, so they would only come out of their sphinx frat house at night. Never did understand why everything in the future looked like ancient Egypt. Eh, whatever. The Eloi on the other hand became very blonde and good-looking apparently from all that time out in the sun. I'd be worried about skin cancer myself. As it turns out, the Morlocks controlled the Eloi, raising them like cattle and luring a portion of them down into the caverns when they reached a certain age, only to eat them. George's love for Weena (a beautiful Californian, uh, I mean Eloi) is what drives him to fight the Morlocks and save the Eloi in order to build a new world.If you haven't seen this film, I basically just spoiled most of it for you. But that's alright. It's even better than it sounds. Do pick up a copy for yourself. And while you're at it, read the 1896 book by H.G. Wells where George goes even further into the future if you can believe it.Personally, I don't think we have to worry about the year 802701. Nostradamus apparently said that humanity had until the year 3797. Plus, I think we're living in the End Times as it is. But that's another story for another day.

I wonder how many minds were blown back in the day when George Pal's The Time Machine (1960) was released? I'm not so much speaking of the special effects (which were, and still are amazing), but more so the concepts presented within the film, with regards to traveling in the fourth dimension i.e. moving back and forth through time all while occupying the same space throughout...I know, I know, the ideas had been around for some time as author H.G. Wells had created the work the film was based on way back around the turn of the 20th century, but surely the film reached a large audience, quite a few probably never having read his novel. Produced and directed by George Pal (When Worlds Collide, The War of the Worlds), a pioneer in fantasy and sci-fi cinema, the film stars Rod Taylor (World Without End, The Birds), in what is probably his best-known role as George, a scientist with a hankering to break on through to the other side. Also appearing is Alan Young, whom many may recognize as the voice for Disney's Scrooge McDuck (he also was the only actor from the original film to appear in the recent 2002 remake starring Guy Pearce), Yvette Mimieux (Where the Boys Are, The Black Hole), Tom Helmore (Vertigo), Whit Bissell (Airport, Soylent Green), and Sebastian Cabot (Kismet), whom many may remember as the rotund Mr. French from the late 60's television show `Family Affair'.The story begins in Victorian England with the arrival of a group of distinguished looking gentlemen to the home of their colleague George, played Rod Taylor. Thing is, George invited them for dinner, but has yet to appear himself, that is until he busts through the door, disheveled and unkempt, with what may be the most fantastic tale any one has ever heard, which takes us back five days prior as George, who's an inventor by the way, is having the same group over to reveal his latest invention, a machine that would allow for one to travel backwards and forwards through time. It's all theoretical as the device has yet to be tested, and George is met with skepticism by all except for one, his friend Filby (Young). Anyway, after the guests leave, George decides it's time to put his machine to the test, and what do you know? It Works! One should know the impetus for George's desire to travel forward in time is based on his dissatisfaction with the current state of human development, specifically out penchant for fighting with each other, and he desires to see a world without conflict, among other things. As he goes forward he stops a few times but that which he wishes to avoid continually presents itself, eventually driving him into the year 800,000 where the world has become an Eden-like paradise populated by people called the Eloi. There is no need to work, no laws, no gooberment, just a carefree lifestyle...with a hideous underbelly in the form of a group called the Morlocks, grotesque underground dwellers who are, well, what they are and share a chilling relationship with the Eloi...I found this film to be great fun, and one of the best science fictions films I've seen in a long time. As far as its faithfulness to the source material, I couldn't really tell you, but I did get the feel that there was a lot of respect involved towards Wells' vision, especially given the film focused a great deal on the moral aspects and implications of who we are and how they may affect future generations. This, along with superior special effects (which earned the film an Academy Award for 1960) really helped sell the film overall. Some of the effects may seem quaint by today's standards, but back in the day this had to have been cutting edge stuff. The passage of time indicated by all the meticulous stop motion work, among other things, looks amazing. I also really liked the whole `Victorian' feel of the time machine itself, a sense that it was truly created within the time period specified. I thought Taylor did very well presenting a man driven by his desire to find the best in humanity, only to discover the more things change, the more they tend to stay the same. It felt like there was real growth from within the character, growth that stemmed from experiencing so much in so little time. I especially liked the character of Alan Young as Filby as to me he represented sort of the general populous of society, those who live their lives day to day, living within their world, content to make things better through small steps than great strides. I can't remember the specific dialog, but there was a scene that illustrated this well in where Filby tries to convince George to destroy his machine and makes a remark with regards to how we have to live within our time and make the best of it that we can...Warner Brothers provides an excellent wide screen (1.66:1) transfer on this DVD. The colors are sharp and vibrant, and the picture quality nearly flawless. The audio, available in both English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), comes through clean and clear. There are some special features, including a theatrical trailer and cast and crew bios. Also included is a 47 minute documentary that looks like it was made for television broadcast as there's obvious stopping points for the inclusion of commercials. The piece, titled The Time Machine: The Journey Back, is hosted by the star of the original film Rod Taylor (looking much older), and offers a lot of details about the film, but the main focus seems to be on the machine itself, how it was developed, created, and its long and curious history after production on the original film ceased. This takes up most of the 47 minute running time, with what is left used to create a sort of reunion tale as some of the original actors resume their character roles for a short bit. I found this extra to be really interesting, and it helped me to appreciate the film even more, but I did feel it got a little schmaltzy (even creepy) at times, especially when Taylor would look up in the air and speak like he was talking to producer and director George Pal, who passed away in 1980, and I think this featurette was shot in 1993.Cookieman108Oh, in case you're interested, there is no formal seating in the future, only throw pillows, so if you ever get a chance to travel forward in time, BYOC (bring your own chair)...

Great old Sci-Fi movie starring Rod Taylor.

Awesome movie to add to the collection!

A classic that opened up a whole new syfy chounra. 5.1 audio suits this movie well . Give the special effects a a break. They are not that bad for it's time. This one gives you food for thought!

Great DVD

I've always loved this movie really made you think it back in the day thought for sure we'd be there by now

Great watch!!