When I came up with this list of the top ten time travel movies I set some parameters. The movie must have time travel central to the plot. And when you think of the movie, the theme of time travel must jump to the forefront. So movies like Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery were dropped from contention, because even though Austin travels back in time, the theme of time travel isn’t prevalent in the movie.
I also decided that characters must move through the time continuum and not simply “sleep” through time such as in Planet of the Apes or live through time as in Highlander. Likewise, “time loop” films were excluded, such as Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run. While all these films were excellent, I wanted to stay true to actual time travel.
If you have any additional time travel movies, please leave a comment.
10. Butterfly Effect
“Nothing’s all better, okay? Nothing ever gets better!”
A college student (Ashton Kutcher) discovers a way to travel back in time to his troubled childhood as himself at that age. His goal is to change his life by changing painful events from his childhood. He finds that a very small change from his childhood will dramatically change his life today. He is not pleased with the results of his first trip back, so he makes another trip to change another bad event, hoping for a better life. Unfortunately, he must return to his childhood many times, because his alternate future gets worse with each trip. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)
9. The Time Machine (1960)
“If that machine can do what you say it can do, destroy it, George! Destroy it before it destroys you!”
From the book by H.G. Wells, a scientist and tinkerer builds a time machine and uses it to explore the distant future where there are two races, a mild gentle race, and a cannibalistic one living underground. His machine is stolen by the underground race and he must risk being captured (and eaten) to return to his own time. Written by John Vogel {[email protected]}
8. Time Bandits
“If I were creating the world I wouldn’t mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers, eight o’clock, Day One!”
A young boy’s wardrobe contains a time hole. Through this hole an assortment of short people (i.e. dwarfs) come while escaping from their master, the supreme being. They take Kevin with them on their adventures through time from Napoleonic times to the Middle Ages to the early 1900s, to the time of Legends and the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness where they confront Evil. Written by Zaphod {[email protected]}
7. Returner
The fate of the world is a matter of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Led2SbMuSQU
After an alien invasion threatens to annihilate the human race, a young Japanese girl, named Milly , travels back in time from 2084 to October 2002, and enlists the reluctant aid of skilled Tokyo gunman to discover and prevent the start of the war. However, trouble ensues when the two protagonists are forced to deal with a Japanese mafia boss who is somehow involved in the start of the war by keeping the first alien spaceship and its alien pilot captive, while our two heroes race against the clock to find a way to stop the oncoming destruction from the vengeance-seeking alien invasion fleet on its way to Earth. Written by Exile-Inc
6. StarTrek – First Contact
“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.”
It is the 24th century, and a collective of part humanoid, part machine beings face the Federation in what would be the biggest battle of all time. This collective, called the Borg, lose, and desperately attempt to go back in time to April 4th, 2063, to stop Earth’s First Contact with an alien species (the Vulcans, to be precise). Captain Picard, and the crew of the Enterprise-E (NCC 1701-E) go back in time to make sure that Zefram Cochrane makes his warp flight. The Enterprise runs into unexpected trouble, however, when they start to assimilate the Enterprise. Written by Julian King {[email protected]}
5. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
“As you can see, Genghis very much enjoys Twinkies because of the excellent sugar rush.”
Ted “Theodore” Logan and Bill S. Preston esquire won’t graduate if they don’t do well in their history presentation. This would be both bogus and uncool ! A dude called Rufus comes from the future in a telephone box to help them, as their lives are apparently rather important to the future of mankind ! They travel through time doing some interesting research for their history presentation, and generally being excellent to each other ! Written by Colin Tinto {[email protected]}
4. 12 Monkeys
“Look at them. They’re just asking for it. Maybe the human race deserves to be wiped out.”
An unknown and lethal virus has wiped out five billion people in 1996. Only 1% of the population has survived by the year 2035, and is forced to live underground. A convict (James Cole) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to 1996 to gather information about the origin of the epidemic (who he’s told was spread by a mysterious “Army of the Twelve Monkeys”) and locate the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. Unfortunately Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert. Written by Giancarlo Cairella {[email protected]}
3. Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home
“C’mon Spock, it’s me, McCoy. You really have gone where no man’s gone before. Can’t you tell me what it felt like?”
