Top ten time travel movies.
Movies I love, and still stop and watch as I surf. Movies that captured my imagination and allowed me to have those endless thoughts concerning 'what if I could go back?'
Most won't agree with my choices and some great films didn't make it to the top ten list.
Honorable mentions include: The Butterfly Effect, Timecop, Bill and Ted (both), Groundhog Day, A Christmas Carol, Primer, Philadelphia Experiment, Star Trek: The Voyage Home, Hot Tub Time Machine.
Most won't agree with my choices and some great films didn't make it to the top ten list.
Honorable mentions include: The Butterfly Effect, Timecop, Bill and Ted (both), Groundhog Day, A Christmas Carol, Primer, Philadelphia Experiment, Star Trek: The Voyage Home, Hot Tub Time Machine.
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10 titles
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette MimieuxA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society."Which five books would you take?"
The reason I fell in love with time travel in the first place. The effects by today's standards are cheesy and dated but the H.G. Wells adaptation is a wonderful ride from the age of Victoria to a time where Morlocks and Eloi share an Earth disconnected from anything we may recognize. Rod Taylor carries the lead with humility and no little amount of heroic daring. - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.“Wait a minute, Doc. Ah… Are you telling me that you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?”
If you remember the 80s, this, along with the Indiana Jones films, set the standard for fabulous popcorn entertainment. Fox and Lloyd were simply fantastic together; the plot is as uncomplicated as time-travel can be without being condescending, which is why it appeals to so many 25 years later. - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet."Oh, wouldn't it be great if I *was* crazy? Then the world would be okay."
A crazy mixed up mess of a movie with a sublimely clever plot detailed around two wonderful performances by Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Terry Gilliam's masterpiece requires some level of concentration and no little imagination. The result is a time-travel classic! - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved."Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed."
Often not remembered as a time-travel movie which is very curious. This 1960s classic is carried brilliantly by Charlton Heston. The message may have evolved out of the civil-rights movement but the finished article is a marvel. The final scene is as iconic as many of famous lines that are littered throughout the movie. - DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesBrent SpinerThe Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed."Brave words. I've heard them before, from thousands of species across thousands of worlds, since long before you were created. But, now they are all Borg."
For me, this is the best of all the Trek movies. It helps when you have, arguably, the best sci-fi bad guys of all time, The Borg. The plot is simple to follow and we get a glimpse into that world where the Federation was born, answering many of the questions Trek fans had, had for decades. Most non-Trekkies I know love this just because it is a great movie; you really don't have to like Star Trek to enjoy this. - DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsChris PineZachary QuintoSimon PeggThe brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time."One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. Solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait till you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence"
A much needed reboot for the Trek franchise and very nearly the best movie of them all. Like First Contact, you don't have to be a Trekkie to like this flick. It is fresh, fast paced and brilliantly energetic. We get to see Kirk, Spock and the crew in a new light and a new reality. I look forward to the reboot sequel with great anticipation. - DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg."The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too."
Should be on every time-travel list. The effects were ground breaking and I still remember looking in pure wonder at the liquefying metallic bad guy. Schwarzeneggar was as good as he can possibly be in the role he was born to play. The ending is somewhat cheesy and I wish it didn't end that way. A classic smash-em up action movie with end of the world consequences. - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonAfter visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip."Unbelievable, that old Biff could have chosen that particular date. It could mean that that point in time inherently contains some sort of cosmic significance. Almost as if it were the temporal junction point for the entire space-time continuum. On the other hand, it could just be an amazing coincidence."
The plot is more complex and the action refuses to die. The story moves forward in time with familiar settings and unforeseen consequences. Fox and Lloyd once again are tremendous and while I had an issue with too much multiple role playing by Fox, the story leaves us begging for more. I always think this is one of the best sequels of any franchise. I know many who like this more than the first; oh, and who else hasn't thought about being able to take advantage off knowing sports scores 50 years ahead. - DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true."Fifty years ago, for five minutes you came within... y-you came this close. It would KILL some men to get so close to their dream and not touch it. God, they'd consider it a tragedy."
Like Planet of the Apes, this movie is not usually thought of initially as a time travel classic, but it is. On a personal note I cannot watch the last scene without shedding a tear. Which son has not wanted to play catch one more time with his father. In the end it is another feel good movie, but along the way we see some acting gems from Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones. This movie always made me want to own a corn field, just so I could plow it under. - DirectorTony ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonPaula PattonJim CaviezelAfter a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims."What if you had to tell someone the most important thing in the world, but you knew they'd never believe you?"
I must admit that I love Denzel as an actor, but I do find this move ingratiating. I have watched it many times and don't grow tired of it. The plot I find to be clever if unlikely and the visuals highlight the New Orleans setting. Should we fix something horrible in the future if we know it is going to happen?