Somewhere in Time

Rating:
Summary: It's about time
Review: It may not be one of the best films ever made, but I love it anyway. The scenery and costumes are beautiful...not to mention the beautiful Jane Seymour & Christopher Reeve. But what's fascinating about the movie is element of time travel. It's not that Richard (Christopher Reeves) falls in love with the woman in the picture (Jane Seymour); rather, the picture stirs a remembrance within him. Not realizing what it is at first, Richard seeks answers through research which eventually leads him to the belief that...he was there. Thus the obsession with time travel and the quest to return.

Watch for the details and the glimpses of things in the present and see the connection when he's in the past. For instance, watch his relationship with Arthur.

There are all kinds of details that I appreciate about the movie. Notice the view from Miss McKenna's room at the beginning of the movie and compare that with the view from Mr. Collier's room at the end. Notice the use of camera angle, lighting and furniture (namely the fabric) to transition Richard from the present to the past.

Probably the most disappointing thing about the movie is the ending. But as a hopeless romantic, it's none-the-less a favorite movie.

Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Movie
Review: Somewhere in Time is one of the most poignant and unforgettable stories ever. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour tear your heart out - and put it back together. The setting, Mackinac Island, transports you back in time and provides a remarkable, drop-dead gorgeous backdrop for a well-written, well-directed love story. You will love to hate the ending but you will always love the movie.

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Summary: Somewhere... is a wonderful combination of sound and scenery
Review: Somehwere in Time is one of those movies where I went directly to the Record Store (yes records!) after the movie to relive the sweetness of John Barry's moving soundtack. I still get a lump in my throat when I hear Rachmaninov. Perhaps the real reason I enjoy this movie is the hope the final scene brings! Watch it with someone special and enjoy the beauty of a wonderful story and the timeless notion of one true love!

Rating:
Summary: For Hopeless Romantics
Review: One of my all time favorites, a wonderfully played "what if" senario of love passing through the gates of time. With the combination of a beautifully scored film, and great casting, this movie is a must for those wanting to mindlessly drift away into a time long past.

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Summary: My Favorite Romantic Film of All-Time
Review: There are few romantic films that just melt my heart, but this is one. It just feels so innocent and sweet throughout that there is no choice but to fall in love with it. The story is never contrived.

It is the tale of a young man (Reeve) who is visited by an elderly woman who tells him to "come back" to her. What follows is a wonderful, almost fairy-tale romance at a beautiful hotel (the Grand Hotel on Macinaw Island in MI, a truly awe inspiring location).

I won't ruin it, but it has a great suprise ending, and I have yet to find a single person who does not cry for the last fifteen minutes of the film. So brings some tissues. See this film!

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Romance Ever
Review: I will forever love this film. Within minutes of watching I fell in love with the characters. The soundtrack is amazing also. I own the movie and the score, and I will enjoy watching with my daughter years from now, her name is Makenna. If you love Romance,you cannot miss this one!

Rating:
Summary: one of my top favourites
Review: I loved this movie, my whole family does. There were some plot holes in the movie, but it IS a movie... The sound track was excellent, John Barry (Composer) did a wonderful job. I had pieces of the soundtrack performed at our wedding. Christopher Reeve's looks great and so does Jane Seymour - her costumes are unbelievable.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Romantics !
Review: Love at first sight ... although the title of the movie and the book that it is based on, "Bid Time Return", both infer "time" as the keyword, I think this story embodies the ideal of "Love at first sight". "Come back to me", an old lady softly entreats of Richard Collier on the opening night of his successful play and walks away in an air of mystery. Some years later, Richard now a successful playwright, checks in to an old but majestic hotel, seeking writer's inspiration. He visits the hotel's museum and there he lays eyes on Elise Mckenna for the first time - a hauntingly beautiful portrait in honour of the famous stage actress of that era ... 1912 to be exact.

