ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

I learned about this French movie today from a website called Flickchart which lists science fiction movies from the 1930s.

I read the Wikipedia summary of the plot, and you can too by Google "End of the World (1931)" and clicking on the Wikipedia link.

What I learned is this is one ka-razy movie! The short version is this.

And astronomer discovers a comet that might hit the Earth, and when the news is made public, the global economy collapses. But the world's various countries eventually vow to band together intp one planetary government if the comet misses Earth.

In the conclusion, it does! Mankind is united!

That sounds a like a great movie, but the full summary on Wikipedia reveals the fact that the story includes corrupt maneuvers by entrepreneurs to use the financial chaos to get rich, along with a rape scene and several puzzling religious elements in the story which sound plumb wacky, to me honest.

For example, the Wikipedia summary includes this comment.
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People around the world begin to pray as the comet looms larger in the sky and extreme weather ensues including blizzards, storms, tidal waves.

Riots break out and a thousand elite revelers bring musicians into a great hall for a feast and an orgy. Monks carrying candles interrupt the orgy and lead the group in prayer.
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Yes sirree, nothing breaks up an orgy quicker than the arrival of monks carrying candles! That kills the mood pronto . . .

Like I said, this movie sounds plumb wacky.

Anyway, just to add to the list of science fiction movies we discuss here on All Sci-Fi I thought I'd throw this one into the mix.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Steve Joyce]

So glad to see some Gance appreciation.

Here is what we have for devoted followers of this film:

Omega: The Last Days of the World by Camille Flammarion which inspired the film has been translated to English.

The film itself.

The Americanization / Bastardization of Gance’s film (don’t love it as much. Technically, this is the only “silent” version).

There is even some film of Gance making LFdM.

Last but not least, from one Joachim Renez comes a novelization of the film after the fact. Right now that's available only in French but like I hastily mentioned in the other Gance thread, that's being worked on!
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"There is a planet in the Solar System where the people are so stupid they didn't catch on for a million years that there was another half to their planet." - Kilgore Trout.

[WadeVC]

Not only does the movie indeed sound wacky, I have to say that this comment right here: