The Shape of Things to Come

by | May 18, 2023 | Film, Fun, GlibFlick | 73 comments

Jack Palance is safe from your polyester disco farts in his space helmet.

The Shape of Things to Come

What the Hell have I done? I mean, this is sci fi. It’s not Italian sci fi. It’s disco sci fi.  With one of my favorite seventies scene chewers, Jack Palance. Maybe better known as Voltan in Hawk the Slayer, or even Kaleel in Buck Rodgers in the 21st Century.  He started his career in Westerns, including in Shane, and ended up in 128 movies as an actor. And he generally looked like he was having fun in every one of them. He was the most over the top villain in Hawk the Slayer, and here he plays an equally over the top bad guy. To disco music.

So why the Hell am I playing this tonight, you ask? This movie has some awesome and timely dialog.  Get past the 70s cheese and listen to this line from Jack Palance:

”Once you accept me as ruler, there will be no acts of aggression, only peace. Under my rule, the people will want for nothing.”

Back then people at least KNEW you were a total asshole when you said that.  Now people just want to fall all over themselves to give up their rights.  Sometimes, I come across a gem like this and realize you can get a good message with your 1970s TV style special effects.

One bit of trivia for the comments!  How many movies do you think have this exact title?  One hint – it’s definitely more than just this one.

Now watch!  Or don’t!  Everything is voluntary until some clown wants to rule over you and make you want for nothing!  Next week, if all goes well, we will watch an artsy sci fi film by the name of Metropia.

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(h/t: The Hyperbole)

About The Author

R.J.

R.J.

Hello. My name is R.J. I am a Tulpa with extra cheese and sour cream.

73 Comments

  1. DEG

    ”Once you accept me as ruler, there will be no acts of aggression, only peace. Under my rule, the people will want for nothing.”

    What could possibly go wrong?

    I’ll queue this up for later viewing. Thanks RJ!

      • Sir Digby Classic

        Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Mr. Rat–one of the simple pleasures of life in the 80’s was being able to watch Ripley’s on Sunday evenings. And, by extension, watch good ol’ JP say that line.

        /Pepperidge Farm remembers.

  2. Count Potato

    *finally hits play*

  3. R.J.

    I am back. Child is now officially in middle school.

    • Don escaped Texas

      mine is still a Texan

      but a PNW blonde has stolen him away

      I wish he were still in middle school

      if I could save time in a bottle * runs crying from the room *

      • R.J.

        Thanks for the heads’ up. I’ll start anti-depressants now.

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        Mine is a New Yorker, where a redhead has stolen his heart.

      • Mojeaux

        It’s what we do best.

    • Rat on a train

      keeping for the summer?

    • DEG

      🙂

    • Chafed

      I’m flying to DC tomorrow for oldest’s college graduation. Time flies. Enjoy your kid/kids while you can.

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        Now, wasn’t that a fast 22+ years, no?

      • Chafed

        Way too fast.

      • dbleagle

        Just wait until your baby turns 40. Then you’ll ponder where the time has went while on the tree of woe.

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        Yeah, mine is at 28, and while he stares down the barrel of 30, I am staring down the barrel of 55.

        And I can’t handle 55!

      • Fourscore

        My youngest is 57, my youngest grandchild graduated from college 3 years ago.

      • Gender Traitor

        I’ve forgotten whether you’ve ever mentioned – any great-grandchildren?

      • Rat on a train

        The days are long but the years short.

  4. rhywun

    How many movies do you think have this exact title?

    More than one because I thought this was that other one that I have seen. Bit older.

    • R.J.

      A FINE GUESS!

    • rhywun

      Here is another one – bit newer.

      • R.J.

        I counted 5, by looking at the years. The latest was made in Spain in 2021. Definitely a popular movie title.
        Thank you for playing, your guess entitles you to the beverage of your choice when you visit Dallas, total value $30.

      • The Hyperbole

        Are any of them based on the H.G. Wells book?

      • Penguin

        No, they’re based on the Yardbirds song.

      • Chafed

        How many of them are porn?

      • R.J.

        I didn’t think to check that. Probably another one there, too.

      • Not Adahn

        Those are called “the Shape of Things That Come.”

    • Pat

      I only knew the title from the book and didn’t know it had been adapted to the screen. Although from what I understand, this particular rendition really only shares a title and some character names.

      • R.J.

        I think only the 1936 film used the book. Not even H.G. Wells could foresee disco.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    Didn’t H G Wells do one with this title?

