Somewhere in Time

1980 "Someday in the past he will find her..."
7.2| 1h43m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 03 October 1980 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://www.somewhereintime.tv/
Info

Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early 1900s. Becoming more and more obsessed with her, by self-hypnosis he manages to travel back in time—where he meets her.

Watch Online

Somewhere in Time (1980) is now streaming with subscription on Freevee

Director

Jeannot Szwarc

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Somewhere in Time Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

Somewhere in Time Audience Reviews

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
iamfahimhassan I will rate this movie 10. I don't watch romantic movie much, I started watching this one hoping to watch some time-travelling but as it turned out, it's more of a complex romantic film than a Sci-Fi one. It's the best romantic film I have ever seen! Definitely a must watch if you like combination of Sci-Fi and romance.
Ross622 Jeannot Szwarc's "Somewhere in Time" is a well made movie with a very extensive amount of flaws and though it isn't one of the best film romances I've ever seen it is definitely very creative and truly original. Christopher Reeve stars as Richard Collier a Chicago playwright who in the beginning of the movie meets an old woman named Elise McKenna (Susan French) in 1972 while he is still in college and she gives him her watch and says the words "Come back to me" and Collier wonders what she means by that for years even after her death. Now the movie is set in 1979 and Collier is working on a play and he is touring a museum and finds an old picture frame on the wall but it doesn't have a name plate on it. So he goes to this old man named Arthur (Bill Erwin) who works at the hotel and he tells Collier that the woman in the picture is Elise McKenna, and he then tries to get as much information about her as he possibly can from reading books, and even going to her house to ask her maid named Laura Roberts (Teresa Wright) and she tells him things about her such as what she was like and all that sort of stuff, and then he goes to his old philosophy professor and asks him about the possibilities of time travel and is told that he has to do self hypnosis. After that he is back in 1912 and sees the younger version of Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) and introduces himself to her and they fall in love with each other but not without dealing with her paranoid manager named William Fawcett Robinson (Christopher Plummer) who is totally in love with McKenna and is thinking that Collier would ruin her career as an actress. Everything beyond this point I will not spoil because I feel that the plot elements afterword are too crucial to the story to spoil. The film is based on Richard Matheson's novel "Bid Time Return" and to compare this to other Matheson adaptations that I've seen such as "The Last Man on Earth" and "I Am Legend" as well as great dramatic romantic tales such as "Out of Africa", "Pride and Prejudice" as well as many others this one is a disappointment, the performances aren't very convincing ( with the exceptions of Reeve, Seymour, and Wright who are very good) especially by Christopher Plummer who is usually a very good actor but he sounds very robotic here, also the dialogue in the scenes before the time travel and with Collier and the younger McKenna, is very bland, wooden, and totally boring. This isn't a bad movie or a good movie but a decent one, and it isn't one of the best films of 1980, and to be honest it is a silly movie in the beginning and also is overrated film.
disinterested_spectator In just about any time travel movie you have ever seen, science and technology are involved somehow. Never mind exactly what that scientific explanation is for time travel or what the technological gadget is that makes it possible, because it's all a bunch of hooey anyway. We go along with it not because we believe for one second that such a thing is possible, but because we are willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story. So we know we are in for a different kind of time travel movie when the man that advises Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) about traveling through time is a philosophy professor.According to the philosophy professor, if you want to go back in time, you have to think really hard about the period of time to which you wish to go, while making sure there is nothing in the room that will remind you of the present, such as a recently minted coin. In particular, if Collier wants to go back to August, 1912, he must think August, 1912. It reminded me of Professor Harold Hill in "The Music Man" (1962) telling the students who just got their new musical instruments that they don't need to learn how to read music or the technique of playing the instruments they now own. They just need to "Think the Minuet."Collier wants to go back to 1912 because that is when a woman lived with whom he fell in love while looking at her picture. Now, if you can't find a woman to fall in love with in the time period in which you exist, you have problems that a time machine can't solve. But that aside, it all started when that woman, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), now very old, gave him a watch and said, "Come back to me," and then walked away. Why she didn't stick around and tell him to read the professor's book on time travel and to "think 1912," we do not know. And what is going on between them in general, we do not know. Of course, there is some kind of meant-for-each-other destiny involved, maybe with a little reincarnation thrown in, but it's hard to tell, because the movie never makes that clear.I know what it is like to be in love, but if I managed to travel back in time just by thinking about it, I would not be able to contain myself. I would have to sit in a chair and contemplate the implications of something I had heretofore thought impossible. Love would just have to wait. On the other hand, if I did catch up with the woman in question, I would have to blurt out, "I fell in love with your picture, so I came back from the future to be with you. If you don't believe me, just take a look at this penny. Oops!"Finally, because Collier fell asleep while he was thinking 1912, we are never sure whether he just dreamed it or not. In fact, at the end of the movie, he seems to be in a catatonic trance. So, maybe what we just watched was the hallucination of a loony. In fact, that really is the only way to make any sense out of this movie.
