The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (1981)

Hosted by Orson Welles, this documentary utilizes a grab bag of dramatized scenes, stock footage, TV news clips and interviews to ask: Did 16th century French astrologer and physician ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Guenette

Writers:

Robert Guenette (screenplay), Alan Hopgood (screenplay)

Stars:

Orson Welles, Philip L. Clarke, Ray Laska

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Orson Welles	...	Narrated by / Narrator
Philip L. Clarke	...	Voice of Nostradamus (voice)
Ray Laska	...	The Warlord
Bob Ruggiero	...	French soldiers
Roy Edmonds	...	French soldiers
Ray Chubb	...	French soldiers
Richard Butler	...	Nostradamus
Jason Nesmith	...	Nostradamus, as a child
Howard Ackerman	...	Nostradamus, as a youth
Brass Adams	...	The Grandfather
Terry Clotiaux	...	Nostradamus' Father
David Burke	...	The Friar
Bob Bigelow	...	The Dinner Host
Marji Martin	...	The Maid
Thor Nielsen	...	The Cook

Storyline

Hosted by Orson Welles, this documentary utilizes a grab bag of dramatized scenes, stock footage, TV news clips and interviews to ask: Did 16th century French astrologer and physician Nostradamus actually predict such events as the fall of King Louis XVI, the rise of Napoleon, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? And are there prophecies that have yet to come true?

---

Plot Keywords:

nostradamus | prophecy | nuclear attack | 1900s | antichrist | 

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az ember, aki tudta a jövőt

Company Credits

Production Co:

David L. Wolper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the movie gets many of its predictions of the future wrong (Ted Kennedy winning the 1984 Presidential election) some are very close, especially the speculation about a massive earthquake in California which the movie predicts will happen in 1988 but in fact happened in 1989. Also the movie predicts that America would be at war with the middle east and that the war would begin early in the 1990s and in fact, at the beginning of the decade the country was in the Persian Gulf War.

---

Goofs

The movie opens with a text that refers to "the preceding film" which should be at the end.

---

Quotes

Presenter: [about the predictions of the future] But before continuing, let me warn you now that these predictions of the future are not at all comforting - and I might go on to add that these visions of the past, these warnings of the future, are not the opinions of the producers of this film. They're certainly not my opinions.

---

Connections

Edited from Earthquake (1974)

User Reviews

All you sheep can march yourselves into the abyss...

I saw this "documentary" on HBO in the early '80s when I was an impressionable youth. It, too, scared the hell out of me. But then I grew up, and realized that though history DOES repeat itself; it's only because blind human nature and ignorance leaves the steering-wheel to chance all too often...and the side-show master, Mr. N, was intelligent enough to realize this. It's far easier to open your ass to prophesy than to assert your will.

The fact that The History Channel deigned this hour of tripe as being worthy of airing astounds me. I would never imagine that a reputable outlet of education would broadcast this fantasy within a couple of months of the horrors of September 11, 2001. Perhaps the Jihadi have it right when they condemned us to death for being Godless (or is it Allahless?): we readily consume this freakish "entertainment" instead of respecting the sanctity of our dead. Hooray! I have something to pontificate about at the water-cooler on Monday! As if I had an education and some social bearing.

Then we have other morons who will spout the quatrains as fact. Like that idiot reporter in NYC on the DAY of the 9/11 attacks; with the smoldering wreckage of the WTC in the background, he quoted the fiction of Mr. N. I imagine this ass-lick was attempting to improve his career. Congratulations! I hear Santa and the Easter Bunny are plotting Apocalypse too. Next time, try to respect the slaughtered before manufacturing drama. I suppose it was all `inevitable' though.right?

If you have any respect in yourself, your fellow man, and free will; view this fiction for entertainment purposes only.

And please, PLEASE, shun the ignorant. In your heart, you know what need be done.