The most acclaimed Star Trek adventure of all time. It’s the 23rd Century, and a mysterious alien power is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In their frantic attempt to save mankind, Kirk and his crew must time travel back to 1986 San Francisco where they find a world of punk, pizza, and exact-change buses that are as alien to them as anything they’ve ever encountered in the far reaches of the galaxy. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy return as Kirk and Spock, along with the entire Star Trek crew. Written by Robert Lynch {[email protected]}
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
“Can you learn stuff you haven’t been programmed with so you could be… you know, more human? And not such a dork all the time? “
It has been ten long years since a Terminator failed to kill Sarah Connor and her unborn son, John. Now, Skynet has sent back another Terminator. This one being more advanced than the last one. John Connor, who is now ten years old, is the target. The future John sends back a replica of the Terminator that tried to kill him back in time to 1995. It’s Terminator vs. Terminator. Written by Ricky Steck ([email protected])
1. Back To The Future
“Wait a minute, Doc. Ah… Are you telling me that you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?”
The year is 1985 and Marty McFly is your everyday teenager, except for one problem. He is stuck in 1955. After his good friend Doc Emmett Brown is gunned down, Marty ends up sending the DeLorean back thirty years into the past. Now, he must find the Doc and convince him that he is from the future, in order for the Doc to send him back to the future, but this is the least of Marty’s problem. After accidentally getting in the way of the important meeting between his future mother and father, Marty must get them back together before he changes time forever, and destroys his own existence. Written by simon
142 Comments
Saw a movie entitled “Starry Night”. No one I know was in it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It regards Van Gogh reawakening 100 years after his death in New York I think, and finding out his paintings are now so appreciated and valuable. It is funny ,dear, and corny. Enjoyable, but stretching the topic.
Saw a movie entitled “Starry Night”. No one I know was in it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It regards Van Gogh reawakening 100 years after his death in New York I think, and finding out his paintings are now so appreciated and valuable. It is funny ,dear, and corny. Enjoyable, but stretching the topic.
Saw a movie entitled “Starry Night”. No one I know was in it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It regards Van Gogh reawakening 100 years after his death in New York I think, and finding out his paintings are now so appreciated and valuable. It is funny ,dear, and corny. Enjoyable, but stretching the topic.
Then give the download link, thanks.
Mentioning :
Cyborg 2087 -(1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN9GlHnhXCc
-a minimalist presentation of the ‘change-the-past — change-the-present’ thought experiment.
oH, Thanks anyway, both are showing now on youtube, in episodes.
Whovian69uk’s channel
THE FLIPSIDE OF DOMINICK HYDE – part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3n6fRLEY8U
February 16 2016
“THE FLIPSIDE OF DOMINICK HYDE”
Great concept & subdued acting.
I’m putting it at #2.
I searched for a fallacy, yet it came up clean.
Though its follow-up “Another Flip For Dominick”
that delves into conflict, Will not make the list.
The obvious pre-quell, to preempt the singular dog incedent, and its ensuing chain reaction, just has not happened in the follow-up
—
One would anticipate
that an intervention with
the fatefull dog accident
could conclude the “flipside
… ” series, negating the
premise of a “butterfly
effect” and letting the star
live happily ever after.
It was. I saw it, and its follow-up Another Flip For Dominick, on TV at home in Singapore, way back in time in the last century. Have downloaded it for another viewing one of these days in the near future.
I’m surprised no one mentioned The Flip Side of Dominick Hyde about a guy in the future who took a trip back to look up his great great great grandfather, fell in love with a gal and got her pregnant. Interesting story with a surprising ending.
Was “The Flip Side of Dominick Hyde ” made into a movie?
Looks worthwhile, though are the episodes available on the net?
I agree completely with all the good things said about Primer – and certainly with Ed’s point about the absurdity of putting Bill & Ted on the list but not Primer. That said, in terms of movie making, there are problems in Primer – the story didn’t have to be presented in quite such a deadpan way, which did tend to make it less comprehensible.
Primer as honorable mention?!?!?