Inexplicably drawn, he looks up information on Elise and stumbles upon a photo of her in later years - it is the mysterious old lady who came to him many years ago ! Increasingly intrigued, he explores the possibility of time travel. After numerous and seemingly doomed attempts (boosted when he finds the hotel check-in register for 1912 and his name is listed!), he is finally rewarded for his persistence and belief when he wakes up to 1912 in all its grandeur.

The scene by the lake where they meet for the first time seems to halt time momentarily as Elise Mckenna (Jane Seymour in such exquisite, almost ethereal, and classic beauty) stands transfixed and Richard approaches her slowly, the look of wonder in his eyes. And then there is the scene where they returned from the getting-to-know-you afternoon walk back to Elise's room and you could feel the unspoken attraction and emotion between them. How shy and hesitant she was and how gentle he was as he drew her close to kiss her for the first time ... so tender a kiss that gave way to passion, only to be rudely interrupted by her manager. In the scene where they were photographing Elise in between acts in her play, the photographer was trying to create the desired 'look' or smile. When Richard came over, you could see the instant change on her face ... the radiance and rapture that could only emanate from a woman deeply and joyously in love. And to cap it all, in the 'morning after', as they sat on the floor face-to-face engaged in carefree banter, you could see that they were all the more in love with each other and you could really feel their joy in just being together. However, fate was to hand them a cruel blow and you'll have to watch the movie to find out just how cruel.

The score is hauntingly beautiful, especially Rachmaninoff's "Paganini Rhapsody" and the title theme score - they augment the romantic aura that surrounded the whole story and tugged at your "hopeless romantic" heart string. And Jane Seymour ... she was perfect in this role, her classic beauty lent that aura of etherealness that so captivated Richard. Yet Elise was not only all looks ... she was the embodiment of femininity, she was demure and coy, yet she possessed a willful "fire" in her (as demonstrated when she confronted her manager), a zest for life and a determination driven by her love. Christopher Reeves was believable and somewhat lovable in the role of the charming, witty, persistent, totally infatuated and, in the final scenes, tortured Richard; although i must say he was not as capable of the wide range of expressions and emotions portrayed by Jane Seymour.

There are factual movies and then there are movies like this one ... plain corny and yet it inexplicably draws you to the story, so that you are swept up by the wonder. The very notion of love at first sight left me with a dreamy smile and that of one man pursuing his love relentlessly and one woman waiting for her love to come back to her until her death renewed my faith in love. Although it is based on the premise of time travel, it doesn't try to delve too much into the technicalities, of which it most certainly could not handle. Pragmatic people without a fiber of romance will dismiss this movie as "fluff". However, for hopeless romantic fools like myself, this is an all-time classic !

Rating:
Summary: Excess Within Control...
Review: I remember seeing this movie 20 years ago this summer when I was living in Los Angeles and being so taken by it that I sat through it three more times that night. The soundtrack haunted me and like Richard Collier in the movie after he discovers Elise McKenna's picture in the Hall of History, I could not sleep. Before the movie left circulation, I'll bet I saw it 30 times. Everything about this small film grabbed and held me. There was the unforgettable story of a love so strong that it transcended time and place, there was the beautiful setting and there was the evocative and haunting score by John Barry. Finally, there was my favorite piece of classical music; Variation 18 of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which is probably one of the most romantic pieces of piano music written in modern times.

This is a magical movie and one that was maligned by critics at the time of its release. Because it was fantasy and because the requirement to suspend disbelief was so demanding, it was dismissed as a four hankie tearjerker. It wasn't for me and I was a 26 year old single guy hoping that I would experience a love so complete and so fulfilling. This movie proved beyond a doubt that such love is possible and that everyone should seek it and hopefully, find it.

This movie was made on a small budget and yet, it was produced and directed in the grand tradition of the old Hollywood. Quality was paramount and they included great costumes and a wonderful locale to enhance the mood of the film. Lighting, music, soft shading all were used to give the viewer the sense that this was something to be remembered.

Very few people saw this movie in 1980; it was discovered and developed its following on cable and on video. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen it when new on the large screen. Every penny I paid for admission and all of the hours I sat hunkered in my seat marveling at Jane Seymour's beauty were aspects of the movie that only make me love it more.

