Stars:
Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, and Mary Steenburgen
Writer:
Nicholas Meyer
Based
On A Story By: Karl Alexander and Steve Hayes
Director:
Nicholas Meyer
Feature
length: 112 minutes
Extras:
Feature Length Audio Commentary With Writer And Director Nicholas Meyer and Star
Malcolm McDowell, It’s About Time Essay, Theatrical Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Surround 2.0 and French Language Monaural
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French, Spanish, and Portuguese
Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Snap Case
Chapter
Stops: 36
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1979/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Warner Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“Time
After Time” was a surprise box office hit in the late 1970s before VCRs were
in every American home and photo novels for films like “Invasion Of The Body
Snatchers” and “Time After Time” were as close as the average middleclass
person could get to reliving the movie at home while it was still in the
theater. I remember seeing the photo novel for both of those films and more and
I actually still have one for “Alien.” Well “Time After Time” is one of
those movies that just worked right with a sublime mixture of sci-fi, thriller,
romance, and comedy. The premise has H.G. Wells traveling from 1893 London to
1979 San Francisco in search of “Jack The Ripper,” who he believes has been
set loose upon what he thinks would be a utopia and finds the 20th
Century to be anything but. The screenplay is well written and the screen
direction are excellent while McDowell and Warner are on target in their
respective roles and Mary Steenburgen is perhaps one of the quirkiest female
leads to ever appear in sci-fi thriller. Interestingly she would appear in
another “Time Travel” fantasy opposite Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd
about ten years later entitled “Back To The Future: Part III.” About the
only aspect of the film that has really suffered from the passage of time are
the optical special effects.
Warner
Home Video’s DVD edition features an amazing looking anamorphic widescreen
(2.35:1) transfer. Sure it is not picture perfect. Very few film transfers ever
are, but considering that this is a low budget film from the late 1970s, I think
“Time After Time” looks terrific! The clear English Dolby Surround
Soundtrack and a French Language Monaural Soundtrack as well as English Captions
and Closed Captions and French, Spanish, and Portuguese Language Subtitles are
encoded on to the DVD as options.
The
gem of the extra features is the feature length audio commentary track with
Writer and Director Nicholas Meyer and Actor Malcolm McDowell. Among the many
interesting tidbits I gathered from the commentary soundtrack was that this was
McDowell’s first American film. Prior to that he had not been to Hollywood and
he had gotten the screenplay just as he was coming off of “Caligula.” He and
Actress Mary Steenburgen actually developed a real romantic relationship off
screen and McDowell speaks very fondly about her while Meyer is screen specific
and articulate. This is without a doubt an excellent commentary track that is
worth the purchase of the DVD alone.
Other
extra features on the DVD include an essay that one reads on screen that covers
the history of “Time Travel” in genre films, a cast and crew list, and
trailers for “Time After Time,” “The Time Machine (1960),” and “The
Time Machine (2002).” The menus are standard interactive still frames with
Miklos Rozsa’s grand score he composed for the film in the background and the
menus are easy to navigate.
I
have to say that I really enjoyed watching this film and for a standard release
of a catalogue title, “Time After Time” is one of the best I’ve seen this
year. I cannot stress enough how refreshing it is hear an articulate audio
commentary that is truly a combination of two seasoned genre film veterans
speaking collectively about the film that is both educational and entertaining.
Meyer would go on to direct “Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn” and “Star
Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” as well as contributed to the script on
“Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” which actually repeated a few of the fish
out of water gags seen in the first hour of “Time After Time.”
“Time
After Time” will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 from Warner
home Video and for the MSRP of $19.98, which means the sales prices are far
lower at retailers on and off line and makes buying this DVD easy to recommend.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.