kurt_messick

George Pal directed this classic from 1960, starring Rod Taylor as the scientist who travels back through time (George, although we are meant to understand that this is a character-cipher for H.G. Wells), and Yvette Mimieux in a very early role (interestingly, she became an anthropologist, the study of which has a concern in the overall plot development and socio-political points Wells was trying to drive home with his novel).

The plot follows Wells' late Victorian novel fairly well. Scientist George invents a time machine, and after making the proclamation to several of his nay-saying friends, including a test with a miniature time machine, takes off on a few journeys. The early journeys are just to test, and we see a few fascinating effects here. But the greater story lies in George's hope for the future, so he sets himself to go nearly a million years in to the future - the year 802701.

Trivia buffs will recognise the date on the machine as October 12, the same date Columbus discovered the new world. George embarks into this new world, finding the human race has evolved into a split species - the above-ground Eloi, and the below-ground Morlochs. The Eloi are carefree airheads for the most part - that is, until the Morlochs threaten, and then they become the hunted. The Morlochs are presented as base creatures, following only their appetites, and afraid to remain above for too long.

The effects of the time machine itself and the transition scenes are quite good for the time - I recall as a child watching this film on television and being mesmerised by the passage of time, the scenery changes through George's window as the time streamed by, and the contrast between the Victorian household set and the future world.

The more recent remake did homage to this classic film by incorporating a few of the same ideas - the scene changes through the windows, for example. Also, Alan Young (who played Filby in the 1960 film) appeared in the more recent film, the only actor to appear in both.

George has a tough decision to make - his time machine is stolen by the Morlochs; does he risk his life to get it back? And does he opt to stay in the future or go back to his own time if he recovers it? Only time will tell.

I recall seeing the original of this film when it first came out, and found it to be a good plot, which was for the most part adhered to, with an interesting twist on the finale.

The names, of course, are a play on the 'Fun with Dick and Jane' series of children's books. In this film version, they even have a dog, Spot - see Spot stop barking (in quite an interesting manner, and yes, I sat through the film to make sure that no animals were harmed). This updated version of the 1977 original film adds elements of the modern American corporate world to the basic storyline, which still works nearly a generation later. In the credits, inspirational credit is given to Enron, Worldcom and a host of other corporations whose financial outcomes did not live up to the fullness of the American dream.

Dick is a mid-level executive with a multinational corporation. His wife Jane is a travel agent, who seems to only attract the customers from hell. When Dick gets the promotion to senior executive, vice-presidential level, Jane sees the opportunity to let her job sail away, and becomes a full-time housewife. Meanwhile, Dick's company does a dot-com bubble burst fast enough to generate a sonic boom, leaving both Dick and Jane without a job in a corporate town where suddenly everyone is unemployed.

The furniture, the car, even the lawn gets sold or repossessed, as Dick and Jane variously look for ways to make ends meet with odd jobs and gray-market tactics. Finally, Dick has had enough. He decides to rob a convenience store. After a few abortive attempts, he finally succeeds in a small score, and both the cash and the excitement propel both Dick and Jane into further and further escapades. However, this is small-time items, and when another couple from the same corporation is caught doing the same thing as Dick and Jane, the couple decide that it is time to retire, but not before making one last retirement heist.

Enter here the twist - in the original film, Dick knew of a safe upstairs in the corporate office that held lots of undocumented cash. In the modern version, Dick discovers a sort of modern equivalent, that being off-shore accounts. Can Dick and Jane find a way to take the loot? The ending here is in some ways predictable, but has a very interesting twist which shows both a generosity of spirit and a justice-will-be-done aspect that is truly well done. Would that the same could be done for the real-life corporations mentioned in the end! Jim Carrey and Tea Leone make a great comedic duo in this film; Alec Baldwin plays the not-quite-as-stupid-as-he-seems corporate leader with good flair. The slip from success to unemployment to armed robbery is not seen as shocking, but somehow natural and understandable in the modern world (which is in and of itself a frightening idea).

Nothing deep or profound, and the script is serviceable if not brilliant, but there is fun indeed with this film.