There are so many treats to this movie that one doesn't know where to begin. Of all the movies ever made though, it is one of only two that has a fan club dedicated to its preservation and enjoyment. The fan club, which is known as INSITE (for International Network of Somewhere In Time Enthusiasts) publishes an extremely high quality quarterly journal and holds several events during the year to commemorate the members' love for the movie and its cast. The editor of the journal, Jo Addie, even appeared as an extra in the movie and has written eloquently and lovingly of her time as a member of the cast family. Through her articles, other members have come to know more about Jane and Christopher and Elise and Richard and her words have added immeasurably more to our enjoyment.

This is a very special movie and others have said that. It is not a perfect movie, but then, none are. I am not here to discuss its flaws because whatever they might be, I choose to overlook them. This movie grabbed me like few others ever have. I doubt many to come ever will again. Somewhere In Time is a timeless story because men and women will continue to fall in love long after all of us here now are gone. In 500 years, if someone opens a vault and finds a DVD copy of this movie, they will surely know what it was like to find a love so all encompassing, so true that one would willingly give up life in the present to find love in the past.

Some would say that Richard Collier became obsessed with a portrait and perhaps they would be right. But that doesn't explain the obsession of thousands of fans here and around the world who have adopted this movie and given it a special place in their hearts. It is a credit to the writer Richard Matheson, who adapted his novel BID TIME RETURN so well that 20 years later, members of INSITE would launch a campaign to re-release Somewhere In Time. It is a credit to Reeve and Seymour that they made their characters so alive that INSITE members portray them at the annual Somewhere In Time weekend held at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island each Fall.

Some have called this the ultimate Chick Flick. Well, I'm here to say it's not. This is the kind of movie that a man, if he is unafraid to admit it, could sit down alone with and understand that a relationship, even of short duration could be so all consuming as to replace the need for anything else. All throughout this movie, whenever Reeve and Seymour look at each other, there is a chemistry and magic that we don't see in the movies made today. That magic grows stronger with every viewing for me and I'll bet for all lovers of this film and its poignant story.

Lest you think it's nothing more than romance, this movie also has some very humorous scenes that creep up on the viewer. There are very cute scenes where Richard Collier (Reeve) practices what he will say when he meets Elise McKenna. There is the scene by the lake where Richard and Elise first meet and they are both somewhat taken aback before she says, "Is it you...?" Then, there is the scene where Elise McKenna changes the lines she is to say in the play being shown at the hotel's theater. She stares dreamily off into the audience and says, "the man of my dreams has almost faded now..." Her soliloquy is probably one of the most well written speeches ever delivered by a cinematic character. It is another reason so many fans love this movie because it is Elise McKenna's confession, her public soul-baring that she has found the man of her dreams and finally recognized him. From the moment Elise finishes her monologue, the viewer knows that Richard and Elise were meant to be together and nothing will ever keep them apart. Not distance, not place, not time. They will be together, always.

There is magic and music and a simple wonder to this movie and its timeless story. But you know what, don't take my word for it. Rent it or buy it and find out why it is one of Universal's best sellers in video. It was made 20 years ago and yet, new fans continue to find it. See it, open your heart to it and discover yourself why so many people around the world call it their favorite movie of all time.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie Of All Time
Review: I remember sitting in a theatre in 1980 crying my heart out watching this movie. For days afterward, my romantic little teenage heart would live and relive the love and magic between Richard and Elise. I wondered if I would have the same reaction years later when I bought the video and I'd grown a bit more cynical with age. If it was possible, I cried even harder! This movie is a lovely, lovely one. The love scenes are tender and wonderful. Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve act this movie beautifully. They convey more passion and love with their eyes and brief kisses and words and looks than any other film I've seen. I promised myself that unless I could love someone like Elise loved Richard, that love was not worth it. This story will haunt you for years to come, and you will find yourself "coming back to it" time after time. True romantics, this is your movie. I highly recommend the soundtrack as well, for those romantic moments with the love of your life.