Film Friday: Things to Come

by | Apr 22, 2022

Today’s Post by Joe Farace

One of my favorite classic movies is 1936’s Things to Come that was based on a script by H.G. Wells and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The film begins in Christmas 1940 and Everytown resident John Cabal (portrayed by Raymond Massey) fears war is imminent. When it breaks out, the war lasts 30 years, destroying the city and ushering in a new dark age of plagues and despots. Wings Over the World, a group of pacifist scientists lead by Cabal try to build a utopian society on the ruins of the old and attempts space travel. But first they have to unseat the latest ruling tyrant portrayed by Ralph Richardson.

What’s that got to do with this post? Not much but the movie was shot on film and foretells what its makers at the time expected to happen in the future and that’s what I’m trying to do today.

Right now, I have so much on my film photography agenda that I decided to make a list to help me focus on what I needed to do and, at the same time, let you see what’s to come. Here’s my to-do list for the next month or so…

  • Try to repair my Seagull TLR and shoot a test toll.
  • Shoot a roll of Agfa 50 color negative film in my Canon AV-1 to find out if the shutter is servicable. I’ll shoot at different ISO’s to see if overexposure helps the expired color film. Look for a podcast on this soon.)
  • Shoot my Leica Z2X for the fist time since 1999. Since the camera is Jaguar themed the first part of the saga appeared on my car photography blog, with a second part showing results appearing today.
  • Shoot a roll of JCH Street Pan in my Canon AE-1 while attempting street photography in Downtown Parker, Colorado
  • Test shoot my Canon AT-1 and I’ll shoot it with either the new Paul or Reinhold film from Rollei.
  • Shoot Adox 100 in my Contax 167 MT at the 17-Mile Farm (or someplace else.)
  • Shoot a new camera with either Paul or Reinhold’s new film from Rollei, whichever one is left.
  • Shoot a series of 6×9 images using my Holga Pinhole Wide camera
  • Write a May, 2022 Joe’s Film Box post, from Blue Moon Camera and Machine. Look for a post on May 5, 2022.
  • If the Seagull TLR fails again, put it on a shelf and just look at it, although Mary told me I could sell it.
  • I’m considering starting a series called Thrift Shop Cameras taking a loot at camera bargains. Your feedback on this through the Contact tab appreciated.

So you can see I’ll be busy…

Along with Lansing C. Holden’s 1936 adventure film She, Things to Come were two of the legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen’s favorite films. If you can find the restored She catch it. The movie is a rip roaring tale that draws a direct line to Indiana Jones. The simplistic and even naive approach of Things to Come. which is available in a beautiful restoration from Criterion, may be problematical for some modern viewers and lacks the cachet of Fritz Lang’s silent film Metropolis. Nevertheless I enjoy its style. Cameron Menzies’ other films, including the 1953 sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars, are also well worth a watch, especially if you can find a good copy of the latter film, which I haven’t been able to do so far. Skip Tobe Hooper’s 1986 remake, please.

 

If you would like to send a roll of film for me to review or other stuff for these posts and my videos you can mail it to: Joe Farace, PO BOX 2081, PARKER, CO 80134