That means you didn’t just forget about it, but actually intentionally left it off the list. But Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure got on…
Interesting choice here. I have to admit thought that the choices wouldn’t have been mine.
Bill and Ted’s adventure was too much like pantomime. still a good movie though.
Back to the future was a bit like a love story. Well plotted though.
Star trek (the one with William Shatner was best) didn’t capture the essence
…In my opinion, H.G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE is the one that caught the right idea of time travel. Although it was made in 1959,(came out in 1960) the movie didn’t have the best budget to work on (750,000 us dollars) and this reflected in some of the costumes, graphics etc. However, the movie has something that the rest doesn’t have. I know that this movie stands out from the rest by a mile. H. G Well got it right here, George Pal directed it well and the acting of Rod Taylor was simply brilliant.
What contributed to its sucess: I suppose the time-lapse photographic effects of the sun and the moon; the future world of canibal, flesh-eating morlocks; the plot of saving mankind and the brilliant acting of Rod.
So, in my opinion H.G. WELLS’ THE TIME MACHINE is number 1
I wanted to agree, since it’s the first exploration
+ an applaudable charactor throughout– though there
is that mushroom cloud.
If first place belongs to whoever did
“not a bad idea” best, then Back to the Future
gets the #1 slot.
The original poster, TopTenz Master, has it
in that place.
BALANCED
Another time travel movie is ”Somewhere in Time”.
No Dannie Darko!
No Timecrimes (Los cronocrímenes)!
Ownly an honourable mention to Primer!
This list is a joke! Two Star Trek movies?!? Do me a favour!
You guys forgot the best time travel movie ever made: The Langoliers (made for tv)
Quantum Leap was a time travel series, loosely based
on transmigration-ibbur (of the soul) – amongst the living
Also planned as a movie for 2014
( http://quantum-leap-movie-trailer.blogspot.ca/ )
IF
Michael
(July 25, 2012 at 7:34 am)
saw the movie- maybe it was in a time slip.
Such could have happened.
BALANCED
2017 report of a feature script
http://www.slashfilm.com/quantum-leap-movie/
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Quantum Leap is also a great time travel movie.
I thought that was on a TV series (a great TV series).
I love HG Wells “The Time Machine” (1960)!
I love the last question in the movie: if you were traveling to the future to start civilization again, what 3 books would you bring with you?
The really great movies, like The Time Machine, I choose to not see the remake.
What about “Sleeper” by Woody Allen?
“Rip Van Winkle”?
What three books would you bring with you?
It was a classic. You have good taste in movies.
Oh, and by the way. The 3 books I would have brought along would have been THE BIBLE, GREEK MEDICINE AND CONSTRUCTION.
The Sound of Thunder
Based off of the story by Ray Bradbury and the butterfly effect (not the movie of the same name). In short when a group op time travelers are visiting the past, one guy steps on and kills a butterfly. This, of course, screws up the future in a big way and land the characters in all kinds of trouble.
A time travel movie list that puts Primer in Honorable Mention and doesn’t list Donnie Darko is a seriously unserious list.
Personally, I would like to see the remake of The Time Machine (2002) up in the list!
Not deserving to be on the top ten list, by maybe warranting honorable mention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrRiFZ9rGtg
i liked “Frequently Asked Question About Time Travel”. 2009 i think.
The only thing I was thinking of is The Langoliers 1990 (Stephen King’s version of what happens with Time)
I felt that this should have definitely made the list even if it was a made for TV movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Langoliers
hottub time machine! come on!!!
Watched 'Just Visiting' last night, and it was great
I have seen Primer & I definitely give a thumbs down for it.
The movie is too slow, just doesn't feel like playing with time. No or few time paradoxes.
Back to the future (1,2,3) – The best time travel paradoxes I have seen ever.
Love to see that movie again & again.
Timecop – Another excellent movie addressing time travel. Jean Claude Van Damme, great as ever.
Butterfly effect – The climax is a little fuzzy, but a good movie for time travel & time paradoxes lovers.
The way he lands up on different phases of life just makes this movie interesting.
Who saw this movie?
I watched a science fiction movie on television in summer 2003, named
"Phantom Brother"– Not the (2008) mogul at IMBD– .
