United States enters the war. US foreign policy in early 20th century. Non-interventionism at war’s start, swings of public opinion, industrial production favouring the Allies. Wilson’s re-election and the declaration of war on Germany, prompted by the Zimmermann Telegram and unrestricted submarine warfare. Preparations for war, conscription, General Pershing’s arrival in Europe.
The Great War is a 26-episode documentary series from 1964 on the First World War. The documentary was a co-production of the Imperial War Museum, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The narrator was Michael Redgrave, with readings by Marius Goring, Ralph Richardson, Cyril Luckham, Sebastian Shaw and Emlyn Williams. Each episode is c. 40 minutes long.
“On January 5th 1900, a disheveled looking H.G. Wells – George to his friends – arrives late to his own dinner party. He tells his guests of his travels in his time machine, the work about which his friends knew. They were also unbelieving, and skeptical of any practical use if it did indeed work. George knew that his machine was stationary in geographic position, but he did not account for changes in what happens over time to that location. He also learns that the machine is not impervious and he is not immune to those who do not understand him or the machine’s purpose. George tells his friends that he did not find the Utopian society he so wished had developed. He mentions specifically a civilisation several thousand years into the future which consists of the subterranean Morlocks and the surface dwelling Eloi, who on first glance lead a carefree life. Despite all these issues, love can still bloom over the spread of millennia.”
REVIEW:
Having graduated from short animated Puppetoons for children during the forties, Hungarian-born producer-writer-director George Pal was the creative mind behind a number of special effects-driven films that set the scene for American science fiction cinema during the fifties and sixties. Obviously feeling quite chuffed with the success of The War Of The Worlds (1953), Pal chose to adapt another H.G. Wells story. The result was The Time Machine (1960). Again the effect was weakened by using a rather conventionally handsome inflexible actor as hero: The War Of The Worlds had Gene Barry, and The Time Machine had Australian Rod Taylor. And once again, the intellectual complexity of the original was pared down to straightforward adventure.
The best sequences of the film show the optimistic time traveler going into the future, pausing occasionally to watch London changing, only to be bitterly disappointed that time and again the world is at war. Fleeing a nuclear war in 1966, he zooms into the far-flung future year of 802,701. There he finds a colony of Eloi – young, blonde, ignorant, apathetic, carefree people living in an Eden-like garden. When a young woman named Weena (Yvette Mimieux) almost drowns, he is appalled that he is the only person who attempts to rescue her, and he is repelled by how far mankind has sunk: Their lack of culture; their work-free existence; and their refusal to defend themselves against the Morlocks who live below ground.
These hideous mutants of nuclear war provide plenty of fruit to feed the Eloi but, being carnivorous, the Morlocks use the passive Eloi much like cattle for all their meat-eating needs. While George recognises a weak trace of their former humanity even in the Morlocks, Pal’s protagonist is incensed by their inhumanity. He is sympathetic to the Elois essential goodness, and their helplessness against their inhuman exploiters, and accepts as an ethical imperative the task of liberating them from their Utopian indolence and advancing them to hard work and technological progress.
He may dress like a Victorian Englishman, but Pal’s protagonist is an all-American two-fisted hero who brings to the Eloi the profound message that a good punch on the jaw will solve anything. His example finally jolts them out of their fatal lethargy and within moments they are all gleefully committing acts of violence. With their assistance George manages to set fire to the Morlocks underground establishment and everyone lives happily ever after – providing the Morlocks from neighbouring districts don’t move in – it’s unlikely that all the Eloi and Morlocks in the world are restricted to one small area, after all.
Gene Warren, Wah Chang and Tim Barr won an Oscar for their well-crafted special effects. In fact the design is quite successful throughout, but Wells’ grim allegory of evolution (the grotesque symbiosis of the working classes feeding cannibalistically upon the elite capitalist classes they serve) is lost. Here the Morlocks are nothing more than stereotyped hairy ape-people. George Pal, who also directed, chose to ignore Wells’ intention to set up two distinct classes, as well as the author’s application of Social Darwinism to the survivors of a nuclear war. Instead, the film deals with how the Eloi make the choice not to be cattle raised for slaughter, but to regain their human traits – care for each other, fight for survival, gather food, work hard – which are distinct from the beastly traits of the Morlocks.
The film is not without its moments though. For example, the diseased white sphinx statue of the original is still there but, overall, it is an appalling vulgarisation of a great novel, and is one of the instances that caused science fiction fans to wonder if science fiction cinema would ever rise above its preoccupation with adventure and spectacle to produce something to excite the mind. That being said, the film itself does have adventure and spectacle, an excellent opening scene, superb time-travel effects, scary-looking monsters, and a pleasing though too-innocent love affair.
