H G Wells: War with the World

H G Wells: War With The World is a 2006 BBC Television docudrama telling the life story of the British author H.G. Wells, who is played in the film by Michael Sheen. The title of the film is clearly referencing Wells' most famous novel The War of the Worlds.

Plot

Like the other films (George Orwell, Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Elizabeth David) in this critically acclaimed and award-winning biography strand, H.G. Wells takes a bold and innovative approach to dramatising the story of the author’s life, by using H.G. Wells’ own words.

H.G. Wells wrote his four best-known works, The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds in the space of just four years. His fame increased with the non-fiction writing which followed, in which Wells predicted the invention of tanks, biological warfare and television. Wells’ celebrity status enabled his pursuit of free love, winning him lovers like novelist Rebecca West and the enigmatic Russian Moura Budberg. It also gave him access to world leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin.

A Life in Pictures tells the story of Wells’ transformation from self-confident womaniser, socialist radical and young literary prophet to burdened missionary, dedicated to creating a World State.

Cast

Michael Sheen as H.G. Wells
Sally Hawkins as Rebecca West
Sarah Winman as Jane Wells
Dermot Crowley as George Bernard Shaw
Branka Katic as Moura Budberg
Jacek Koman as Maxim Gorky
Kenneth Jay as Henry James
Michael Cochrane as Minister
Rebecca Ramsden as Millie
Elizabeth Elvin as Mrs. Hallam
Keir Charles as Sykes
Abigail Davies as Russian Reporter
Roger Heathcott as Josef Stalin
Thomas-James Fisher as Jip Wells
Lady Sara Rönneke as Georgie
Chris Wilson as Reporter

External links

• H G Wells: War With The World at the Internet Movie Database