The World in the Year 2000 (1972)

The lone sci-fi feature to come out of Syria, THE WORLD IN THE YEAR 2000 may sound like a futuristic fantasy, but is in fact a variant on THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957). Furnished with an intelligently written script, the machinations of its 'mad scientist' actually make a reasonable amount of sense; he's attempting to downsize human beings before the Earth becomes overpopulated in coming decades. The special effects, sadly, leave more than a little to be desired, and 1976 was a late date for a black-and-white production even by local standards; however, apparently no technicians were available who had the know-how to attempt these effects in color at all. Nevertheless, the film remains a tantalizing curio from a nation whose movies have seldom been seen overseas.