Time After Time (Region 2)

Love this film, bought to watch again whilst I was on holiday.

This premise of HG Wells chasing down Jack the Ripper through time promises good viewing. This being the 70s, any special effects are clunky. Although this was an enjoyable film, the script chopped and changed and didn't really run smoothly. If anything, the two leads of Malcolm McDowell and the sadly departed and highly underrated David Warner (who plays his part spectacularly) carry this film along. There is a good twist at the end, but the dull romance between McDowell and Steenburgen takes up too much screen time and doesn't feel convincing. Not a classic, but I would love to see this one re-made with today's technology and truly show the battle of wits between Wells and Jack.

Great film well worth watching

I love this film and could not find it in the high street, so I was so pleased to see it on Amazon...I just had to buy it. The special effects are still not bad (although clumsy by today's standards), but the storyline and acting are of the highest quality and the premise is certainly unique. A gem and happy to add it to my growing collection of sci-fi classics that just don't seem to get made any more. Unless there's CGI all over the place or noisy sound tracks giving you splitting headaches, Hollywood are just not interested in backing films with decent scripts or plots. I may be getting a little too nostalgic but films like the original Time Machine or The Day The Earth Stood Still will still be attracting new fans long after more up-to-date garbage have long since faded away. Thank goodness Amazon can provide DVDs that the high street chains have given up on. Enjoy.

Not as good as I remember. Perhaps this is a spoiler but, if you thought that you were the Rippers next target would you hang around to find out? Having said that, this is still an engaging time travel tale and reasonably enjoyable.

Good

Great film. So happy to find it on Prime video

Unremembered classic if ever I saw one, the story itself may not have held up so well were it not for the acting of Malcolm McDowell in the role of the protagonist, HG Wells, and the performer playing the antagonist, Jack The Ripper, which is superb but it is still a good one (adapted from a novel of the same name I believe). The story sees HG Wells cast in the role of an actual time traveller, as opposed to merely recounting the adventures of one in his novel of the same name, the craft is similar to that of the novel and the meeting of victorian gentlemen at which he discusses his discovery similar to the opening stages of the novel or the first screen adaptation of the book. However, unbeknownst to the assembled gents one of their number is the notorious victorian villain responsible for the Whitechapel murders of prostitutes, none other than Jack The Ripper. When discovered "Jack" makes an escape to the future in HG's time machine with HG following to apprehend him. The usual staples of time travel fiction are all featured here, the expectations of each of the future are tested, with HG's optimistic scientism, feminism and socialism tested, the Ripper's blood lust and depravity some what vindicated. HG naively thinks he can somehow compel the Ripper to turn himself in or that he can be reasoned with while the Ripper moves from targeting random women to a love interest recently discovered by HG himself, setting the stage for a final confrontation between the two. No matter how silly or absurd the premise for the story may be, let alone the pairing of a fictionalised sci fi author-come-character with an actual gruesome murderer (questions of taste abound maybe) as a fan of time travel and steam punk themes and HG Well's writing, aswell as some of the actors and cinema from this time, I can recommend this feature.

Okay, for starters, this movie is NOT a hardcore science fiction fan's first choice for a time travel movie. There re probably others more suited for that role. This one, though, is a much deeper (in the sense of development of characters and story), much more intricate film. If one were to categorize this, I would (frankly) set it into a more drama/suspense/romance. Yes, seriously. Let me expand a bit more. H.G. Wells (yes, THAT one) has actually built the time machine he wrote about in his famous novel, "The Pickle Slicing Machine and It's Assorted Blades and Utensils." Hah. Just kidding, you know the title of the book, so let's not get too obvious. Anyway, one of Wells' best friends turns out to be none other than Jack he Ripper, who had taken a hiatus from crazy for a while but had returned for more murderous mayhem. After committing another heinous murder, he stops by Wells' place for dinner and sherry. With the British police hot on his trail, he's forced to flee again, except this time, he takes Wells' machine (shortly after Wells shows it off. Thank you expositional storytelling.) Wells, overcome by his sense of duty, propriety, and the overwhelming Victorian sense of responsibility, gives chase in his newly-returned and empty machine into none other than the modern-day (for 1979). Along the way, Wells meets an attractive bank worker, after which things get really interesting. No, I'm not going to give more away. So there. The main focus of this is the tone and subject matter. While there is a heavy science fiction motif here with time travel, it's more about Wells being a fish out of water. Not only did he not seem to fit in with his peers in 1893 England, he was even more out of place in 1979. A huge part of the fun of this film is his clumsy wanderings throughout San Francisco and dealing with the general populace. Granted this isn't a slapstick comedy, but there are a couple of charming scenes that gives one the opportunity to smile a little. What it all boils down to is the fact that this was taken rather seriously for a film. All of the elements present a real feel to the story (after suspending belief of course) of how someone from the 19th century would handle being in the 20th century. What drives it home even more is the characters of Wells and Stevenson (The Ripper) is that they represent two archetypes of the era - the intellectual and the adventurer. Both men are highly intelligent but at the same time are also somewhat daring with the events all throughout the film. Wells being more the proper gentleman fumbles and maintains a conservative pace to his adventures while Stevenson (who, I should mention, was BRILLIANTLY portrayed by David Warner) plunges in, balls to the wall and goes right for the jugular, quite literally. Murderous b*stard he is, what makes him all the more fascinating is his adjustment to the 20th century. As a whole, this movie is top-notch giving any film fan pretty much anything they want from suspense, to soft tender moments, to barreling headfirst through time, to a bit of graphic violence. It's reminiscent of some of the classic movies from the past, without being overly goofy as other genre films tend to be. It even has that old movie feel to it, even when I first saw it back in the early 80's, it was like watching a George Pal type of film. I fact, I think Mr. Pal would have enjoyed this as well. A definite win for purchasers.

One of my favourites. Nicholas Meyer, who also wrote and directed The Wrath of Khan is a great director and writer and is seriously underrated. His movies are intelligent as well as entertaining.

Esta cinta,que en españa se llama LOS PASAJEROS DEL TIEMPO, sólo tiene audio y subtítulos en español latino, pero es la mejor opción que tenemos en España para hacernos con esta obra maestra de la ciencia ficción.

Toller Film, wollte ich schon lange haben. Bin sehr zufrieden.

Very good