Speaking of which, The Time Machine was the lovely Yvette Mimieux‘s first claim to fame, and immediately followed through with the first teenage-girl road-movie Where The Boys Are (1960). Her career quickly deteriorated to roles in rarely screened B-grade films like Three In The Attic (1968), The Neptune Factor, Journey Into Fear (1975) and Devil Dog The Hound Of Hell (1978). Just when it looked like it couldn’t get any worse, Yvette co-starred in what was to become one of Disney’s most infamous films of all-time: The Black Hole (1979). But I digress.
Given the popularity of the original novel, Pal’s film stays relatively close to the basic plot but, despite its melancholic evocation of late-Victorian London, the warm glow of its patented Metrocolor palette, the steam-punkish quaintness of its models and miniatures, and its time-lapse and stop-motion effects, Pal’s film is not an exercise in nostalgia. Rewritten for American audiences at the height of the Cold War, it is anchored firmly in the global politics of the time. Where Wells’ novel features a scene of dark cosmic grandeur in which two feeble cretaceous descendants of humankind struggle mutely toward each other, in a distant future beneath a dying sun, Pal takes us through a twentieth century of perpetually escalating warfare, culminating in the annihilation of London by an atomic satellite that triggers natural disasters on an unprecedented scale. As in The War Of The Worlds, some of the most spectacular scenes in The Time Machine revel in howling air-raid sirens, urban crowds fleeing to public shelters, destruction on a massive scale.
After the many pleasures provided by The Time Machine, Pal’s next film – Atlantis The Lost Continent (1961) – came as a severe letdown. The scenes of destruction at the end of the film also suffered from the shoestring budget, despite being padded out with stock footage of Rome burning from Quo Vadis? (1951), but that’s another story for another time. Right now I’ll ask you to please join me next week when I have the opportunity to present you with more unthinkable realities and unbelievable factoids of the darkest days of cinema, exposing the most daring shriek-and-shudder shock sensations ever to be found in the steaming cesspit known as…Horror News! Toodles!
PLANET OF STORMS (1962), aka PLANETA BURG, is often cited as one of the finest Russian SF ‘rocketship’ films ever made. That may sound like a dubious distinction, but consider: the Soviets were at the time of this movie’s release at the very least ‘ahead’ in the ‘space race’ by a Sputnik’s length or so, arguably more. The fact their cinema was freed from total commercial restrictions (since the state sponsored all production and distribution costs, attendance costs were so nominal as to be free) but restricted by the need to propagandize communist state ideals (there’s lots of talk about the superiority of the red way, comrade!) makes for an interesting tension not unlike their American brethren of the era’s ceaselessly pro-American jingoism.
Propaganda aside, PLANET OF STORMS works because of the unique Soviet approach to SF. Whereas American rocketship flicks always had the buck hero deal with any situation ray guns blasting until Kubrick and 2001, the Russian approach was vastly more in line with the speculations and fictions of the day. In other words, more intellectual (gasp!). The difference is at times sobering but never less than entertaining, particularly when you realize how effectively the filmmakers have evoked your actual landing on an alien planet (in this case Venus) for the duration.
This applied not only to their SF films conceptual ideas but also the production design. Again, the American counterparts were always ready and eager to forsake realism for sensationalism and (more typically) as a cost-saving option — after all, stock footage of rockets blasting off is always cheaper than a model and effects photography! The approach used by PLANET OF STORMS is much more refined and stylistically cohesive. Take for example the robot John, one of the truly most underrated cinematic robots ever created. To this day he should rank in the top ten of all-time greats in terms of believability and actual screen impact right alongside his American counterparts. The fact this movie is relatively obscure is the only reason John does not enjoy the true cult recognition he deserves. With his massive girth and uber Soviet design mechanics, John’s impact is as memorable as Robby’s in FORBIDDEN PLANET, an admitted influence. Watch as the mighty iron man falls trees, climbs dangerous mountain passages, and even braves a Venusian river of lava to save his human masters. He is the rare embodiment of Asimov’s benign Laws of Robotics in SF film.
The film’s bold sense of adventure helps it survive relatively watchable ‘as is’ despite the occasional lapses into propagandspeak. So much happens in the short running time, from meteors destroying spaceships, to giant dinosaurs on Venus, to man-eating tentacled plants, to an attack by a flying reptile, underwater scenes on the alien planet, and even a volcanic eruption to end it all, that it’s easy enough to drop the ‘fast forward’ remote and let the flick wash over you.
Though it’s influence was indirect on such current filmmakers as James Cameron and the Skotak Brothers (in that they saw the two versions Corman made of it with inserts of American actors like Basil Rathbone in the end of his career), it was the Soviet part of the efforts that captured their young imaginations. In other words, the production design and use of miniatures, as well as the overall effects photography. No joke, you can vividly see the influence in early Cameron pictures like GALAXY OF TERROR and THE TERMINATOR.
