The Time Machine

1960, George Pal, USA, 103 min.

When George (Rod Taylor) sits at the controls of his new creation, he has all the time in the world. The Time Machine whisks him from 1899 to the 20th century and beyond—into 802701. In that far-off era, he discovers that instead of evolving, mankind has devolved into a passive and simplistic pleasure-loving race in a seeming pastoral landscape. The longer the time traveler stays in this future, the more he learns of what lies under the surface of this apparent idyll.

Based on H. G. Wells’s classic The Time Machine, George Pal’s beloved adventure film took home an Oscar for Best Special Effects.

James Gleick on H. G. Wells and The Time Machine:

“Wells thought of himself as a futurist. People were full of excitement about the future and wondering what the year 1900 would bring. Science was bringing modern wonders, and an author like Jules Verne was very much about modern wonders—boats that can travel under the sea, ships that could take us to the moon. The funny thing is that’s not what H. G. Wells was interested in. When you read The Time Machine, you realize it’s a peculiar book. The time traveler only goes to the future, and the future that he discovers is not at all marvelous. It’s degenerate; there’s a kind of misery and a kind of bifurcation of the race into Morlocks and Eloi. It’s really a chance for Wells to explore some of his ideas about social evolution and human evolution—another new theme in our scientific toolkit thanks to Charles Darwin.”

About Cabaret Cinema:Time

Curated by Rubin Museum fellow and neuroscientist David Eagleman, Cabaret Cinema delves into the mysteries of time. Aside from their listed duration, movies often carry us through periods far beyond the minutes that pass as we sit in a theater. Time lingers in suspense, is driven forward by fast-talking dialogue, or warps through sudden flashbacks. What does the world of cinema reveal about our experience of time?

Brainwave is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.