Menzies

Spoiler alert: if you read this book, you will die. But, as well as being fascinating, this book can also help you die a better death, and live a better life.'
JULIAN MORROW, comedian, ABC presenter, member of The Chaser team

H. G. Wells was both the author of the original source – an essay, rather than an actual novel, concerning mankind's future – and the screenplay (in conjunction with Lajos Biro) of this epic science fiction tale, but it was producer Alexander Korda who framed the terms on which it is presented, vast and elegant, and visually striking. Opening in the year 1940, we see the next century of human history unfold, initially with amazing prescience. In Everytown (a stand-in for London) in 1940, the people prepare to celebrate Christmas amid rumors and rumblings of war – forward-thinking pacifists like John Cabal (Raymond Massey) try to raise concerns amid a populace either too fearful to think about the risks, or so pleased with business conditions that they're oblivious to the downside of war…..