Things to Come (Criterion Collection)

At Last, A First-Rate Presentation of a Worthy Movie
NOTE: THIS REVIEW APPLIES TO THE CRITERION COLLECTION DVD OF THINGS TO COME, ISSUED IN JUNE OF 2013.
Let me start by saying that I made a small contribution to part of this release, in the form of an account of the music from the film -- but I had no role in any other aspect of the release, and have no participation in the sales or other activities surrounding the Criterion Collection DVD (or ANY other DVD edition) of this movie, nor did I have anything to do with the elements of the release about which I'm about to comment.

That said, I can safely say that the picture and sound quality of the movie itself as presented on this DVD (the FIRST authorized video release of the movie, at least on this side of the Atlantic, incidentally, and taken from the BFI's restored edition) are both stunning -- I'm old enough, and was lucky enough to have seen THINGS TO COME long before the wave of degraded, faded, worn out, and chopped up editions of the movie began filling the...

A word about the Colorization comments for this DVD
This is a continuing problem with Amazon's reviews. Unless what you are reading is the ONLY release of this movie on DVD, the reviews on the movies or TV shows are an amalgam of comments written about the various DVD releases of a particular title. Somehow past reviews for earlier DVD releases end up also attaching themslves to later DVD releases of the movie by an entirely different manufacturer who may or may not be utilizing a different transfer from different source material. As such the reviews can be misleading and are practically useless unless each reviewer realizes this and clearly states which particular DVD release version they are reviewing. My comments are being written in regards to the Criterion release of early 2013, which clearly is not colorized. But they could end up becoming attached to a future DVD release collection of reviews on Things To Come. I got fooled a few times and ended up purchasing something I would not have bought if I had realized the review was not...

THINGS TO COME FINALLY COMES TO BLU-RAY
If you're someone who appreciates classic movies, then chances are you've been gnashing your teeth over the fact that such an important title like THINGS TO COME (London Films, 1936) hasn't been properly distributed on home video. Well, you can sigh with relief because Criterion's new Blu-ray release of H.G. Wells' prophetic, groundbreaking production is a joy to behold. Finally, the dazzling imagery of this film emerges from the fog of public domain dupiness.

THINGS TO COME was an ambitious undertaking at the time, not only in its subject matter - that of predicting 100 years into the future - but also in its cinematic creation. This was the first time that a noted author was directly involved in every aspect of adapting one of his novels for the screen. Wells collaborated closely with everyone; from producer Alexander Korda and director William Cameron Menzies, to set designer Vincent Korda and composer Arthur Bliss, to cinematographer Georges Perinal and special effects...

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