Wunder der Schöpfung is an extraordinary, fascinating Kulturfilm trying to explain the whole human knowledge of the 1920s about the world and the universe. 15 special effects experts and 9 cameramen were involved in the production of this film which combines documentary scenes, historical documents, fiction elements, animation scenes and educational impact. It its beautifully colored, using tinting and toning in a very elaborated way. Some visual ideas in the sequences with a space shuttle visiting different planets in the universe seem to have to be the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the context of Germany's Kulturfilm phenomenon, Wunder der Schöpfung was among the greatest achievements of the 1920s. The production was constructed, rehearsed, and shot over a period of two and a half years, under the supervision of Hanns Walter Kornblum. The idea to describe the universe and man's place in it well suited UFA's Grossfilm mentality, one year before the Metropolis catastrophe. Hundreds of skilled craftsmen participated in the project, building props and constructing scale models drawn by 15 special effects draughtsmen, while 9 cameramen in separate units worked on the historical, documentary, fiction, animation, and science-fiction sequences. Without star roles or even protagonists, the film's plot is crowded with meticulously structured and skillfully acted single scenes an artful mosaic of small vignettes. No less than four credited university professors ensured the factual background behind the scientific and historical events portrayed. The film's symbol of progress and the new scientific era is a spacecraft, travelling through the Milky Way, making all the planets and their inspiring worlds familiar to us, with the extravaganza of their distinctive features. The film's educational intentions, however, become steadily more obscure, humorous, or even campy as this popularization project proceeds. With the excuse of presenting the end of the world a not-so-new concept as a new, undeniably scientific truth, the film veers happily along a new path, displaying detailed apocalyptic scenes of the end of mankind. For today's audiences, this amazing film demonstrates how the universe was comprehended in the 1920s, and how that view was sold to contemporary audiences.
很珍贵的影像资料，看下来想起了小时候捧着百科全书看天文知识，不过图像都是静态的，通过文字想象真实的场景，当时若是能看到这样的影片一定很新奇，到处都是特摄，但是制作精良，模拟出很多想象中才有的画面，这些在今天看来并不稀奇，但呈表现的主题值得参考。影片的另一有趣之处在于，有一些因所处时代而具有局限性的内容，比如电力驱动的宇宙飞船，超光速后的时光倒流，可以感受到当时人们对世界的理解。
无意中得到此片，让我大吃一惊，当时竟然就有如此精湛的特效，定格动画、机械模型、合成技术、特摄，用了一个遍啦。对于当时的影视从业者，拍此类科幻电影，是一个手艺活儿！
3.5；以今日眼光看，当然觉得这些科普知识并无新奇，不过特效已经相当厉害了，且有一种神秘的古早味，默片时期的想象力和创造力的确让人赞叹。剧情部分亦贴合整体叙述。
情境构建的方式好有趣
3.5 电影初时代我们所认识的宇宙。