The Man Who Saw Tomorrow

Every time the world faces a disaster, somebody intones, self-righteously, "Nostradamus PREDICTED it..." Be it a flood, an earthquake, an assassination, or anything in-between, the sixteenth century French cleric wrote about it, somehow, in the midst of his hundreds of ambiguous quatrains. His writings have become the nonbelievers' Book of Daniel and the Revelations of St. John the Divine, reference works almost occult in stature about the future of the human race.

As a potential source for a 'cheap buck', his writings are invaluable, as they can so easily be twisted to mean ANYTHING, so low-budget documentaries pop up frequently with "definitive" interpretations, and THE MAN WHO SAW TOMORROW is, perhaps, the most famous of the lot. Best-known for having Orson Welles, looking suitably Satanic, as the Host/Narrator, pouring over ancient documents and looking up at the camera as if he were 'channeling' Nostradamus' spirit, himself (Once a ham actor, always a ham actor...), the documentary jumps to stock footage of natural disasters, the Nazis, Hollywood renditions of Napoleon, and newsreels of John and Robert Kennedy, all the while stating how dictators ('Anti-Christs'), Popes, Kings and Presidents' lives and deaths were foreseen with unerring accuracy.

The problem arises when the 'future' is predicted, using his writings. Whether our world survives or falls into chaos, there has NEVER been a 'fortuneteller' who predicted what lies ahead correctly. It is only AFTER the fact that one can 'interpret' the writings to 'fit' what has happened. It reminds one of the old joke about fortunetellers...if they are so accurate, why aren't they all rich from winning lotteries, horse races, and such? From Nostradamus to contemporary 'visionaries' like Jeanne Dixon, what HASN'T happened that was 'predicted' as coming to pass always trips them up...while their supporters quickly offer excuses that we simply 'misinterpreted' what was foreseen.

So don't face what lies ahead with fear, when watching THE MAN WHO SAW TOMORROW...just enjoy it for the cheesy spectacle it is, and perhaps mourn the fact that non-film fans may remember Orson Welles more from his overripe performance, here, than for CITIZEN KANE or TOUCH OF EVIL.

Nostradamus probably predicted THAT, too...

I can't understand why people feel the need to have a controlling influence in their lives, be it God or any other channel. Why can't you take control and responsibility for your own actions and make the world a better place with a positive influence.

Bad things happen, they have always happened and they always will. Any event in our recent memory will be served as a spectacular event but looking at events in our time they are all insignificant compared to historical events.

Hitler is always vaunted as an anti-Christ when (obviously he was a despicable tyrant) Stalin was responsible for far more suffering.

Live your lives and take control of them or someone else will at your behest.

I think its important to note that when you make literally thousands of predictions, some of them will certainly occur. That said, every prediction Nostradamus made is open to numerous and varied interpretations. As we move toward whatever future may be for us, there will always be those who will see something in a quatrain that strikes them as similar enough to think, "AHA! He got it right!". When you watch this movie, keep in mind that several of the more popular quatrains have been applied to multiple events at various times through history, always with the "AHA!" moment in the minds of the interpreters. There have understandably been those people who, acting in their own devious interests, have manufactured events specifically to resemble predictions, knowing that men who believe events will unfold a certain way, will work to ensure they do, even to their own detriment. Keep in mind, Nostradamus' own disclaimer: "the One who is reasonable can learn from my prophecies how to find the right path to take as if he would have found footprints in the sand from someone who has gone before." The future IS ours to choose. Our future may be predetermined, but its predetermined by our choices each day.

Nostradamus. One of the most recognized historical figures of all time obviously did nothing in his life but make dire predictions about the world and its famous occupants. A high majority of his writings and sooth-sayings are never talked about because they were mindless babble that never took place. Other vague writings, many believe, tell of circumstances and events that did indeed occur decades and centuries after he walked the Earth. Yawn. "The Man Who Saw Tomorrow" is a dumb and immensely stupid documentary that recreates Nostradamus' dull life and also uses stock footage for past tragedies and potential events of the future. Yeah, Nostradamus' prediction of Ted Kennedy winning the 1984 U.S. Presidential Election was right on target (rolls eyes). In this day and age, this guy would likely be one of those morons who would get run over by a train while he was trying to foresee his future place in the world. Golden-voiced Orson Welles, at the twilight of his career, narrates effectively. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I remember this being on Cinemax all the time back in the early 80s, I taped it, and when I was in high school, I mentioned it to a teacher, and she had me bring it in and the class watched it, and then the school library borrowed it and made a copy. I wonder if they still have it, they should be ashamed of themselves if they show it to any more classes, I was just a teenager, but these were educated adults taking this nonsense seriously. I saw it again recently, I remember being absolutely mesmerized by it at the time, I'm almost embarrassed that I was ever naive enough to take this for anything more than base entertainment. The whole production is just so cheap and silly looking, and most of the predictions haven't panned out, I'm sure Nostrodamus was a slick talking con man of his time, sort of like Sylvia Brown now, just say a lot of vague things and hope people overlook it when your wrong. All of that being said, Orson Wells has a great presence, and he almost makes this tripe seem plausible, if you close your eyes. If you saw it way back when, it's kind of fun to revisit it and goof on it, but you've never seen it, there's no need to.