Fails the Bechdel test
The Time Machine
2002. Directed by Simon Wells, written by H.G. Wells and David Duncan and John Logan.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Based on the classic sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells, scientist and inventor, Alexander Hartdegen, is determined to prove that time travel is possible. His determination is turned to desperation by a personal tragedy that now drives him to want to change the past. Testing his theories with a time machine of his own invention, Hartdegen is hurtled 800,000 years into the future, where he discovers that mankind has divided into the hunter - and the hunted.
- Released
- 08 Mar 2002
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6 / 10
- Metascore
- 42 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 4 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Time Traveller 197 lines, man
- Weena 38 lines
- Filby 37 lines, man
- Dr. Hillyer 27 lines, man
- Kemp 11 lines, man
- Mrs. Watchett 11 lines, woman
- Man In White 10 lines, man
- Bridewell 9 lines, man
- James Filby 9 lines, man
- Warden 9 lines
Full cast, 52 people
- Guy Pearce as Alexander Hartdegen
- Samantha Mumba as Mara
- Jeremy Irons as Über-Morlock
- Omero Mumba as Kalen
- Sienna Guillory as Emma
- Orlando Jones as Vox
- Mark Addy as David Filby
- Phyllida Law as Mrs. Watchett
- Laura Kirk as Flower Seller
- John W. Momrow as Fifth Avenue Carriage Driver
- Josh Stamberg as Motorist
- Jeffrey M. Meyer as Central Park Carriage Driver
- Alan Young as Flower Store Worker
- Max Baker as Robber
- Thomas Corey Robinson as Soldier #2
- Myndy Crist as Jogger
- Connie Ray as Teacher
- Lennie Loftin as Soldier #1
- Yancey Arias as Toren
- Richard Cetrone as Hunter Morlock
- Edward Conna as Hunter Morlock
- Chris Sayour as Hunter Morlock
- Jeremy Fitzgerald as Hunter Morlock
- Darrell Davis as Hunter Morlock (as Craig Davis)
- Grady Holder as Hunter Morlock
- Bryan Friday as Hunter Morlock
- Clint Lilley as Hunter Morlock
- Mark Kubr as Hunter Morlock
- Jeff Podgurski as Hunter Morlock
- Dan McCann as Hunter Morlock
- Bryon Weiss as Hunter Morlock
- Steve Upton as Hunter Morlock
- Doug Jones as Spy Morlock
- Joey Anaya as Spy Morlock
- Jacob Chambers as Spy Morlock
- Dorian Kingi as Spy Morlock
- Kevin McTurk as Spy Morlock
- Jonathan Eusebio as Eloi
- Roel Failma as Eloi
- Yoshio Iizuka as Eloi
- Diana Lee Inosanto as Eloi
- Chona Jason as Eloi (as Malaea Chona Jason)
- Hiro Koda as Eloi
- John Koyama as Eloi
- Alex Madison as Eloi (as Gail Monian)
- R.C. Ormond as Eloi
- Bro Richmond as Eloi (as Maro Uo Richmond)
- Petra Sprecher as Eloi
- Gary Toy as Eloi
- Jon Valera as Eloi
- Efia Pearson as Eloi (uncredited)
- Dana Schick as Eloi (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 15% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 65
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 to 4 | 3 | 80 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 to 10 | 3 | 35 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 10 |
| 13 to 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 22 |
| 17 to 18 | 0 | 8 |
| 19 to 20 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 18 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 to 26 | 0 | 4 |
| 27 to 28 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 32 | 6 | 14 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 16 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 23 |
| 39 to 40 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 to 42 | 0 | 9 |
| 43 to 44 | 0 | 1 |
| 45 to 46 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 to 48 | 0 | 12 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 4 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 to 54 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 to 56 | 0 | 14 |
| 57 to 58 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 to 60 | 1 | 17 |
| 61 to 62 | 0 | 3 |
| 63 to 64 | 4 | 4 |
| 65 to 65 | 0 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 5 are women's.
17 lines from women, 303 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
12 women and 38 men in the cast. 1 women and 2 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 7 of 377.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 128 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 3% of the words (131), men 97% (4,117). Women have 5% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
9
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 13% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Simon Wells (man)
- Written by
- John Logan (man), David Duncan (man)
- From the novel by
- H. G. Wells (man)
- Produced by
- David Valdes (man), Walter F. Parkes (man)
- Shot by
- Donald McAlpine (man)
- Edited by
- Wayne Wahrman (man)
- Music by
- Klaus Badelt (man)
- Production design by
- Oliver Scholl (man)
- Costumes by
- Deena Appel (woman), Bob Ringwood (man)
- Cast by
- Mindy Marin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
1 women, 15 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 7 men, 10 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 5 men, 11 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 9 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 8 men, 1 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 34 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Samantha Mumba 19, Sienna Guillory 26, Phyllida Law 69
Men
Omero Mumba 12, Orlando Jones 33, Guy Pearce 34, Mark Addy 38, Jeremy Irons 53
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $80 million
- Box office
- $124 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 65 scenes and 377 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
