Die Zeitmaschine

OK, so some people are intent on pointing out factual or historical inaccuracies. Some people ridicule the costumes and accents, but what's important is the spirit of the film. I sincerely doubt anyone made the same kind of comments back in 1960. It was a seminal film and must have inspired a generation of film makers. You don't need CGI to make a good film. It's all about the story and the ingenuity of having to make do with the things you've got to hand. This film exemplifies that attitude.

I first saw The Time Machine as a 10 year old in 1970 and was utterly captivated. The stop-motion photography was spell-binding to me; particularly when George kills one of the attacking Morlocks. The gory footage of the body decomposing will abide with me forever. More importantly, and for the first time in my life, I was completely swept away with the concept of time travel. This film was unlike anything I had ever seen before and sowed seeds of profound thought for many years after.

This film may not be for everyone, but it was for a certain 10 year-old boy all those years ago. How I wish I could go back and recapture those moments...

I recently saw the 2002 film "The Time Machine" and liked it a great deal, so I thought that it was probably in my best interest to see the 1960 version of "The Time Machine". So, I went ahead and rented it and watched it. I knew that this film was made in 1960, so I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but I still hoped that it would be good. I must say that I was REALLY impressed with the film! I thought it was great!

The story is brilliantly told, smartly done, and quite interesting. I noticed a great deal of similarities (and differences) between this film and the 2002 version. There was virtually nothing I didn't like about the film, as far as story goes. I'm really interested in reading the H.G. Wells story now, so hopefully in the near future I'll bust out my copy and read it.

I thought the actors in the film did a fantastic job as well! Sadly, I'd never even heard of any of the actors in the film. I thought Rod Taylor, Alan Young and Yvette Mimieux all did a great job. The rest of the cast was good, but these three really struck me as great. Also, I have to say that Yvette is one beautiful woman!

The special effects in this film were surprisingly good, especially for a movie made in 1960! I must admit that I was really impressed with the sets and the special effects in the film.

The only thing that I would complain about, if I had to, is some little things. For instance, the classic "monster about to grab the guy, but then doesn't" sort of thing. Little things like that kind of bothered me, but I realize that it was just the style back then, so I can't really complain about it. Also, I wasn't too terribly impressed with the mouth and face of the Morlocks, but again, given that it was made back in 1960, I can let it slide.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film, and would definitely recommend it to anyone that liked the 2002 version of the film or just enjoys films about time-travel or science fiction. I truly hope that you enjoy the film as much as I do. Thank you for reading,

-Chris

One of those Sci-Fi films that's made just right to be watched over and over again and never gets old. The special effects were ahead of their time but the film is not bogged down with them and the actors are allowed to ply their trade. Rod Taylor puts in a solid performance as George the time traveler. George Pal did a great job with this picture. A remake would probably be flashier with the FX but would be hard to beat this classic.

This is a very well-done adaptation of the H. G. Wells novella, with an Oscar for the special effects that are still impressive more than 40 years later. Good performances by an ensemble cast and a good script also help. One interesting side note: character actor Whit Bissell was in both the 1960 version here and the version done for television in 1978, playing essentially the same part with two different character names! Recommended.

Boy, did a nice DVD transfer of this not only mak me appreciate the visuals in here more but made the story seem better, too, for some reason. I only acquired the DVD as a memento, so to speak. I had to have at least one movie which had the woman I had a crush on back in the early '60s: Yvettte Mimieux. She still looks great, too. The main thing, however, is how I now viewed this story and how much more I wound up liking it than in the past. This was my fourth look at this movie over a 45-year span and I enjoyed it the most this last time.

Since time travel stories always fascinate me, my favorite part of the film is when "George" (Rod Taylor) is actually in his time machine and experiments with it, slowing it down here and then and then stopping it a couple of times to observe World War I and then WWII. Then, he stops in 1966 when supposedly there was a nuclear attack. (Apparently, scare-mongers back in '60 thought that was a short-term likelihood.)

Anyway, when "George" (H.G. Wells, the author of this story) finally stops, in the year 200,000-something, the story loses some of its momentum. However, it's a fairly interesting study of a group of ultra-passive people being dominated by others who live underground and then literally eat the good people. Taylor is astounded that mankind has not progressed as he had figured but seemed to have regressed.

The message I got on this last look is that man is still man, meaning sinful and capable of anything bad as well as good, and to put one's faith totally in man is a mistake. It's only going to lead to disappointments as "George" found out on each of his stops. (Notice he never stopped during a peaceful, progressive period.) Yet, "George" is still an optimist and wants to be one to help initiate change for the better. There's always hope for a better world and people like George, with his idealism put to action, can make a difference.

Overall, an entertaining and thought-provoking film.