Many folks remember bits and pieces of these flicks despite the fact they’ve rarely if ever been aired in America since their Corman-ized release back in the late 60’s. That’s because they made the usual rounds as cheap syndicated fodder for late night local t.v. slots eager to use such sensational sounding A.I.P. titles like ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE, et al. But it’s a tribute to the Russian filmmakers who toiled in near obscurity that today these flicks are highly prized and sought after for their historic cinematic value. The value is not merely retrostalgic, but truly deserved, as these movies advanced SF cinema as surely as BLADE RUNNER and other more well-regarded efforts albeit in a less spectacular way. — Notes by Dave Coleman
In my opinion, in the eyes of the masters of our universe, the (s)election of 2016 was a disaster from the start which might lend one to believe, as I think you do, that the whole purpose of it was to undermine not only our belief in the system we have but also to undermine young people’s expectation of a better tomorrow. To kill hope, so to speak.
I don’t think that is true. It may be the unintended consequence of (s)Election 2016, but often times people misconstrue “outcome” with “plan” when it comes to the workings of our Deep State. Because that’s how the Deep State likes it. Even their losses become victories.
Don’t give into that thinking, it’s just their spin. Because when you do that, you really have lost.
Donald Trump, like Bernie Sanders, never expected to be president. He, like Bernie, was a foil for the real chosen one… Jeb Bush.
You see, TPTB understood there was a growing hostility on the right to yet another Bush Presidency. So what did they do? They ran and promoted a FORMER DEMOCRAT and NEW YORK LIBERAL in the Republican Primary to serve as a kind of a threat. The idea was the primary would come down to Jeb or Trump and folks would “hold their nose” and vote for the “responsible” choice, in part because… Trump couldn’t beat Hillary.
Sanders served in a similar but different capacity (kind of like the difference between “ISIS” in Syria and “ISIS” in Iraq.) His role was too keep the young people motivated and engaged in the unDemocratic Party right up until the end when he would lose and then, knowing progressives, his followers wouldn’t show up to vote for Hillary. Bernie wouldn’t stump for her and that would be that.
In the end it was supposed to be Hillary Vs Bush and they KNEW how unpopular that would be, but remember… George H. W. Bush helped them considerably over the course of his life from serving their interests at the Bay of Pigs to JFK to serving as head of the CIA for a while. And Prescot was also a loyal servant to their interests.
That would have broken spirits as well, a kind of a “in your face, we will run who we want and MAKE you vote for him” kind of thing.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum… Jeb was SOOOOO hated, he couldn’t get out of the primaries NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY TRIED TO RIG IT. And when that happened and they couldn’t get Marco out either, they had to change their plans.
They knew they didn’t want Ted Cruz. He was detestable even by them. Marco wasn’t ready and Bush, in spite of spending nearly a hundred million dollars before Jan. 1 2016, was a non-starter.
They needed to figure out what to do then and the ONLY course left to them… was to ordain Jeb’s planned foil for the General Election, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The primaries were nearly over and it was too late to run another candidate on the unDemocratic Party ticket (but remember, they did float that idea, Joe Biden I believe was talked about stepping in for a while)
True, she was flawed and pushing TPP early on (because remember, she was SUPPOSED to lose at first) and not showing up for the campaign (270 days while under investigation) and seemingly out of it much of the time back then but all of that would change once it was clear Jeb was out. Suddenly her campaign took a turn because all of a sudden, she was the chosen one.
It was at that time that the role Sanders was too play changed as well. Now his task was to keep the youth energized and then, once it was stolen from them, he had to convince as many as he could to vote for Hillary.
The focus on Trump also changed. Overnight almost. The media viciously attacked him at every turn whereas before he had been the quirky darling of the Republican primary getting about 2 billion in free airtime.
But HIS approach also changed. I think his advisors, all of whom were attacked and are gone now, told him… you know… you could win this thing and BECOME PRESIDENT.
Think about it. He was supposed to be out in June of 2016 and throwing his support behind Jeb but now he had to run the course of the election and the ONLY THING standing between himself and the Oval Office was a HATED Hillary Clinton.
What kind of businessman isn’t going to see and take advantage of that kind of easy money?
So his rhetoric changed a bit, he became even more populist and non-interventionist and anti-globalization in his speeches and while everyone outside his offices thought he was still playing along… he and his closest advisors had a different plan.
That’s why they were all targeted for removal especially the one guy who was probably behind Trump’s treachery as they saw it… Steve Bannon.
In the end when it became obvious he was really running, yes, they wiretapped him, they unleashed identity politics in the election campaign at him, they did everything they could to ensure Hillary would “win” including rigging many of the outcomes in various states, but ultimately, he won those three states he wasn’t supposed to, because Hillary is so corrupt and deplorable, and he won the damn thing.