This movie was about a meteor
that hit a crater on the moon & released a huge, ghostly globe (similar to
the tentacle globe in X-Files Intro)- and lizard-like ghosts. Spiritual survivors
of a doomed world- out there somewhere.
They "infected" earthlings & could wreck havoc to civilization- though
they could also be contained in an energy matrix.
The leading lady was dream-bound to time travel, back to the doomed planet
that the meteor represented, somewhere out there.
No sign of the movie on the net!
Who released it?
How is it available now?
BALANCED
Broadcast from Edmonton — Global TV
just wathed MR NOBODY (2009)
the best time-traveling film ever! well… definatly in top-5
watch it, people…. like now!
Does anyone know the film, were people from the future to witness
Disasters. from the past
I think you're thinking of Millenium where they go back and kidnap bodies of people about to die in major disasters. The only other thing I can think of is the watchers in the tv show Fringe who seem to witness all the major disasters in history.
I believe that you may be referring to "Grand Tour: Disaster In Time" with Jeff Daniels. He's an Innkeeper when some strage people rent rooms from him. A pretty good time travel flick that a couple of others have cited in the previous comments.
I try to find this movie a long time ago! A man in present sees a man dressed in black with a bowler hat” black”. We discover is the same man on pictures of the passengers of the Titanic and other disasters. It comes from the future and have chosen to live this disasters, as in a travel agency in futur. The man of our day trial to prevent a catastrophe should happen shortly.
It’s not grand tour disaster in time or millennium .
The time shifters or thrill sheekers, chasseurs de frissons!!!! WoW I just had to read this to find it!!!
Would The Lake House qualify as time travel? It's more like time paradox.
Stargate Continuum is a good example of Time Travel.
Some decent choices, I would put The Jacket and Donnie Darko on the list, better than at least 3 on the list, also Primer is a great movie done on an absolute shoestring, I think it should be in top 10 too instead of hm.
Time travel is one of my favorite scifi subgenres. My top 10 list would include
Terminator (first one, a truly genre changing film)
Terminator 2 (enough different from the first, and great on its own, to merit a separate entry)
Final Countdown (Kirk Douglas, always a plus!)
Star Trek First Contact (gotta love seein the Borg go down)
Back to the Future (I guess consider the trilogy as one entry)
Timeline (a little cheesy but overall not bad)
Somewhere in Time (this idea of time travel seems to have been taken from a book I read, but I can't remember the title – it's about basically willing yourself into the past through a form of self-hypnosis)
The Amazing Mr. Blunden (a very sweet family film, obviously not well know cause no one's mentioned it but I have a soft spot for it)
Star Trek Voyage Home (a little pc – Kirk & Spock help save the whales – but a good story. Female lead character is kind of annoying)
And I guess my final vote will be for a great B-movie, Time Rider. Not a "great" film by any means but an interesting story and pretty well done.
How about favorite time-travel TV episodes? I hope we can eliminate "Time Tunnel" from the conversation from the start! But here are some I like:
From Star Trek Original Series:
"City on the Edge of Forever" where Kirk & Spock go back to the 1930s and have to stop a deranged McCoy from changing history. I think this may be the best episode in the entire Star Trek catalog.
From Star Trek Next Generation:
"Yesterday's Enterprise" where the Enterprise C comes forward through a time rift and suddenly the Enterprise D is a warship involved in a 20-year war with the Klingons. The best NG episode in my opinion.
"Time's Arrow" where Data's head is found in an archaeological dig so the Enterprise crew winds up back in 19th century San Francisco.
From Star Trek Voyager:
"Relativity" where a deranged person from the 29th century tries to destroy voyager
"Future's End" Voyager ends up orbiting earth in 1996
"Living Witness" not really time travel but a good episode – a copy of the doctor's program is "awakened" 700 years in the future on an alien world whose history depicts Voyager's crew as malevolent monsters. The doctor corrects the record.
Other good series that include time travel: Journeyman (unfortunately cancelled after one season), Heroes, obviously Dr. Who, and the Twilight Zone!
You've missed the best two!!!!
Triangle and Star Trek 2009. Ultimate!
Somewhere in Time should definitely be on this list.
