The most identifiable and beloved time travel movies of, well, all time.
Compiled here is a list of neither serious nor awful time travel movies. You will no doubt notice omissions, as I expect a certain amount of discourse from any ‘top films’ list. Keep in mind that this is the one of a series of Paradox Posts, by which I mean the best time travel movies for different reasons, and that other films, although they may feature time travel, fit better into different categories. Follow @flimgeeks on Twitter for more discussion.
Also see: Movies: Time Travel, Seriously.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Premise: Astronauts Taylor, Landon, Stewart, and Dodge are in deep hibernation when their spaceship crash-lands in a lake on an unknown planet in 3978 after a 2006-year voyage at near-light speed (during which the crew ages only 18 months due to time dilation).
Method of Travel: NASA.
Pros: One of the single greatest shots in all of cinema; Heston defeated and on his knees, screaming at the remains of the Statue of Liberty as he realizes the truth. Roddy McDowall is amazing throughout the entire series, as well as groundbreaking make-up effects that astounded the industry.
“Oh my god, I was wrong, it was Earth all along, you’ve finally made a monkey out of me. I love you Dr. Zaius.” – Troy McClure
Cons: To the newcomer or untrained, the experimental soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith can be off-putting, and returning to the pacing & production value of early sci-fi (ie pre-Star Wars) takes some getting used to. Ended up spawning one of the most terrible television shows.
Warning: If you don’t like Heston cheese, never watch this flick. Ever.
Final Countdown (1980)
Premise: The USS Nimitz encounters a strange storm-like vortex which disappears after the ship passes through it. They find all normal communication with shore has been cut off except for World War II broadcasts and a very old Jack Benny radio skit.
Method of Travel: Aircraft carrier and inclement weather.
Pros: Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen in a military time travel movie.
Cons: Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen in a military time travel movie.
The Terminator (1984)
Premise: In a post-apocalyptic 2029, artificially intelligent machines seek to exterminate what is left of the human race. Two beings from this era are transported back in time to 1984 Los Angeles: One is a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a cyborg assassin programmed to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). The other is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a human Resistance fighter sent to protect her.
Method of Travel: Naked people in a ball of electricity.
Pros: Launched an immensely successful franchise of sequels, video games, and one of my favourite TV shows of recent years, as well as two of the most quoted catchphrases in the past 30 years of cinema: “I’ll be back” and “Hasta La Vista, baby.” Should that be a con? Perhaps. In 2008, The Terminator was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s famous first line “I’ll be back” was originally scripted as “I’ll come back.”
Cons: Much of the best material may have been ‘borrowed’ from the works of Harlan Ellison on Outer Limits and Philip K Dick’s Second Variety. I find the original evil machines a little dated, and to be honest, nostalgia contributes to my endearment to this flick.
Back to the Future (1985)
Premise: Marty McFly jumps into his crazy mad scientist friend’s car, and is pursued by the Libyans until he accidentally triggers the experiment and is inadvertently transported back in time to 1955.
Method of travel: Modified Delorean DMC-12 @88MPH using 1.21 GigaWatts of power.
Pros: The flux capacitor is the greatest invention mankind has ever seen: “It’s what makes time travel possible.”
Cons: Huey Lewis and the News were the Dave Matthews Band of the 80s.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Premise: Rufus travels back to 1988 to make sure that Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) remain together as the band “Wyld Stallyns”, as their music is the core of the future’s Utopian society. To do so, the pair must travel throughout history and gather historical heroes for their high school project.
Method of Travel: Phone Booth. Originally, the time machine was to be a 1969 Chevrolet van, but the idea was nixed as being too close in concept to the De Lorean used in the Back to the Future trilogy.
Pros: “San Dimas High School football rules!”
Cons: For better or worse, this brought Keanu Reeves into the public eye.
Army of Darkness (1992)
Premise: After a brief flashback to Evil Dead II, which explains the Necronomicon and how Ash got to where he is, Ash lands in Medieval England. The title screen says it all Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness.
Pros: “Groovy.” Bruce motherfucking Campbell. Sam Raimi at his schlock horror best, creating an instant cult classic.
“Alright you primitive screw-heads, listen up. This… is my BOOM-stick” – Ash Williams
Cons: Trying to figure out which DVD version is ‘the good one,’ and waiting for the ‘necronomicon’ limited edition that will probably never materialize.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Premise: The year is 1967. Dentally-challenged British gentleman spy Austin Powers and his nemesis Dr. Evil have faced each other many times during the decade. As Dr. Evil’s henchmen have failed to dispose of Powers, he makes his own assassination attempt at a nightclub in London, England. Powers foils the attempt and Dr. Evil escapes in a space rocket disguised as a Bob’s Big Boy statue, where he places himself in a cryogenic freezing chamber to return sometime in the future. In return, Powers volunteers to have himself placed in cryostasis in case his services are needed in the future.
Method of Travel: Cryogenic freezing and, later, a Volkswagen.
Pros: Better than the overkill it received, arguably Jay Roach and Mike Myers best work.
Cons: You’ve already heard each and every punchline a million times.
Honourable Mentions:
Twilight Zone (episodes)
Time Machine (just for the book)
Simpsons Treehouse of Horror
Coming Soon: Worst Time Travel movies
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