To New Horizons (1940)

★★★★★ · To New Horizons · Christine Hennig · 2002-12-12

The 1939 New York World's Fair is a source of endless fascination for me. So I was delighted to find this film made for the GM Futurama in the archiveÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂit's the next best thing to a time machine. The Futurama was the most memorable exhibit at the fairÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂit contained a huge miniature replica of a "typical" city of 1960. This film documents that…

★★★★★ · wow!! · marianne333 · 2007-04-07

I thoroughly loved this film. Elevated sidewalks, well thats happened..and the whole prerequisite to the expressways we have now .. AutoGyros and a Dirigible parked in liquid to make it 'turn easier'..now thats a hoot. Of course, no one thought about global warming, but in this film its eerie to hear the announcer talk about how everyone is bathed in sunshine..the music is an odd twilight zone kind of organ playing...well worth seeing.

★★★★★ · GM Futurama Designed by Norman Bel Geddes · tribtower · 2013-05-04

Most popular show at the N.Y.World's Fair 1939-40. Tops in presentation and drama. Individual chairs with STEREO sound whisk the show-goer around a concealed track which revealed the world of 1960 from various perspectives as if on board an aircraft.Constant narration and a musical soundtrack played on the Hammond NOVACHORD the first musical synthesizer. The instrument was powered by vacuum tubes. Truly futuramic! Disney learned about mounting shows at Disneyland from this highly original effort.

★★★★★ · Enjoyable! · bread · 2006-09-27

A very enjoyable film. I really liked the technicolor scenes (I LOVE technicolor), and liked the futuristic city. The fitst half also has some great footage of the early 40's. Thanks Mr Prelinger.

★★★★ · Nice to see Bela Lugosi was still gainfully employed. · Spuzz · 2005-07-23

ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂTo New HorizonsÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ documents the changes that America went through as she was born, but mostly goes on about what to expect in the future. This is all swell and good, but what I canÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂt understand, is where on earth they got the narrator from. He sounds exactly like Bela Lugosi in his ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂPull The Strings!ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ performance in ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂGlen Or GlendaÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ. Oh. They also borrowed the organist from A Visit From Santa to increase our enjoyment. Anyways, the city of the future is what you need to pay attention to…

★★★★ · Image vs. Reality · Nelvana 1 · 2006-09-29

It's wonderful to see GM's 'optimism' about the future in this heady little film. However, a lot of what's said is simply re-stating many of the flightier and more untested new theories of urban development. No surprise, much of it revolves around the promotion of bigger and better freeways, for the pleasure of - you guessed it - the automotive industry. Once GM and their pals finally convinced the U.S. government to implement various elements of the film in its country-wide development strategy (like giving contractors massive swaths of building land,) the nation had to deal with the…