BACK TO THE FUTURE AGAIN
It was inevitable that some enterprising Hollywood producer would remake The Time Machine as a big budget, state-of-the-art extravaganza with a heavy emphasis on special effects. While the 1960 film version directed by George Pal wasn't exactly a landmark in science fiction cinema, it was atmospheric, visually impressive and occasionally even thought-provoking. The special effects, though rather modest by today's standards, won an Oscar, Rod Taylor made a charismatic hero and Yvette Mimieux was memorable as Weena, the blonde Eloi maiden from the year 802,710. Best of all was the handsomely designed time machine which looked like some unclassifiable piece of Victorian furniture with flashing lights and fancy knobs. Although the film was also fairly faithful to the H.G. Wells novel on which it was based, it definitely reduced a great deal of Wells' political and sociological observations in the book to a few passing comments in the dialogue, but it least it had that! The new version of The Time Machine dispenses with most of the intellectual concerns of the Welles novel in favor of action, emphasizing the time travel aspects and a romance between Alexander Hartdegen (Guy Pearce), the time traveler, and Mara (Irish singer Samantha Mumba) of the Eloi tribe. Screenwriter John Logan confirmed the fantasy adventure approach in Dreamworks' new version in a New York Times article: "In making an entertaining movie, the political ideas fall to the side and probably rightfully so, because in the movies it wouldn't be a good mix." But the film DOES have two interesting connections to the past: Simon Wells, the great grandson of H.G. Wells, directs the new version, and Allan Young, who appeared in the 1960 version of The Time Machine, also makes a cameo appearance in this one.
The selection of Guy Pearce for the leading man is an interesting choice. In an interview on the official site for The Time Machine, director Wells said, "Try to find a lead actor who can be the kind of action star but also carries enough of the sense of being an intellectual, a man of thought. It is surprisingly difficult when you go down the list and start thinking, 'Well, I buy him as an action star but is he a professor?' The list gets quite short."
The critics don't appear to care for Pearce as the time traveler or this new version of The Time Machine based on incoming reviews but audiences seem hungry for a retelling of Welles' story. Just look at the opening weekend grosses - it was in the top position. At any rate, here are a few sample comments from critics around the country:
Mick LaSalle of The San Francisco Chronicle said: "This new version of the H.G. Wells classic, before it loses its way, takes that longing and pumps it up beyond anything Wells had in mind....Pearce, a chameleon among actors, is obviously giving us a certain kind of guy, but here's the weird part: At times it looks as if he's giving us a specific guy, that he's actually imitating someone -- namely, the mayor of Oakland. That an Australian actor would model a character after Mayor Jerry Brown might sound far-fetched, except that Pearce even seems to have adopted a slightly husky voice for the first time in his career. This is either a homage or an uncanny accident. The picture is compelling in its first half-hour....But soon the movie switches gears. It stops being about a search for the past, loses its emotional hook and finds nothing nearly as compelling to replace it."
Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Based on the celebrated 1895 H.G. Wells novella, "Time Machine" was previously filmed by George Pal in 1960 in a much-loved Rod Taylor-Yvette Mimieux version that the new one makes several references to. This "Time Machine" has an even stronger connection to the past: Its director, Simon Wells, is H.G.'s great-grandson. But, as both Pal and the current team discovered, theoriginal book, as much a class-conscious sociopolitical tract as a science-fiction novel, was rather thin on plot, to the point of calling its protagonist nothing more than "the Time Traveler." This new version (written by John Logan and "based on the [1960] screenplay by David Duncan" - a rarely seen credit) has understandably worked hard to remedy that situation. Perhaps too hard. So much effort has been put into creating a believable world for the traveler to come from and a creditable back story for his trip that what happens 800,000 years in the future seems to belong to a completely different - and less interesting- picture.....What he finds is anything but pleasant, and, armed with this knowledge, the film changes tone completely. Humanity has apparently split into two different races, the tree-hugging Eloi, epitomized by the fetching Mara (Irish recording artist Samantha Mumba), and the nasty and brutish Morlocks, led by the snarling Uber-Morlock (Jeremy Irons made up like a demented version of rock star Edgar Winter).The centerpiece of this section is a busy action sequence of partially animatronic Morlocks running around and terrorizing the Eloi. It's acceptably done, but the violent, unpleasant tone is so at variance with the rest of the film that it's more disconcerting than anything else, as if "The Little Princess" had suddenly morphed into "Rollerball."
Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed The Time Machine "a witless recycling of the H.G. Wells story from 1895, with the absurdity intact but the wonderment missing. It makes use of computer-aided graphics to create a future race of grubby underground beasties, who like the characters in "Battleship Earth" have evolved beyond the need for bathing and fingernail clippers. Since this race--the Morlocks--is allegedly a Darwinian offshoot of humans, and since they are remarkably unattractive, they call into question the theory that over a long period of time a race grows more attractive through natural selection. They are obviously the result of 800,000 years of ugly brides.....In broad outline, this future world matches the one depicted in George Pal's 1960 film "The Time Machine," although its blond, blue-eyed race of Eloi have been transformed into dusky sun people. One nevertheless tends to question romances between people who were born 800,000 years apart and have few conversations on subjects other than not being eaten. Convenient, that when humankind was splitting into two different races, both its branches continued to speak English."
Regardless of how this new version of The Time Machine fares, filmmakers will probably return to the H.G. Wells novel again for inspiration in future years. His book certainly has provided Hollywood with plenty of previous time travel flicks that clicked with moviegoers - Time After Time (1979) starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper in 20th century San Francisco, and Back to the Future (1985) and its two sequels with Michael J. Fox. For more information about The Time Machine, visit the Official Web Site.
By Jeff Stafford
The Time Machine
Brief Synopsis
A man builds a time machine that allows him to travel 800,000 years into the future.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Simon Wells
Director
Guy Pearce
Alexander Hartdegen
Mark Addy
David Philby
Phyllida Law
Mrs Watchit
Orlando Jones
Vox
Jeremy Irons
Uber-Morlock
Film Details
Also Known As
La Machine a explorer le temps, Machine a explorer le temps, La, Time Machine
MPAA Rating
Genre
Action
Adaptation
Adventure
Fantasy
Release Date
2002
Production Company
20th Century Fox; Abbey Road Studios; Air Studios, London; Amblin Partners; American Humane Association; Avid Technology, Inc.; Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc.; Cinesite Europe, Ltd.; Core Digital Pictures; Digital Domain; Eastman Kodak; Illusion Arts, Inc.; Industrial Light + Magic; Ken & Art'S Catering; Knb Efx Group, Inc.; Media Ventures; New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; New York Public Library; New York State Governor'S Office For Motion Picture & Tv Development; Pacific Title & Art Studio; Panavision, Ltd.; Paramount Pictures; Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation; Perry Dodgson; Stan Winston Studios; Technicolor; Turner Entertainment Company; Universal Studios Sound Facilities; Varese Sarabande; Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures International
Distribution Company
AMBLIN PARTNERS; 20th Century Fox International; Amblin Partners; Dreamworks Home Entertainment; Sam Film; Sandrew Metronome Distribution Finland Oy; Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige Ab (Sweden); Videocine; Warner Bros. Pictures International; Warner Sogefilms
Location
Schenectady, New York, USA; New York, USA; Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California, USA; Albany, New York, USA; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA; Troy, New York, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 36m
Synopsis
Scientist and inventor Alexander Hartdegen is determined to prove that time travel is possible. His determination is turned to desperation by a personal tragedy that now drives him to want to change the past. Testing his theories with a time machine of his own invention, Hartdegen is hurtled 800,000 years into the future. There he finds a post-apocalyptic world where he discovers that mankind has been divided into the hunter... and the hunted.