  6. The Late P Brooks

    Orson Welles?

    • The Hyperbole

      Orson did the radio “war of the worlds” thing that either did or didn’t cause mass panic depending on who you ask. Every so often SiriusXM plays an interview/chat between Orson and HG on the old timey radio station, it’s pretty interesting.

    • R.J.

      Wells Fargo?

      • rhywun

        Dawn Wells?

      • Pat

        Mary Ann > Ginger

      • pistoffnick

        / subscribes to Pat’s newsletter.

      • Timeloose

        I’m too old to hear much of the cartoons he did the music for in the 80’s and 90’s.

        I did like the cover Devo did in the 90’s for a Jacky Chan movie.

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W2M9jaulods

      • Chafed

        I did not see that coming.

      • DrOtto

        I forgot that existed. Great cover.

    • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

      A god among mortals.

  7. The Late P Brooks

    I’m waiting for the Mel Brooks version.

    • R.J.

      About to run out of time for that.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    *grabs beer, hits play*

  9. Count Potato

    Thanks, RJ 🙂

    • Michael Malaise

      MST3K’s latest ‘season’ on PlutoTV covered this.

  10. Chafed

    Is Jack Palance’s helmet made from a 5 gallon water bottle?

    • Sir Digby Classic

      Pshaw! Takes much more than a 5-gallon bottle to contain the awesomeness of Palance!

      • Chafed

        Good point.

  11. slumbrew

    3 overtime periods, heading for a forth.

    “Uncle!” I’m going to bed.

  12. dbleagle

    Thanks to all for your comments on part one of my travelogue to Germania.

    To answer one question about where the commie bastards went the national socialist bastards took over. Some went to Stalin’s USSR where a sizable percentage were sent to gulag (if unlucky) or just tortured and shot out of hand (slightly less unlucky) as spies. Some escaped to western countries where many ended up meeting the NSDAP again. Most tried to just lay low in Germany and so ended up in a concentration camp. The really unlucky got to meet the conquering Soviet Army, and end up in a concentration camp. A very very small handful were blessed with power by Stalin to run his puppet state.

  13. Sir Digby Classic

    polyester disco farts

    Truly fantastic:
    -band name
    -song name
    -album name (just so that we have the music industry covered)
    -Glibs screen name

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, Sean! (And Diggy, if you’re still around.)

      Boss is working from home today, his last day before vacation next week…and thus the start of a virtual vacation for me.

      • Gender Traitor

        Good morning, U! How’s it going?

      • UnCivilServant

        I overslept, but managed to get out the door on time. I still can’t figure out a good structure for Iztak’s story, so I might refocus on Jasper again.

        I’m in the office, having a breakfast salad and lamenting that the store didn’t have any grapes.

      • Gender Traitor

        Good idea! You ought not to leave Jasper in the predicament he’s in.

        No grapes? Is this a full-sized supermarket or just a small neighborhood market?

      • UnCivilServant

        Well, they had large bunches, but I can’t drag those into the office. Normally I’d make/get a smaller cup of grapes to go with breakfast. I had none at home, and their snack cups were sold out.

      • Sean

        🙂

  14. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    Jack Palance’s greatest role is in the greatest movie, Tango and Cash, of course.

    • Fourscore

      Mornin’ Scruff

  15. Fourscore

    Good morning, GT, Sean and UCS,

    Yesterday started bad but ended well. Bear tore up 2 bee hives but fortunately no serious damage. Bees weren’t happy to see a pseudo bear with a dark jacket show up to rebuild their homes.

    Then finally some chimney repair guys showed up said “Yep, we can fix that up” and quoted a price I can live with. So all and all a pretty good day. Now I have to go back and check the bees, hate those late night visitors

    • UnCivilServant

      Glad the bees survived. Bears can be a bear. Hopefully this doesn’t become a habit for the ursine invader.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, 4(20)! That IS great news about your chimney! Hope they’ll get the work done quickly and well. And I guess there’s not really much you can do to protect the bees from bears, short of prohibitively expensive barriers.

      • Fourscore

        We do have an electric fence powered by a solar charger and it was working. I have to look to see if a bear could reach over the top. I put a gamecam out yesterday, if my ‘friend’ returns I’ll see how he/she gets in.

        A few years back I got some great night pictures of a bear reaching over the top wire, I expanded the fence and had no more trouble.

      • Gender Traitor

        Spoiler: 4(20)’s gamecam catches a bear flying a drone over the fence.