The TV series Dark Shadows had five time travel stories.
Whoops, forgot to add Terminator 1 to the list. It's the only one in the series that follows the predestination paradox, the sequels Terminator 2, 3 and 4 messes it up.
In no particular order:
– Time Crimes
– Somewhere in Time
– 12 Monkeys
– The Time Traveler's Wife
You only have 1 of these movies on your list. Fail. Any other 'time traveling' that does revolve around the predestination paradox is not a time traveling movie at all and should be shot… the ONLY exception is Primer.
my top ten
1) back to the Future 1-2-3
2) The jacket
3 Startrek 2009
4)TimeCop 1
5) Time machine (the old one)
6) Kruistocht in spijkerbroek aka Crusade in Jeans 2006 ( The Fifteen year old Dolf uses a prototype time machine and gets stuck in the Dark Ages) totally awasome!!!!!
7)Timeline ( methink it;s good)
8) Bill and Tedd (funny like hell)
9) Doctor Who (new series) not movies, but BBC show 2005 – nowdays, but personally it's number one
10) Life on mars (see above, not a movie, but a TV-show plus probably not a time travel 'cause main hero – Sam Tyler – probably just insane)
and as I started listing TV shows – FlashForward (more like prophetic visions, still rather good) and Heroes.
Donnie Darko, Frequency, The Jacket… Where would you rank these?
Hi,
Actually I'm trying to identify a time-loop film.
The main plot line is about a group of scientists doing time experiments. They step through a time tunnel into the past. The rest of the plot is a bit hazy but it ends with the scientists getting caught in a causal time loop and the film repeats and repeats getting faster and faster and they never escape from the loop. So no happy ending. Any adea what this film is?
I had the same question, so I bombed around the net a while and came up with the answer: The Time Travelers, which itself was remade into the Journey to the Center of Time. I'm positive the version I saw was the original.
Yet hailing ITIL_Prince
(Who writes):
ITIL_Prince says:
March 13, 2010 at 3:34 pm
…
The Time Travelers,
which itself was remade into the Journey to the Center
of Time. I’m positive the version I saw was the original.
These particular words give me hope
that you can clear up a discussion
taking place at:
http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/JourneytotheCenterof...
Important for many reasons – please
find a time to read the comments there.
BALANCED
read:
http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/
JourneytotheCenterofTime.html
ITIL_Prince:
Please tell if you also witnessed the Space Shuttle scene in the 1964 release of “The Time Travelers”
BALANCED
Or rather read:
http://journey-to-the-center-oftime.wikispaces.com/
(Requires a free signup)
BALANCED
Now that link goes nowhere: Here is the brief from my research.
that was a movie that came on the show "the outer limits" and that's all i remember and i am not in doubt about that
Yet checking with Wikipedia:
the outer limits —
All 49 episodes of the original series are available on Hulu.
.
there is no record of either:
The Time Travellers
or
Journey to the Center of Time
niether are they at:
Science Fiction Theatre at the Internet Movie Database
Science Fiction Theatre at TV.com
Science Fiction Theatre at epguides.com
TVscifi Episode guide
where I think I saw both.
As commented in
millionmonkeytheater
Journey to the Center of Time —
ORIGINAL VERSION HAD A FILM OF A SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING – ON THE BIG OVAL SCREEN – GIGI CALLS:”LOOK”!
“wHAT A BIG PLANE”!
YEARS BEFORE THE SPACE SHUTTLE WAS INVENTED – FIND THAT ORIGINAL! (1967-1968)
– BALANCED
When Time Expires should be on the list,. With Mark Hamill, Richard Grieco, Cynthia Geary (the babe from Northern Exposure), Chad Everett and the King Of The B's Tim Tomerson, this brilliant and tightly-plotted movie involves a mission to go to the past and insert a quarter in a parking meter. Yeah, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's the best ever.
Please tell me that you've seen "FAQ About Time Travel" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910554/, it's very funny.
And also Primer is awsome.
My favorite ones are back to de future
Primer for me is ok, but not great.
Cronocrimenes or timecrimes is a good movie also.
