Time After Time (1979)

★ 6.8 1h 52m IMDb

Comedy Drama Thriller Sci-Fi Adventure

Writer H. G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to modern day San Francisco after the infamous serial killer steals his time machine to escape the 19th century.

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Cast

Malcolm McDowell as H. G. Wells Age 82 · Horsforth, Yorkshire, England, UK Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years. McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films Caligula, If...., O Lucky Man! and A Clockwork Oran...

David Warner as Jack the Ripper - John Leslie Stevenson Died 2022 · Manchester, England, UK David Hattersley Warner (July 29, 1941 – July 24, 2022) was an English actor. Born in Manchester, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on...

Mary Steenburgen as Amy Robbins Age 73 · Newport, Arkansas, USA Mary Nell Steenburgen (born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acti...

Charles Cioffi as Lt. Mitchell Age 90 · New York City, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Charles M. Cioffi (born October 31, 1935) is an American film and television actor best known as Lt. Matt Reardon in Get Christie Love! opposite co-star Teresa...

Kent Williams as Assistant Age 75 · Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Kent Williams is an American actor. Williams was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York. He studied music and theatre at the State University of New York at Oswego, where he graduated in the class of 19...

Director Nicholas Meyer

Cast Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen, Charles Cioffi, Kent Williams, Andonia Katsaros, Patti D'Arbanville, James Garrett, Keith McConnell, Leo Lewis

John Chard 8.5/10 Jun 04, 2014

Ninety years ago I was a freak. Today I’m an amateur.

Time After Time is directed by Nicholas Meyer who also adapts the screenplay from a story written by Karl Alexander and Steve Hayes. It stars Malcolm McDowell, David Warner and Mary Steenburgen. Music is by Miklos Rozsa and cinematography is by Paul Lohmann.

How delightful, a wonderful idea is given an equally wonderful presentation. The makers have come up with the idea of pitching Jack the Ripper against H.G. Wells, in the present day of 1979. This after the Ripper (Warner) used Wells’ (McDowell) time machine to escape the Whitechapel police back in 1891, thus forcing Wells to track the infamous killer to San Francisco in the future.

There have been so many fish-out-of-water based movies over the years, it’s so refreshing to find one that has a genuinely original premise to work from. In the Ripper’s case he sees all the violence around the streets of San Fran and believes it’s his calling to be in this company. On the flip-side, Wells is perturbed to find that this is not the Utopia he had envisaged, but yet the science lover in him is fascinated by what he finds. Helps, too, that he has caught the attention of a very horny Amy Robbins (Steenburgen), who is equally fascinated by his genteel mannerisms.

Naturally the fun has to stop at some point to let the suspense and darker aspects of the story come to the surface. Meyer gets the blend right, dropping in little snippets of evil as Jolly Jack, resplendent with waistcoat and money belt, goes about his bloody business, and then switching to the Wells/Amy axis as they try to build a relationship whilst trying to convince the authorities that a nutter is very much in their midst. It builds nicely, ramping up the tension considerably, and there’s always the pertinent question hanging in the air of if there is any hope for H.G. and Amy?

Such is the rich characterisations and quality of story telling, we most assuredly care about the outcome to this splendid piece of time travelling cake. 8.5/10