Editing Time After Time (1979 film)

{{Short description|1979 film by Nicholas Meyer}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Time After Time
| image          = TimeAfterTime79.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Promotional poster
| director       = [[Nicholas Meyer]]
| producer       = [[Herb Jaffe]]
| screenplay     = Nicholas Meyer
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[Time After Time (Alexander novel)|Time After Time]]''<br>1979 novel|[[Karl Alexander (writer)|Karl Alexander]]}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=57115 |title=Detail view of Movies Page |publisher=Afi.com |access-date=2016-05-13}}</ref>
| story          = Steve Hayes
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Malcolm McDowell]]|[[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]]|[[Mary Steenburgen]]}}
| music          = [[Miklós Rózsa]]
| cinematography = [[Paul Lohmann]]
| editing        = [[Donn Cambern]]
| studio         = [[Orion Pictures]]
| distributor    = [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]]
| released       = {{film date|1979|9|7|[[1979 Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]<ref name=open/>|1979|9|28|United States}}
| runtime        = 112 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $13 million<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Time-After-Time#tab=summary |title=Time After Time (1979) | publisher=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] | access-date=December 3, 2016}}</ref>
}}
'''''Time After Time''''' is a 1979 American [[science fiction film]] written and directed by [[Nicholas Meyer]] and starring [[Malcolm McDowell]], [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]], and [[Mary Steenburgen]]. Filmed in [[Panavision]], it was the directing debut of Meyer, whose screenplay is based on the premise from [[Karl Alexander (writer)|Karl Alexander]]'s novel ''[[Time After Time (Alexander novel)|Time After Time]]'' (which was unfinished at the time) and a story by Alexander and Steve Hayes. The film presents a story in which British author [[H. G. Wells]] uses his [[Time travel|time machine]] to pursue [[Jack the Ripper]] into the 20th century.

==Plot==
In 1893 [[London]], popular writer [[H. G. Wells]] displays a [[time travel|time machine]] to his skeptical dinner guests and explains how it works, including having a "non-return key" that keeps the machine at the traveler's destination and a "vaporizing equalizer" that keeps the traveler and machine on equal terms. Police constables suddenly arrive, searching for [[Jack the Ripper]]. A bag with blood-stained gloves belonging to Wells's friend John Leslie Stevenson, a surgeon, leads them to conclude that Stevenson may be the killer. Wells races to his laboratory, but the time machine is gone.

Stevenson escapes to the future, though without the "non-return" key, causing the machine to automatically reappear in 1893. Wells then pursues Stevenson to November 5, 1979, where the machine is now on display at a museum in [[San Francisco]]. Wells finds the future deeply shocking, having expected an enlightened [[Socialism|socialist]] [[utopia]]. Instead, he sees chaos in the form of airplanes, automobiles and a history of global war, crime and bloodshed.

At a bank, Wells exchanges some British bank notes for present-day American currency. Hungry, he enters a [[McDonald's]] and is alternately puzzled and pleased with modern dining options. Reasoning that Stevenson also needs to exchange British money, Wells visits various banks searching for him. At the [[Chartered Bank of London]], he meets employee [[Catherine Wells|Amy Robbins]], who directed Stevenson to the Hyatt Regency hotel. Smitten with Wells, she gives him her card, saying he should “give her a ring”.

Upon being confronted by Wells, Stevenson confesses that he finds modern society pleasingly violent, stating: "Ninety years ago, I was a freak. Today, I'm an amateur." Wells demands he return to 1893 to face justice, but Stevenson instead attempts to wrestle the non-return key from him. Their struggle is interrupted by a maid and Stevenson flees, getting hit by a car during the frantic chase. Wells follows him to the hospital emergency room and is told that Stevenson is dead but is not allowed to view the body.