So, understandably, he immediately had to be put in his place. The Russian hacking/collusion thing was designed for that purpose. Meant to undermine him, our faith in “populist” presidents AND to keep him “on the farm” so to speak, with the constant threat of removal from office for one reason or another.
Yes, they did their best to undermine the seated president of the United States and more importantly, the office which he held. Yes, they attacked our democracy and undermined our FAITH in our system. The Russians didn’t do that, our Deep State assets and their minions in politics and the media did.
They did it because… Americans “VOTED THE WRONG WAY”
When one thinks about Trump’s betrayals it’s easy to come to the conclusion that he was ALWAYS the choice by TPTB and everything went according to plan in Nov. of 2016. I don’t think that is the case and the evidence is overwhelming to the contrary in fact.
I think Jeb was supposed to be our next president. I thought that from early 2015 and have seen nothing since then to make me feel otherwise. Condi Rice would have probably been his VP pick, since they were running against Hillary, a vote for Condi would have been a welcome alternative choice for women on BOTH SIDES of the fake political divide. PLUS, Condi would have been a great pick for them as she could have actually run the White House like Dick Cheney did for “W”
THAT would have sent a more devastating message to the American people about their power. Taking someone like Jeb Bush and FORCING the American people to vote for him and elect him into office would have been a powerful statement about REAL power in this country. But they failed and that pissed them off.
Then they figured they would FORCE us, once again, to vote for ANOTHER CANDIDATE we hated, Hillary. And once again, they failed.
Then they were frightened. They were frightened not of Trump or his phony populism (he’s a damn neoliberal billionaire silver-spooner fo God’s sake) but rather… they were frightened of their LACK OF CONTROL. Because, I think it is safe too say at this point, they are control freaks and “stability” is the only other alter (other than Mammon) at which they worship.
That’s a terrifying thing to the real governance of any country. When you think you have the levers of power so well calibrated as to control the outcomes of any given circumstance and suddenly find you don’t, that’s a sort of “Coming to Jesus” moment for you. All of your assumptions are suddenly cast into doubt. You begin to think you have little to no control over anything and desperation ensues.
The glorious markets become tepid, your billionaire owners wonder about your value and you yourself start to fear if that dreaded SHIFT away from neoliberalism is on the horizon. They know it’s coming and the backlash will be a terrible,unforgiving thing. It gives them nightmares akin to images of the French and Russian revolutions. Cold sweats. Wet beds. Sleepless nights. Instability.
Trump’s betrayal was never a matter of “if” as much as it was “when” but that’s not because he was their plan from day one.
That’s because, like Obama before him, Donald Trump has no moral center. And though people wrongly thought that him being a billionaire would FREE him from their control, the opposite is in fact at play. His personal/business empire gives them that much more to threaten him with… threaten him with or bribe him with… depending on how you look at it.
Presidents always betray the candidate that ran for them. That’s how it works in the Shining City on the Hill. Reagan betrayed his promises. So did Clinton. So did Bush. So did Obama.
Mr. Smith doesn’t change Washington with his powerful, down-home, populist, po-dunk charm… Washington rewires Mr. Smith from the inside out. It reboots him with a different operating system and a built-in back-door access that allows them to monitor and guide his every move.
That’s why weak, overly ambitious, morally ambiguous men have always been the preferred champions for that particular office. Any office for that matter. It’s a corrupt, neoliberal, corporate Western “democracy” thing. It’s one reason when you look at statesmen from countries not infected with our disease, they look like the kinds of real leaders of principle we wish we still had.
It’s very simple… they are chosen because they are weak by our real leaders who are not. They are chosen as yesmen and sycophants to power because the REAL power wants it that way.
Trump is the accidental president because a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. His betrayals are one part cowardice and one part ambition but they were not what was supposed to be and they do not serve as any kind of proof that his orange ass was ever intended to sit in the throne.
Though the power behind the throne would LOVE anyone aware enough to even consider such questions to BELIEVE that they never lost control of the process, in truth, they did …
And there is a message in that somewhere, one of real hope, despite Trump’s turning into Hillary with a comb-over… which is absolutely WHY they would rather you BELIEVE he was their choice and you would just a dupe.
But nothing could be further from the truth and they know it… AND SO SHOULD YOU.
Their power is not absolute and that scares the shit out of them. Democracy reared it’s ugly head, you “VOTED THE WRONG WAY” and for a brief moment in history… we steered the ship of state into uncharted waters despite their best efforts to maintain the course of history they plotted for us.
All things being equal, I would say 2016 wasn’t a bad year after all. We shouldn’t let them turn their loss into ours. Because that’s what they do.
screw em. They lost. We won. And no amount of RussiaGate or self doubt will change that fact.
Igor's Blog 