SummaryA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
Directed By:George Pal
Written By:David Duncan, H.G. Wells
The Time Machine
Metascore
Generally Favorable
67
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
56% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
This smashing science-fiction adaptation of H.G. Wells's famous novel has more creativity in every frame than most latter-day rip-offs have in their entirety.
91
The meat of Wells’ novel is sacrificed in favor of all-out spectacle, but in that respect the movie works marvelously.
User score
Generally Favorable
71% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
24% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Mar 24, 2022
10
I love this film, and so does my dad, much better than the style over substance remake. In fact, both of us feel it is a huge favourite of ours and looking at the film's charms it isn't hard to see why. The special are still very charming and stylish- not dated to me, and the story is a haunting and speculative one that sticks to the spirit of HG Wells's marvellous story well. The set design is wonderful, the script like the story is imaginative, the pace is brisk and the direction is great. The acting while not the film's best asset is still good with Rod Taylor likable enough as the inventor. Overall, a big favourite and definitely worth a watch. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Jun 5, 2021
8
interesting movie with a nice plot. This movie was also a very good one in the 60s, but today it is outdated: The special effects are more ridiculous than amazing like in the past. Also there were too many dialogues, that lengthen the movie unnecessarily.
83
Wells purists may balk, and Pal’s then state-of-the-art effects do look cheesy by today’s Industrial Light & Magic standards, but The Time Machine retains an appealing Victorian charm. Taylor, the Mel Gibson of the ’60s, is a pleasure to watch.
70
The social comment of the original has been historically refined to encompass such plausible eventualities as the physical manifestation of atomic war weapons. But the basic spirit of Wells' work has not been lost.
60
The machine itself is a beauty, with a red velvet seat and gadgets made of ivory and rock crystal, and the time-travel effects help to make this film one of the best of its kind. However, it deteriorates into comic-strip grotesqueries when the fat ogreish future race of Morlocks torments the effete, platinum-blond, vacant-eyed race of Eloi.
50
The drama, for all its invention, is creaky and a bit passé. (Apparently there has still been no contact with other planets in 800,000 A. D.) And the mood, while delicately wistful, is not so flippant or droll as it might be in a fiction as fanciful and flighty as this one naturally is.
50
Parts of it are colorful and imaginative, but the film flattens out toward the end.
Sep 15, 2024
4
A loose adaptation of the HG Wells classic that's glaringly fifties in all the wrong ways. Weak special effects, atrocious acting and a few heavy-handed additions to the plot are just the tip of the iceberg. There's also a serious lack of science in this sci-fi endeavor; particularly bad is the scene where our narrator stops off in the middle of the Cold War, observes a tactical nuclear strike (literally annihilating buildings across the street) and strides through a few wisps of smoke back to the relative safety of his device. Rod Taylor is fine in the leading role - strong, smart and confident - but he's just about the only player worth his salt and the rest of the cast hams it up badly. And even he can't spin gold from straw with some of this dialogue. It does have moments, and there's a weird allure to Taylor's relationship with a child-minded girl of the future (who smiles blankly as he rambles on, using words she clearly doesn't understand), but too often it goes the flashy route, especially in the big climax. There's a lot of depth and nuance in the novel, but you wouldn't know it from this take.
Production Company:
- George Pal Productions
- Galaxy Films Inc.
Release Date:Jul 22, 1960
Duration:1 h 43 m
Rating:G
Tagline:Made by the BIG COMPANY M.G.M. One Million to Produce...Two Years to make in COLOUR with a TOP CAST!
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Hugo Awards
• 1 Nomination