Director
Simon Wells
Director
Cast
Guy Pearce
Alexander Hartdegen
Mark Addy
David Philby
Phyllida Law
Mrs Watchit
Orlando Jones
Vox
Jeremy Irons
Uber-Morlock
Sienna Guillory
Emma
Samantha Mumba
Mara
Omero Mumba
Kalen
Laura Kirk
Flower Seller
John W Momrow
Fifth Avenue Carriage Driver
Max Baker
Robber
Jeffrey M Meyer
Central Park Carriage Driver
Alan Young
Flower Store Worker
Myndy Crist
Jogger
Connie Ray
Teacher
Lennie Loftin
Soldier No 1
Thomas Corey Robinson
Soldier No 2
Yancey Arias
Toren
Richard Cetrone
Hunter Morlock
Eddie Conna
Hunter Morlock
Christopher Sayour
Hunter Morlock
Jeremy Fitzgerald
Hunter Morlock
Craig Davis
Hunter Morlock
Grady Holder
Hunter Morlock
Bryan Friday
Hunter Morlock
Clint Lilley
Hunter Morlock
Mark Kubr
Hunter Morlock
Jeff Pdogurski
Hunter Morlock
Dan Mccann
Hunter Morlock
Bryon Weiss
Hunter Morlock
Steve Upton
Hunter Morlock
Doug Jones
Spy Morlock
Joey Anaya
Spy Morlock
Dorian Kingi
Spy Morlock
Jacob Chambers
Spy Morlock
Kevin Mcturk
Spy Morlock
Michael Chaturantabut
One Of The Eloi
Jonathan Eusebio
One Of The Eloi
Roel Failma
One Of The Eloi
Diana Lee Inosanto
Malaea Chona Jason
One Of The Eloi
Hiro Koda
One Of The Eloi
Yoshio Iizuka
One Of The Eloi
John Koyama
One Of The Eloi
Gail Monian
One Of The Eloi
R C Ormond
One Of The Eloi
Maro Uo Richmond
One Of The Eloi
Petra Sprecher
One Of The Eloi
Gary Toy
One Of The Eloi
Jon J. Valera
Larry A Cornick
Leadperson
Robin Koenig
Leadman (New York)
Crew
Donovan A. Scott
Lead Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Charles Abou Aad
Cg Effects Animator (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Jan H. Aaris
Special Effects (2nd Unit)
Gaku Ada
Cg Modeling & Lighting (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Rick Adami
Other
Delara C Adams
Assistant Production Ccordinator
Matthew Adams
Rotoscope Supervisor (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Wes Adams
Driver
Mike Alkan
3-D Modeler
Mike Alkan
Animator (Core Digital Pictures/Digital Visual Effects)
Stephanie Allen
Executive Producer (Core Digital Pictures/Digital Visual Effects)
Tom Allen
Cg Effects Animator (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Richard Alonzo
Art Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Robert Alonzo
Stunts
Miles Anderson
Gaffer (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Paul H Anderson
Animator (Core Digital Pictures/Digital Visual Effects)
Ross A Anderson
Assistant Props (2nd Unit)
Susan Anderson
Creature Costumer (2nd Unit)
Tony Anderson
Miniature Director Of Photography (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Darryl Anka
Visual Effects Storyboard Artist (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Deena Appel
Costume Designer
Carlos A Araiza
Creature Costumer (2nd Unit)
Joel Aron
Lead Digital Artist (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
James Ashwill
Foley Mixer
Maryellen Aviano-roberts
Extras Casting Coordinator
Keith Baber
Best Boy (2nd Unit)
Klaus Badelt
Music
Wayne Baker
"A" 1st Assistant Camera (2nd Unit)
Jeffrey Baksinski
Supervisor
Clayton Barber
Stunts
Alberto Barboza
Other
Lynn Basas
Cg Lighter (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Geoffrey E Baumann
Other
Peter Baustaedter
Digital Matte Painter (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Chuck Beamis
Camera Assistant (Illusion Arts/Special Visual Effects)
Bill Beasley
1st Assistant Director (2nd Unit)
Lisa Bechard
Production Manager (Core Digital Pictures/Digital Visual Effects)
Brian Begun
Lead Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Jennifer K Bell
"A" 2nd Assistant Camera (2nd Unit)
Jon G Belyeu
Special Effects (2nd Unit)
David Beneke
Art Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Krista Benson
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Jill Berger
Cg Lighter (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Nancy Bernstein
Visual Effects Executive Producer (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Tom Bertino
Animation Supervisor (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Johnny Beyers
Electrician
Mark Binder
Special Sound Effects
Duncan Blackman
3-D Matchmove Artist (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Steve Blalock
