I recently re-read H.G. Wells’ 1904 novel The Food of the Gods — and was thinking what a damn fine film it would make, now that the technology exists to do it properly. The problem is, anyone who took it on would want to contemporise it, adding lots of nifty technology, government conspiracies and covert hi-tech commercial research interests, and it would lose its charm and believability in the process — changing the thematic structure utterly.

It’s very noticable in the book that the turn-of-the-century society as Wells depicts it is much less driven by the sort of worldwide media attention we’d expect now, not to mention government interference. In the book, the scientists are eccentric amateurs in the older academic sense, and the Food gets out through a series of minor accidents and ordinary carelessnesses — though the effect is major. Central regulation is almost non-existent.

The populace is remarkably phlegmatic about the appearance of giant rats and chickens and plants and worms, not to mention giant babies — they fuss a bit, then get on with coping, in a very British manner. There is disruption and concern, but it blows over quickly, and no government agencies try to capitalise on the Food’s military or commercial potential. There are deaths, but Wells doesn’t milk the potential for violence in the way most storytellers would these days. The situation gets bad, of course, even explosive, but not until enough time passes for the Children to grow up and start to become an alternative society, and hence a viable threat to the status quo. It is here that Wells’ political interests take over.

How things have changed!

What hasn’t changed is the way in which the “debate” grows, driven by ignorance and stupidity and self-obsession — on both sides. Very like the current cloning / GM food debates actually.

I believe Willis O’Brien had intended to make a film version of the book around about the time of “King Kong” (1933) , but couldn’t get the finances. It was left to Bert I. Gordon to make his version, first as “Village of the Giants” in 1965, then again in 1976 under the original title (“based on part of…”). These were very cheap-jack in true B.I.G. fashion, and mainly concentrated on giant wasps, rats and chickens, only a minor interest of the author and not his main thematic concern. Bert’s “Food of the Gods 2″ was all Rat…

I’m a bit surprised no one else has tried to make a film version. Well, maybe they have …. and failed….