William Cameron Menzies‘ „Things To Come“ by H.G. Wells (1936) *NEW VIDEO

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Set to the orchestral music of „Prologue/Main Title“ from Dune (1984) as performed by Toto and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, with the Vienna Volksoper Choir.

Two years ago I had only a clip of this fabulous science fiction film from 1936. Because the clip was shorter than the music soundtrack from Dune (1984) that I used, I decided to extend the music to a clip of Metropolis and then make a three-part video package out of both by adding a performance of Pink Floyd’s „Astronomy Domine“ by Voivod. The title given to the three-part package was simply „2036.“

Now I have the entire film, Things To Come. As a result I can do what I really wanted to do in 2020, dedicate the music to the final chapter of the film.

The final chapter is set in 2036, 96 years after the start of a second World War that H.G. Wells predicted would be started by Germany and Poland in January 1940. He was only off by four months, the start of World War II in Europe begun by Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939. By 2036 mankind lives in a utopia with one faction of scientists led by John Cabal (Raymond Massey) preparing for the first space flight and the colonization of the moon and the planets. Despite the real moon missions of 1969-72, space exploration halted and has only been carried out by robotic spacecraft and land rovers. The 2030’s may well see mankind not only set up a lunar base on the moon but travel to Mars and set up permanent bases there, although the world’s current condition teeters on the dystopian rather than the utopian. In opposition to the space mission of 2036, another group of scientific elitists led by Theotocopulos (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) are dedicated to a clean global environment and safety for the world’s inhabitants. These consider the plans for space exploration and colonization a threat to mankind because the technology required to achieve the objectives of the program might not only exhaust the world’s resources but bring about newer and more terrifying weapons of mass destruction and warfare. The fear is a return to the world of a century earlier, in other words.

The film footage (which I have edited and converted to widescreen) was ahead of its time back in 1936, but now is rendered even more futuristic thanks to the fabulous thematic score for David Lynch’s film Dune (1984) performed by the rock band Toto and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.