This gorgeous movie is, so far, my second movie that i give a clear 10/10! (the third 10/10 i give was a documentation). It is one of this magic movies that did not lost it's impact on me after all the years. When i saw it the first time, i must be 8 or 9 years old, and now, after all this years, i finally get my hand on the DVD and it captured me again with all of it's power!
George Pal, producer of "The Time Machine" made a lot of fantastic good movies, for example, his unforgettable version of H.G. Wells "The War of the Worlds" (one of my favorites until today too), but "The Time Machine", based on a novel by H.G. Wells too, is surely Pal's pinnacle. Pal stay very close to the book, changed and shortened only some things, to align the story to the media of film. All of this changes, i.e. Weena was rescued by the Time traveler, but died in the book, worked very good for the movie-version. The complete time-travel of the time traveler (unnamed in Wells book, but Pal hand over the honor of being the time-traveler to H.G. Wells himself in the movie) looks eerie, fantastic, poetic, lyrical, but absolutely plausible and believable until today, even if you know, that there was no nuclear war in 1966. It is not only a simple travel trough time, but trough the hopes and the fears of mankind too. This eerie, but believable feeling was strengthen by the fantastic score, composed by Russell Garcia. He did not only play "some fitting" music-parts for every scene, he merged the score completely with the scenes. Every scene has it's own theme. And he used a lot of orchestral effects instead of normal sound-effects, i.e the sound-part that symbolized the travel and the rotating dish of the time-machine. A perfect fusion of pictures, action, mood and music in every detail.
The world of the year 802701 looks first like a dream, it is unreal yet believable too. Garcia adds again his fantastic score, simulating the eerie sounds of the unseen creatures that lived in this future far away from us. In fact, you get a glimpse of the last 800 centuries that passed away when George visit the library and listen to the emotionless talking rings.
And the ruins oft the buildings in the future... When George first saw the destroyed giant dome, accompanied by Garcias majestic, crescendo score again...absolutely perfect! It send cold shivers down my spine during every watching this scene.
The Eloi, unchanged in it's figure from humans of today, looking like innocent children on the first view, but that something must have changed reveals when the Morloks appear, the dark side of the human nature. And, perhaps this was the intention of the filmmakers (and H.G. Wells too), to show the two human races of the future that seems to be the dividing of the human spirit in it's two parts: The innocent, bright side, and the hidden, dark side.
So the first so simple looking plot of a travel trough time covers a lot of more deep meanings in it. During every viewing the film reveals more of it's genius to me. It is one of the very seldom movies that stand alone for its own: unique, timeless (no pun intended), unforgettable: A real masterpiece! Mr. Pal, thank you for this wonderful movie!!
George Pal, producer of "The Time Machine" made a lot of fantastic good movies, for example, his unforgettable version of H.G. Wells "The War of the Worlds" (one of my favorites until today too), but "The Time Machine", based on a novel by H.G. Wells too, is surely Pal's pinnacle. Pal stay very close to the book, changed and shortened only some things, to align the story to the media of film. All of this changes, i.e. Weena was rescued by the Time traveler, but died in the book, worked very good for the movie-version. The complete time-travel of the time traveler (unnamed in Wells book, but Pal hand over the honor of being the time-traveler to H.G. Wells himself in the movie) looks eerie, fantastic, poetic, lyrical, but absolutely plausible and believable until today, even if you know, that there was no nuclear war in 1966. It is not only a simple travel trough time, but trough the hopes and the fears of mankind too. This eerie, but believable feeling was strengthen by the fantastic score, composed by Russell Garcia. He did not only play "some fitting" music-parts for every scene, he merged the score completely with the scenes. Every scene has it's own theme. And he used a lot of orchestral effects instead of normal sound-effects, i.e the sound-part that symbolized the travel and the rotating dish of the time-machine. A perfect fusion of pictures, action, mood and music in every detail.
The world of the year 802701 looks first like a dream, it is unreal yet believable too. Garcia adds again his fantastic score, simulating the eerie sounds of the unseen creatures that lived in this future far away from us. In fact, you get a glimpse of the last 800 centuries that passed away when George visit the library and listen to the emotionless talking rings.
And the ruins oft the buildings in the future... When George first saw the destroyed giant dome, accompanied by Garcias majestic, crescendo score again...absolutely perfect! It send cold shivers down my spine during every watching this scene.
The Eloi, unchanged in it's figure from humans of today, looking like innocent children on the first view, but that something must have changed reveals when the Morloks appear, the dark side of the human nature. And, perhaps this was the intention of the filmmakers (and H.G. Wells too), to show the two human races of the future that seems to be the dividing of the human spirit in it's two parts: The innocent, bright side, and the hidden, dark side.
So the first so simple looking plot of a travel trough time covers a lot of more deep meanings in it. During every viewing the film reveals more of it's genius to me. It is one of the very seldom movies that stand alone for its own: unique, timeless (no pun intended), unforgettable: A real masterpiece! Mr. Pal, thank you for this wonderful movie!!
