December 30 movie: The Time Machine. I thought I had written this up before but I can't find it. Anyway, I love this movie. It's an adventure story with a scientist hero (Rod Taylor) who hits just the right note of wonder, excitement, and loss as he leaves his whole world behind to explore the future. I understand that it diverges somewhat from the original novel (to my embarrassment, I admit that it's been decades since I read it and I don't remember it that well) but I think it's true to Wells' spirit. Especially the final line: "which three books would you take?"
There's a very nice scene where Taylor is wandering around trying to find someone in an apparently abandoned future world. He starts running, the music swells, and it really is quite tense. Even the flowers and fruit on the trees somehow look menacing. Taylor stops, gasping for breath, apparently giving up. Only then does he hear the Eloi laughing as they frolic in the river. I was thinking that if that scene were done in a movie today, he wouldn't have stopped. He would have kept running and burst in on the Eloi with a crescendo of music. The scene would definitely have had more punch, but I like it this way. It suits the thoughtful pace of the movie.
(In the paragraph above I was going to say, "if this movie were made again today..." but then I remembered that this movie had been made again, a couple of years ago, and it was terrible.)
Having seen the wretched Time Machine remake, I now have to suppress the urge to yell "Jeremy Irons!" whenever the Morlock show up in the Rod Taylor version.
But the Guy Pearce version is most notable for having the single most unintentionally hilarious death scene. Evah!