Wells meets up with Amy again and she initiates a romance. Stevenson returns to the bank to exchange more money. Suspecting that Amy led Wells to him, he frightens her into giving Wells a message and later discovers where she lives. To convince a highly skeptical Amy that he is telling the truth, Wells takes her three days into the future. She is aghast to see a newspaper headline revealing her own murder as the "San Francisco Ripper's" fifth victim.

Wells persuades her that they must go back to prevent the fourth victim's murder, then prevent Amy's. Upon returning, they are delayed and can do no more than phone the police. Stevenson kills again, and Wells is arrested due to his knowledge about the killing. Amy is left alone, totally defenseless against Stevenson.

While Wells unsuccessfully tries to convince the police of Amy's peril, she attempts to hide from Stevenson. When the police finally investigate her apartment, they find a woman's [[dismemberment|dismembered]] body. Believing him innocent, the police release a now-heartbroken Wells. Stevenson actually killed Amy's co-worker, who was the dead body in Amy's apartment. He contacts Wells to state that he has taken Amy hostage and demands the non-return key.

Stevenson flees with the key – and Amy as insurance – intending a permanent escape in the time machine. Wells erratically drives Amy's car and follows them to the museum. While Wells bargains for Amy's life, she escapes. As Stevenson starts up the time machine, Wells removes the "vaporizing equalizer", causing Stevenson to vanish while the machine remains in the present. Stevenson has been sent traveling endlessly through time.

Wells proclaims he must return to his own time and destroy a machine that is too dangerous for primitive mankind. Amy pleads with him to take her along, saying she has no remaining ties in the 20th century. The film finishes with the caption: "H.G. Wells married Amy Catherine Robbins, who died in 1927. As a writer, he anticipated socialism, global war, space travel and women's liberation. He died in 1946."

==Cast==
* [[Malcolm McDowell]] as [[H. G. Wells|Herbert George Wells]]
* [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]] as John Leslie Stevenson/[[Jack the Ripper]]
* [[Mary Steenburgen]] as [[Catherine Wells|Amy Robbins]]
* [[Charles Cioffi]] as Police Lt. Mitchell
* [[Kent Williams (actor)|Kent Williams]] as assistant
* [[Patti D'Arbanville]] as Shirley
* [[Joseph Maher]] as Adams
* [[Corey Feldman]] as Boy at museum

==Production==
According to Meyer from the commentary track for the DVD and Blu-ray release of the film, the author of the novel presented Meyer with 55 pages of his unpublished novel and asked Meyer to critique his work. Meyer liked the premise and immediately optioned the story so he could write a screenplay based on the material and develop the story his own way.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=[[Nicholas Meyer]] |year=2002 | title=''Time After Time'' audio commentary |medium=DVD |publisher=[[Warner Home Video]]}}</ref>

McDowell was attracted to the material because he was looking for something different from the sex and violence in ''[[Caligula (film)|Caligula]]'', in which he played [[Caligula|the title character]].<ref name="MalcolmDVD">{{cite AV media |people=[[Malcolm McDowell]] |year=2002 |title=''Time After Time'' audio commentary |medium=DVD |publisher=Warner Home Video}}</ref>

While preparing to portray Wells, McDowell obtained a copy of a 78 rpm recording of Wells speaking. McDowell was "absolutely horrified" to hear that Wells spoke in a high-pitched, squeaky voice with a pronounced [[East End of London|Southeast London]] accent, which McDowell felt would have resulted in unintentional humor if he tried to mimic it for the film. McDowell abandoned any attempt to recreate Wells's authentic speaking style and preferred a more "dignified" style.<ref name="MalcolmDVD"/>

According to David Warner, the studio wanted [[Mick Jagger]] for the role of John Leslie Stevenson but director Nicholas Meyer and producer Herb Jaffe fought for Warner to get the role.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/david-warner-on-twin-peaks-tron-titanic-time-bandits-1798265384 |title=David Warner on Twin Peaks, Tron, Titanic, Time Bandits, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II |last=Harris |first=Will |date=2017-07-26 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=2017-11-05}}</ref>

It was one of the last films scored by veteran composer [[Miklós Rózsa]], who received the 1979 [[Saturn Award for Best Music]].