oOoBarracuda Closing in on another genre month, and looking for a good romance, I settled in for Somewhere in Time. I had also never seen Christopher Reeve in a film before, so I figured I was long overdue. Although this does fit into my time travel category this month, Somewhere in Time is unashamedly a romantic movie, tugging at the heartstrings and never letting go. Director Jeannot Szwarc weaves together a beautiful story of love at first sight, and just what one man will go through to be with the one he loves.We meet the first half of our story's romantic pair, Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve), in a playhouse just after a performance has finished. The strapping man is a young writer, who has just watched a play he has written close and is celebrating with the cast. Suddenly, an elderly woman approaches Richard begging him "come back to me". Richard has no idea who the woman is, and has no recollection of ever seeing her before. Perplexed, Richard emerges on a quest to find out the identity of this mystery woman. Eventually, Richard's journey leads him to uncovering that the woman is a famous actress from the early 1900's. When Richard first sees a portrait of the actress, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), he is instantly smitten, and willing to go to any lengths to see her again. Remembering his philosophy classes in college, and his professors propensity toward believing time not to be a linear construct, Richard visits him to gain insight on the possibility of time traveling to be with Elise. The professor, Dr. Gerald Finney (George Voskovec), explains to Richard that his brand of time travel occurs through deep self- hypnosis, and one can be brought out of the hypnosis, and subsequently the time period they've traveled to by thoughts alone. Dr. Finney warns that even the smallest reminder that one is from a different time can bring them out of the hypnosis. Richard is committed to meeting his love, and devotes himself to a study of early 1900's history, exchanges his currency, and buys clothes that fit into the time period, in hopes of meeting his great love and leaving himself in 1910. When he believes to be fully prepared, Richard puts himself under the self-hypnosis, and successfully travels to 1910, the time in which Elise was active in theatre. Although he initially has struggles meeting the beauty, due to her overprotective manager/colleague William Fawcett Robinson (Christopher Plummer), Richards's persistence eventually pays off and he makes friends with Elise, eventually winning her heart. Things look promising for our lovers until Richard is suddenly brought out of his self-hypnosis and lands back in his modern day apartment. Devastated, Richard is willing to do anything to go back to Elise's time, but can he? Can their love survive their difference in era?I was pleasantly surprised by the acting in this romance. Not typically a fan of overly romantic story lines, I was pleased with Somewhere in Time. Christopher Reeve was thoroughly convincing as a love-struck playwright. Jane Seymour played the classy, regal, actress with ease. The chemistry between the two made for a convincing story line, and was also endearing to watch. Christopher Reeve's dialogue was the best of the movie. He was funny and acutely aware of his being out of place in 1910 in a charming way for the audience to enjoy. The score was a fantastic testimony to the love story unfolding before our eyes. The costumes in the film and the production design were gorgeous, living art that engulfed the actors on screen. The camera work, with the soft fuzzy look to the shots fit in perfectly for the deepening romance between the actors. Somewhere in Time was beautifully done and a pure joy for the audience.There is a certain sentiment to this film that "love will conquer all"; if you love someone enough the differences you have, no matter how insurmountable they seem, will be overcome by passion. Though that does come out in the film, the message I felt more clearly was that if you find love, you should do anything to experience it to the fullest possible extent. Believe in the power of the emotion of love, value it, and chase it. No matter how unexpectedly one comes across the flame of love, you should do whatever you can to not let it extinguish. A powerful message, Somewhere in Time does much to convey the power of love, and just what measures should be done to protect it.I would certainly recommend this film to any fans of deeply romantic films. I would also recommend this film to those who enjoy period pieces, as the majority of this film takes place in the early 1900's with beautiful believability. It must also be said that any fans of Christopher Reeve's must see this film, for his acting comes off so endearing it should not be missed. A beautiful romance perfect for a single or coupled person alike, Somewhere in Time is one for the ages.