Stunts
Deborah 'cha' Blevins
Costume Supervisor
Melanie Boettcher
Other
Louella Boquiren
Stunts
Kevin Bouchez
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Brigitte Bourque
Digital Compositor (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Mike Boyle
Head Animal Handler
Patrick G Brady
Mold/Technical Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Justin Brandstater
Matte Artist (Illusion Arts/Special Visual Effects)
Stephen C Brandt
Set Production Assistant (New York)
Randy Bricker
First Assistant Editor
Christopher S Brooks
Supervising Music Editor
Michael Broomberg
Foley Artist
Bob F Brown
Stunt Coordinator (2nd Unit)
Charles Brown
Steadicam Operator
Charles Brown
Dolly Grip
Suzy Brown
Digital Matte Painter (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Dartenea Bryant
Stunts
Stephen Burg
Illustrator
Greg Burgan
Mold/Technical Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Sonja Burhcard
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Christopher Burian-mohr
Art Director
Gary Burritt
Negative Cutter
Amanda Burton
Digital Rotoscope
Amanda Burton
Other
Ronnie Bushaw
Digital Matte Painter (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Jeff Butcher
Property Master (New York)
Norman Cabrera
Sculptor (Knb Efx Group/Special Uber Morlock Make-Up)
Ed Callahan
Dialog Editor
Jodi Campanaro
Lead Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Marco Campos
Construction/General Foreman
Rick Canelli
Adr Recordist
Tamara Carlson-woodard
Fabrication Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Roberto M Carneiro
Costumer (2nd Unit)
Damon Caro
Stunts
Glenn M. Carrere
Set Dresser
Mike Castillo
Digital Compositor (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Oscar G Castillo
Cg Effects Animator (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
John F Castro
Researcher
Rick Cedillo
Fabrication Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Lanny Cermak
Lead 3-D Matchmvoe Artist (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Karen K Chang
Office Coordinator
Nikia Charles
Stunts
Jim Charmatz
Key Artist (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
John Cherevka
Puppeteer
John Cherevka
Art Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Michael Chock
Sound Effects Editor
Pamela Choules
Production Coordinator (Illusion Arts/Special Visual Effects)
Lynda Cipperley
Driver
Kevin Clark
Visual Effects Editor (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Richard A Clark
Assistant Location Manager
Tim Clark
Production Assistant
Tom Clary
Digital Effects 2-D Coordinator (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Robert Clotworthy
Adr Voice Casting
Michael Coady
Driver
Dan Cobbett
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Martin Cohen
Post-Production Executive
Grazia Como
Technical Assistant (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Eric P Cook
Special Effects
James Cook
Miniature Model Maker (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Cora Lee Coomber
Construction Accountant
Andrew Cooper
Still Photographer
Matt Cordner
Cgi Artist
Angelo Corello
Driver
John Michael Courte
Other
Marcy Craig
Key Costumer
Kelly G Crawford
Visual Effects Editor (Illusion Arts/Special Visual Effects)
Robert C Crockett
Best Boy Grip (2nd Unit)
Lee Croft
Digital Paint & Roto (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
John Cucci
Foley Artist
Ken Culver
Key Foam Technician (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Brad Curry
Other
Michael D'imperio
Assistant Property Master
Laura Dash
Stunts
Tonia Davall
Music Contractor
Jon Dawe
Mechanical Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Jon Dawe
Puppeteer
Chris Dawson
Motion Control Operator (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Bruce De Aragon
"B" 2nd Assistant Camera (2nd Unit)
Carlos De La Torre
Production Assistant
Nancy Deamicis
Driver
Bruce Dearagon
Assistant Camera Operator
Aladino V Debert
Cg Modeling & Lighting (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
William Decker
Rigging Key Grip
Stephen P Del Prete
Production Assistant
Mark Della Rosa
3-D Modeler (Core Digital Pictures/Digital Visual Effects)
