The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (1981)

Director:

Robert Guenette

Writers:

Robert Guenette (writer)
Alan Hopgood (written by)

Release Date:

January 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Hosted by Orson Welles, this documentary utilizes a grab bag of dramatized scenes, stock footage, TV...

Plot Keywords:

Prophecy | Nostradamus | 1500s | Hitler | 1900s

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Presenter / Narrator
Philip L. Clarke	...	Nostradamus (voice)
Ray Laska	...	The Warlord
Bob Ruggiero	...	French Soldier
Roy Edmonds	...	French Soldier
Ray Chubb	...	French Soldier
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

Also Known As:

Nostradamus (Europe: English title) (TV title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:15 (video rating) | USA:PG

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

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:

Factual errors: 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.

Movie Connections:

Features A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

Stop worrying about the future and start listening!

Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to panic over this documentary film narrated by Orson Welles. Evidence shows as another in a series of long gone productions about silly tabloid journalism. Remember the U.F.O. movies of the mid-70s, plus countless others involving Bigfoot, the Devil's Triangle, and psychic phenomena. This, of course, is different because it tells of a legendary seer named Nostradamus who accurately predicted major world events. But given the time frame it was released, it's obviously another example of those movies! The biggest problem is telling about the three Antichrists in excessive portions, creating the largest feature of all. In making this film, the producers used quite a bit of stock footage from actual Hollywood movies, which I feel was a disgrace for a documentary. Where events on Napolean and earthquakes were shown, you can easily discover how they were filmed! Other footage came from archived sources, including the segment on J.F.K.; the rest is substandard acting fare. In watching this, do consider the reality of how the prophecies have passed as events unfolded. It's not the end of the world as we know it yet, but there is something to worry about: the film is almost two decades old! (gulp!) Well, I guess it's time to start worrying......