''Time After Time'' was filmed throughout San Francisco, including [[Cow Hollow, San Francisco|Cow Hollow]], [[North Beach, San Francisco, California|North Beach]], the [[Hyatt Regency San Francisco|Hyatt Regency]] hotel, [[Westin Bonaventure Hotel]], [[California Academy of Sciences]] in [[Golden Gate Park]], the [[Marina District, San Francisco, California|Marina District]], [[Ghirardelli Square]], [[Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California|Fisherman's Wharf]], the [[Richmond District, San Francisco, California|Richmond District]], the [[Golden Gate Bridge]], [[Grace Cathedral, San Francisco|Grace Cathedral]] on [[Nob Hill, San Francisco, California|Nob Hill]], the [[Embarcadero Center]], [[Chinatown, San Francisco|Chinatown]], the [[Marina Green]], the [[Palace of Fine Arts]], [[Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California|Potrero Hill]], [[John McLaren Park]], and the [[Civic Center, San Francisco, California|Civic Center]].

==Release==
The film premiered with a gala presentation at the [[1979 Toronto International Film Festival|Toronto International Film Festival]] on September 7, 1979.<ref name=open>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 12, 1979|page=7|title=Strong Opening For Toronto Festival|last=Adilman|first=Sid}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
''Time After Time'' received a positive response from critics. On review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 32 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "With the three principal actors clearly having fun with their roles, ''Time After Time'' becomes an amusing, light-hearted fantasy lark."<ref>{{cite web |title=Time After Time |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/time_after_time |website=RottenTomatoes.com |publisher=Fandango Media |access-date=19 May 2023}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' described the film as "a delightful, entertaining trifle of a film that shows both the possibilities and limitations of taking liberties with literature and history. Nicholas Meyer has deftly juxtaposed Victorian England and contemporary America in a clever story, irresistible due to the competence of its cast".<ref>{{cite web |title=Review: 'Time After Time' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=December 31, 1979 |url=https://variety.com/1979/film/reviews/time-after-time-1200424586/ |access-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' similarly lauded, "''Time After Time'' is every bit as magical as the trick around which it revolves". She continued:

{{blockquote|Mr. Meyer isn't a particularly skilled director; this is his first attempt, and on occasion it's very clumsy. But as a whizkid he's gone straight to the head of the class, with a movie that's as sweet as it is clever, and never so clever that it forgets to be entertaining. The satisfactions ''Time After Time'' offers are perhaps no more sophisticated than the fun one might have with an intricate set of electric trains. Still, fun of this sort isn't always easy to come by, not after one's age has climbed up into two digits. There's a lot to be said for an adult's movie with the shimmer of a child's new toy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=September 28, 1979 |title=Screen: H.G. Wells Trails Jack the Ripper into 1979: Down the Years |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E02E7D81638E732A2575BC2A96F9C946890D6CF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702151350/https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E02E7D81638E732A2575BC2A96F9C946890D6CF |archive-date=2 July 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 February 2023}}</ref>}}

The interior scenes set in London borrow heavily from the 1960 film ''[[The Time Machine (1960 film)|The Time Machine]]'', which was based on the 1895 H.G. Wells novella [[The Time Machine|of the same name]]. Commentators also noticed parallels between ''Time After Time'' and ''[[Back to the Future Part III]]'' in which Mary Steenburgen appeared.<ref name="mix979fm">{{cite web|url=http://mix979fm.com/what-ties-these-five-time-travel-movies-together-video/|title=WHAT TIES THESE FIVE TIME-TRAVEL MOVIES TOGETHER? – [VIDEO]|author=Spencer Bennett|website=mix979fm.com|date=2 November 2015|quote=I was noticing the time-traveling ties between ''Time After Time'' (1979) and another movie ''Back to the Future III'' (1990), a film also starring Mary Steenburgen. In ''Time After Time'', she played Amy Robbins, a 20th Century woman who falls in love with a time traveller, H.G. Wells (played by Malcolm McDowell) from the 19th Century.... In ''Back to the Future Part III'' (1990), she played Clara Clayton, a 19th Century woman who falls in love with a time traveller (played by Christopher Lloyd), from the 20th Century.}}</ref> She said:

<blockquote>Actually, I've played the same scene in that film (''Time After Time'') and in (''BTTF'') ''Part III''... I've had a man from a different time period tell me that he's in love with me, but he has to go back to his own time. My response in both cases is, of course, disbelief, and I order them out of my life. Afterwards, I find out I was wrong and that, in fact, the man is indeed from another time, and I go after him (them) to profess my love. It's a pretty strange feeling to find yourself doing the same scene, so many years apart, for the second time in your career.<ref name="steenburgen">{{cite web|url=http://www.backtothefuture.com/cast/mary-steenburgen/bttf3|title=Mary Steenburgen ("Clara Clayton Brown")|website=backtothefuture.com|access-date=2019-02-20|archive-date=2019-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220062831/http://www.backtothefuture.com/cast/mary-steenburgen/bttf3|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>

The casting of Steenburgen for ''Back to the Future Part III'' appears to be deliberately intended to mirror the earlier role.<ref name="rejects">{{cite web|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/10-movies-to-watch-after-you-see-back-to-the-future-part-iii-48cdeba9e793/|title=10 Movies to Watch After You See Back to the Future Part III|author=Christopher Campbell|website=filmschoolrejects.com|date=21 October 2015|quote=Steenburgen was sought to play Clara in part based on her role in this movie where she plays the love interest of another time traveller. Instead of a man from the future who is a fan of a famed 19th century sci-fi and fantasy author, her leading man is from the past and an actual famed 19th century sci-fi and fantasy author, H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell)... he brings Steenburgen’s character back to his own time period, just as Doc does with Clara.}}</ref><ref name="thefilmbox"/> In ''Time After Time'', the woman lives in the 20th century and the time traveler is from the 19th. In ''Back to the Future Part III'', the woman inhabits the 19th century and the time traveler is from the 20th.<ref name="thefilmbox">{{cite web|url=https://thefilmbox.org/ultimate-facts/ultimate-facts-back-to-the-future-part-iii/|title=Ultimate Facts: back to the Future Part III|website=thefilmbox.org|quote=The role of Clara Clayton was written specifically for Mary Steenburgen. – In the film, Clara Clayton is a 19th Century woman who falls in love with a time traveler from the 20th Century. In ''Time After Time'' (1979), Mary Steenburgen played Amy Robbins, a 20th Century woman who falls in love with a time traveler from the 19th Century.|access-date=2019-02-20|archive-date=2019-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818032206/https://thefilmbox.org/ultimate-facts/ultimate-facts-back-to-the-future-part-iii/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In both films, the woman eventually goes back with the time traveler to live in his own time period.<ref name="academic.oup.com">{{cite journal |author=Fhlainn |first=Sorcha Ní |author-link=Sorcha Ní Fhlainn |date=1 August 2016 |title='There's Something Very Familiar About All This': Time Machines, Cultural Tangents, and Mastering Time in H.G. Wells's The Time Machine and the Back to the Future trilogy |url=https://academic.oup.com/adaptation/article/9/2/164/2274503 |journal=Adaptation |volume=9 |page=164 |doi=10.1093/adaptation/apv028 |quote=The conclusion to Back to the Future III (where both Doc and Clara travel to 1985 to meet with Marty once more, in a new time machine constructed within a steam-powered locomotive), intertextually connects this moment with the conclusion of Meyer’s Time After Time, where H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) not only prevents Jack the Ripper (David Warner) from continuing his murder spree in San Francisco in 1979, but also brings Amy Robbins (also played by Mary Steenburgen) back to Victorian England with him. Thus, both women are positioned as a reward for the time traveller’s dedication and emotional connection to the machine. Both Clara and Amy are permanently relocated by their respective masters of time, just as Wells’s Time Traveller had intended with Weena. |doi-access=free |number=2}}</ref>