Eileen Dennis
2nd Assistant Accountant
Chris Dent
Art Department Production Assistant
Kevin Derr
Stunts
Rob Derry
Mechanical Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Patsy Deshields
Production Accountant
Vashti Desire
Driver
Maria Devane
Post-Production Accountant
Sean Devereaux
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Kelsee Devoreaux
Stunts
Gary C Diamond
Set Designer
David Diano
Camera Operator
Alex Diaz
Other
Alex Diaz
Other
Dawn Dininger
Fabrication Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Ramin Djawadi
Other
Perry Dodgson
Cableman
Shirley Dolle
Hair Stylist (2nd Unit)
James Dooley
Other
Jason Doss
3-D Integration Artist (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Brady Doyle
Visual Effects Production Assistant (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Loring Doyle
Other
Loring Doyle
Digital Rotoscope
Joe Dubs
Digital Artist (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
Michael Duenas
Special Effects
David Duncan
From Screenplay
Michael Dunivant
Rigging Best Boy Grip
Rachel Dunn
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Jeff Durling
Other
Syd Dutton
Special Visual Effects (Illusion Arts/Special Visual Effects)
Timothy Eaton
Visual Effects Editor (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Jared Eddo
Stunts
Scott Eddo
Makeup Artist
Scott Edelstein
3-D Integraion Artist (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Sam Edwards
Digital Compositor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Jonathan Egstad
Digital Effects Supevisor (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Kevin Elam
Visual Effects Producer (Cinesite/Visual Effects & Animation)
John M. Elliott Jr.
Key Makeup
Margeret E Elliott
Makeup Artist (2nd Unit)
Stephen A Elsbree
Key Hairstylist (2nd Unit)
Richard Epper
Stunts
Jeff Ertl
Digital Artist (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Orlando Estrada
Stunts
Deborah C Evans
Payroll Accountant (New York)
Sean Andrew Faden
Cg Time Travel Sequence Lead (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Matthew Fairclough
Other
Roy Farfel
Stunts
Alan Faucher
Supervisor
Jon Fedele
Mold/Technical Department (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Michael Fenster
Driver
Aaron Ferguson
Other
Brigitte R. Ferry
Set Costumer
Robert Fetchman
Assistant Art Director
Sean P. Fickert
Grip
Eric Fiedler
Puppeteer
Eric Fiedler
Mechanical Department Coordinator (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Greg Figiel
Puppeteer
Greg Figiel
Charecter Effects Supervisor (Stan Winston Studio/Morlock Make-Up Effects Designer & Creator)
Claire Flewin
Costumer
Ivy Fong
Cg & Editorial Technician (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Glenn Forbes
Property Master (2nd Unit)
Dan Fowler
Character Animator (Digital Domain/Special Visual Effects & Digital Animation)
Lucinda Foy
Special Effects
Holly C Frabizio
Locations Assistant (New York)
Carl Frederick
Supervisor
Todd Fulford
Digital Artist (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
David Gainey
Animator (Industrial Light & Magic/Special Visual Effects & Animation)
Film Details
Also Known As
La Machine a explorer le temps, Machine a explorer le temps, La, Time Machine
MPAA Rating
Genre
Action
Adaptation
Adventure
Fantasy
Release Date
2002
Production Company
20th Century Fox; Abbey Road Studios; Air Studios, London; Amblin Partners; American Humane Association; Avid Technology, Inc.; Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc.; Cinesite Europe, Ltd.; Core Digital Pictures; Digital Domain; Eastman Kodak; Illusion Arts, Inc.; Industrial Light + Magic; Ken & Art'S Catering; Knb Efx Group, Inc.; Media Ventures; New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; New York Public Library; New York State Governor'S Office For Motion Picture & Tv Development; Pacific Title & Art Studio; Panavision, Ltd.; Paramount Pictures; Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation; Perry Dodgson; Stan Winston Studios; Technicolor; Turner Entertainment Company; Universal Studios Sound Facilities; Varese Sarabande; Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures International
