Things to Come [Soundtrack EP] (1936)

Things to Come [Soundtrack EP] (1936) Composed by Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) Tracklisting: 1. [00:00] Prologue 2. [02:35] Ballet for Children 3. [06:18] Attack 4. [08:32] March 5. [11:56] The World in Ruin 6. [14:09] The Building of the New World 7. [16:09] Attack on the Moon Gun 8. [17:35] Epilogue A landmark collaboration between writer H.G. Wells (1866-1946), producer Alexander Korda (1893-1956), and designer and film director William Cameron Menzies (1896-1957), this British black-and-white science fiction film features a stellar cast that includes stage and film actor Cedric Hardwicke (1893-1964), Edward Chapman (1901-1977), Kenneth Villiers (1912-1992), stage, screen and television actress Margaretta Scott (1912-2005), Maurice Braddell (1900-1990), Ralph Richardson (1902-1983), and Canadian actor Raymond Massey (1896-1983) in a dual role. Conceived, written, and overseen by Wells himself as an adaptation of his own work, 'Things to Come is a triumph of imagination and technical audacity. The film has a very distinct three-act format that charts the progress of mankind through a century-long odyssey of a single city. The first act, set in 1940, shows Everytown, a typical bustling community in the carefree throes of the Christmas holidays when a global war (lasting thirty years) strikes, and the city is completely destroyed. This kicks in the second act. Everytown of 1970 is a medieval relic of the past, in total ruin, overcome with sickness and ruled by the demented Rudolph (Ralph Richardson). Eventually, under the guidance of scientists like John Cabal (Raymond Massey), the tyrannical reign ends, and a new pacifist order begins. By 2036 (the third act), Everytown gleams as a bustling modern underground metropolis. Yet even as Cabal's grandson Oswald (Massey again) spearheads the first manned spaceflight to the moon, troubled souls within this utopia plot to rebel against the new social order. Wells originally wanted the music to be recorded in advance, and have the film constructed around the music, but this would have impeded editing, so the score, by English composer/conductor Arthur Bliss, was fitted to the film afterwards in a more conventional way. Bliss, renowned for his modernist classical compositions, created a masterwork that in every way supported Wells' creative vision. Not only was 'Things to Come the first sound film to have a score released commercially, it was also the first to bring the London Symphony Orchestra into the world of cinema. Whilst the film itself had a mixed reception, the music was a sensation, and helped to form the template of orchestral film scores, by turns taut and dramatic, but also grand and aspiring. Bliss was a very respected composer of serious, traditional classical music in England, who also dabbled in film, composing scores between 1936 and 1966. In all he provided eight film scores that reached the screen (and a ninth that did not), though nothing approached this project for sheer ambition. Bliss' earliest music (all later withdrawn and subsequently destroyed by the composer) showed a strong knowledge of and interest in the music of Edward Elgar (1857-1934). Bliss ended his long career as a dedicated proponent of a more conservative, neo-Romantic musical aesthetic. The music was conducted by Muir Mathieson (1911-1975). This video is for promotional use only. I do not own the rights to the music. All rights belong to the artist / band.