Some similar time travel incongruities as well as the modern San Francisco urban setting also appeared in 1986's ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'', for which Nicholas Meyer shared writing credit. The details of time travelers from distant eras obtaining and exchanging present day American currency were similar in both films. In ''Star Trek IV'', a featured female character, Dr. Gillian Taylor, ends up joining her paramour, [[Captain James T. Kirk]], living in the future, similar to the conclusion of ''Time After Time''.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

===Accolades===
Nicholas Meyer won the [[Saturn Award for Best Writing]], Mary Steenburgen won the [[Saturn Award for Best Actress]], and [[Miklós Rózsa]] won the [[Saturn Award for Best Music]]. Saturn Award nominations went to Meyer for [[Saturn Award for Best Direction|Best Director]], Malcolm McDowell for [[Saturn Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]], David Warner for [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Supporting Actor]], and Sal Anthony and Yvonne Kubis for [[Saturn Award for Best Costume|Best Costumes]], and the film was nominated for [[Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film|Best Science Fiction Film]].

Nicholas Meyer won the Antenne II Award and the Grand Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival and he was nominated for the [[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay]] and the [[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation]].

==In other media==
===Television===
{{Main|Time After Time (American TV series)}}
On May 12, 2016, the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[television network]] announced that it had picked up a ''[[Time After Time (American TV series)|Time After Time]]'' [[television series]] to air in the [[2016–17 United States network television schedule|2016–2017 television season]]. The series, [[Executive producer|executive produced]] and written by [[Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)|Kevin Williamson]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Petski |first=Denise |url=https://deadline.com/2016/05/time-after-time-picked-up-series-abc-kevin-williamson-freddie-stroma-1201754841/ |title='Time After Time' Picked Up To Series By ABC |magazine=Deadline |date=2016-01-28 |access-date=2016-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Welch |first=Alex |date=May 12, 2016 |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2016/05/12/abc-2016-17-new-series-orders/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513065723/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2016/05/12/abc-2016-17-new-series-orders/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-05-13 |title='Still Star-Crossed,' 'Conviction,' 'Downward Dog,' and more ordered to series at ABC for 2016-17 |website=Zap2it |access-date=2016-05-13}}</ref> was cancelled after only five episodes.<ref name=v>{{cite magazine|title=ABC Cancels 'Time After Time'|url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/abc-time-after-time-1202018915/|magazine=Variety|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2017/03/29/abcs-match-game-to-replace-time-after-time-on-sunday-nights-beginning-april-2-838013/20170329abc01/|title=ABC's "Match Game" to Replace "Time After Time" on Sunday Nights Beginning April 2|work=The Futon Critic|date=March 29, 2017|access-date=March 29, 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0080025}}
* {{TCMDb title|25060}}
* {{AFI film|57115}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|time_after_time}}

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{{Nicholas Meyer}}
{{The Time Machine}}
{{H. G. Wells}}
{{Jack the Ripper media}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Time After Time (1979 Film)}}
[[Category:1979 films]]
[[Category:1970s chase films]]
[[Category:1970s science fiction adventure films]]
[[Category:American alternate history films]]
[[Category:American chase films]]
[[Category:American adventure thriller films]]
[[Category:American romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:American science fiction adventure films]]
[[Category:Films about Jack the Ripper]]
[[Category:1970s films about time travel]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by H. G. Wells]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of H. G. Wells]]
[[Category:Films directed by Nicholas Meyer]]
[[Category:Films set in 1893]]
[[Category:Films set in 1979]]
[[Category:Films adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in the Victorian era]]
[[Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Orion Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Nicholas Meyer]]
[[Category:The Time Machine]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:1970s romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:1979 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:1979 science fiction films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction adventure films]]
[[Category:English-language action thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]