Distribution Company
AMBLIN PARTNERS; 20th Century Fox International; Amblin Partners; Dreamworks Home Entertainment; Sam Film; Sandrew Metronome Distribution Finland Oy; Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige Ab (Sweden); Videocine; Warner Bros. Pictures International; Warner Sogefilms
Location
Schenectady, New York, USA; New York, USA; Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California, USA; Albany, New York, USA; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA; Troy, New York, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 36m
Award Nominations
Best Makeup
2002
Articles
Remake - The Time Machine
Remake - The Time Machine
BACK TO THE FUTURE AGAIN
It was inevitable that some enterprising Hollywood producer would remake The Time Machine as a big budget, state-of-the-art extravaganza with a heavy emphasis on special effects. While the 1960 film version directed by George Pal wasn't exactly a landmark in science fiction cinema, it was atmospheric, visually impressive and occasionally even thought-provoking. The special effects, though rather modest by today's standards, won an Oscar, Rod Taylor made a charismatic hero and Yvette Mimieux was memorable as Weena, the blonde Eloi maiden from the year 802,710. Best of all was the handsomely designed time machine which looked like some unclassifiable piece of Victorian furniture with flashing lights and fancy knobs. Although the film was also fairly faithful to the H.G. Wells novel on which it was based, it definitely reduced a great deal of Wells' political and sociological observations in the book to a few passing comments in the dialogue, but it least it had that! The new version of The Time Machine dispenses with most of the intellectual concerns of the Welles novel in favor of action, emphasizing the time travel aspects and a romance between Alexander Hartdegen (Guy Pearce), the time traveler, and Mara (Irish singer Samantha Mumba) of the Eloi tribe. Screenwriter John Logan confirmed the fantasy adventure approach in Dreamworks' new version in a New York Times article: "In making an entertaining movie, the political ideas fall to the side and probably rightfully so, because in the movies it wouldn't be a good mix." But the film DOES have two interesting connections to the past: Simon Wells, the great grandson of H.G. Wells, directs the new version, and Allan Young, who appeared in the 1960 version of The Time Machine, also makes a cameo appearance in this one.
The selection of Guy Pearce for the leading man is an interesting choice. In an interview on the official site for The Time Machine, director Wells said, "Try to find a lead actor who can be the kind of action star but also carries enough of the sense of being an intellectual, a man of thought. It is surprisingly difficult when you go down the list and start thinking, 'Well, I buy him as an action star but is he a professor?' The list gets quite short."
The critics don't appear to care for Pearce as the time traveler or this new version of The Time Machine based on incoming reviews but audiences seem hungry for a retelling of Welles' story. Just look at the opening weekend grosses - it was in the top position. At any rate, here are a few sample comments from critics around the country:
Mick LaSalle of The San Francisco Chronicle said: "This new version of the H.G. Wells classic, before it loses its way, takes that longing and pumps it up beyond anything Wells had in mind....Pearce, a chameleon among actors, is obviously giving us a certain kind of guy, but here's the weird part: At times it looks as if he's giving us a specific guy, that he's actually imitating someone -- namely, the mayor of Oakland. That an Australian actor would model a character after Mayor Jerry Brown might sound far-fetched, except that Pearce even seems to have adopted a slightly husky voice for the first time in his career. This is either a homage or an uncanny accident. The picture is compelling in its first half-hour....But soon the movie switches gears. It stops being about a search for the past, loses its emotional hook and finds nothing nearly as compelling to replace it."
Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Based on the celebrated 1895 H.G. Wells novella, "Time Machine" was previously filmed by George Pal in 1960 in a much-loved Rod Taylor-Yvette Mimieux version that the new one makes several references to. This "Time Machine" has an even stronger connection to the past: Its director, Simon Wells, is H.G.'s great-grandson. But, as both Pal and the current team discovered, theoriginal book, as much a class-conscious sociopolitical tract as a science-fiction novel, was rather thin on plot, to the point of calling its protagonist nothing more than "the Time Traveler." This new version (written by John Logan and "based on the [1960] screenplay by David Duncan" - a rarely seen credit) has understandably worked hard to remedy that situation. Perhaps too hard. So much effort has been put into creating a believable world for the traveler to come from and a creditable back story for his trip that what happens 800,000 years in the future seems to belong to a completely different - and less interesting- picture.....What he finds is anything but pleasant, and, armed with this knowledge, the film changes tone completely. Humanity has apparently split into two different races, the tree-hugging Eloi, epitomized by the fetching Mara (Irish recording artist Samantha Mumba), and the nasty and brutish Morlocks, led by the snarling Uber-Morlock (Jeremy Irons made up like a demented version of rock star Edgar Winter).The centerpiece of this section is a busy action sequence of partially animatronic Morlocks running around and terrorizing the Eloi. It's acceptably done, but the violent, unpleasant tone is so at variance with the rest of the film that it's more disconcerting than anything else, as if "The Little Princess" had suddenly morphed into "Rollerball."
Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed The Time Machine "a witless recycling of the H.G. Wells story from 1895, with the absurdity intact but the wonderment missing. It makes use of computer-aided graphics to create a future race of grubby underground beasties, who like the characters in "Battleship Earth" have evolved beyond the need for bathing and fingernail clippers. Since this race--the Morlocks--is allegedly a Darwinian offshoot of humans, and since they are remarkably unattractive, they call into question the theory that over a long period of time a race grows more attractive through natural selection. They are obviously the result of 800,000 years of ugly brides.....In broad outline, this future world matches the one depicted in George Pal's 1960 film "The Time Machine," although its blond, blue-eyed race of Eloi have been transformed into dusky sun people. One nevertheless tends to question romances between people who were born 800,000 years apart and have few conversations on subjects other than not being eaten. Convenient, that when humankind was splitting into two different races, both its branches continued to speak English."
Regardless of how this new version of The Time Machine fares, filmmakers will probably return to the H.G. Wells novel again for inspiration in future years. His book certainly has provided Hollywood with plenty of previous time travel flicks that clicked with moviegoers - Time After Time (1979) starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper in 20th century San Francisco, and Back to the Future (1985) and its two sequels with Michael J. Fox. For more information about The Time Machine, visit the Official Web Site.
By Jeff Stafford
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Spring March 8, 2002
Released in United States on Video July 23, 2002
Feature live action directorial debut for director Simon Wells, co-director of the animated hit "The Prince of Egypt" (USA/1998). Simon Wells is the great-grandson of H.G. Wells, author of the sci-fi classic, "The Time Machine."
Began shooting February 5, 2001.
Gore Verbinski directed the last 18 days of principal photography, when Simon Wells dropped out due to extreme exhaustion. Simon Wells returned for post-production.
Completed shooting June 20, 2001.
Released in United States Spring March 8, 2002
Released in United States on Video July 23, 2002