I hate Time cop and Donnie Darko
I recomend a film made for tv (it' catalan movie) named "TEMPUS FUGIT", here's the imdb link
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390545/
Is a simple but entertaining movie, very clever, and it's funny.
I also like Deja vu, Frequency, timeline, the butterfly effect, The Philadelphia Experiment, the time machine (both ones) and time after time.
Ambar
Hey guys I'm a time travel afficionado, I found this site to be a pretty exhaustive list of them:
http://www.toptimetravelmovies.com
lets you create your own top 10 as well, pretty nifty…
Los cronocrimenes, or Time crimes would be in the no 1 spot on my list. Donnie Darko would not even be on it. Primer is a terrific movie though, just not as good as Time crimes. Dark City is kind of about time travel too, saying anything more would include spoilers, just run and watch it now, preferably the director's cut version which is not dumbed down. I think I might have added The fountain to my list as well even though it has to do more with different ages in time, not people traveling through it.
Maybe Forever Young qualifies as time travel. Mel Gibson is put in a cryonics tank in 1939 and forgotten in a military warehouse until 1992 when two kids playing there accidently unfreeze him. There's no time machine, but he does find himself shoved 50 years into the future.
how about just compiling a list of time travel movies? I remember watching The Final Countdown way back when I was a kid, and I couldn't remember the name of it (confused it with Millenium and The Philadelphia Experiment) but thanks to this list, I am downloading it as we speak.
With having in mind just compiling a list, the Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock is sort of related to time travel. Similar to Frequency.
Timeline i thought was stupid, but its a nice brainless movie to watch.
Does Clock Stoppers fall within the category of time manipulation?
The Jacket was pretty awesome too.
I got more out of the comments than the list itself. Really surprised everyone agrees that Donnie Darko should be on the list and yet was omitted (wether on purpose or by accident who knows).
Judging by peoples reactions I will watch Time Crimes and Primer as well.
From the list here though I agree with Butterlfy Effect (though the alternate ending is required for it to make most sense). Time Machien (remake) and 12 Mokeys are abosuletly great movies of this genre as well.
After reading all of these comments I was again surprised to NOT have found any mention form ANY user about Minority Report. I know Tom Crusie isn't everyone's favorite actor but look at the story for what it's worth.
1) Donnie Darko
2) Buttefly Effect
3) Minortiy Report
4) Time Machine (remake)
5) 12 Monkeys
6) Time After Time
7) Time Crimes
8) Primer
9) Star Trek (2009)
10) Time Cop (haven't seen sequel yet)
I haven't seen #7 or #8 and the order isn't neccessarily from best to worst. But I would say this list is more accurate based on my, and other users, opinions.
You missed one of the all time great time travel movies: Time Rider. The acting was great with Fred Ward, Peter Coyote, Linda Bauer. Baja 500 bike racer accidentally goes back 100 years and doesn't know it. The soundtrack was awesome, the movie dialogue was great.
Excellent script. Entertaining from beginning to end.
La Jetee.
The short film that inspired the (also excellent) 12 Monkees,
I liked Deja Vu also.
I am assuming you based this list on pure entertainment and not on any coherence in time theory. If you had you would not have even listed half of these movies, and Timecrimes would be near the top of the list with Donnie Darko at least making an appearance.
As it stands this list is great for the amateur time travel enthusiast, but lacks any real substance for anybody interested in the theory and not just the "wow" factor.
I'm an avid fan of time travel movies. Somewhere In Time and Back to the Future 1-2-3 are some of my faves. There are lots of great ones too like Dejavu, The Philadelphia Experiment, Kate and Leopold, Frequency, The Tomorrow Man, 5 Days to Midnight, The Final Countdown, 12:01.
Loved the list, except that I think Primer should be at the top of the list instead of an honorable mention. One needn't consider the ten thousand dollar production cost to come to the conclusion that the movie is brilliant. There's no amount of money they could have thrown at it to make it any better. (Well, except maybe for clearing up the audio a bit).
Except that the movie is purposely misleading and confusing to cover up the fact that the time theory in the plot is horrendous under any known logic. They put plenty of thought into how to use the machine and the consequence of using it, but little thought on the consequence of solving their previous consequences. The movie, under most theories, will either end in an infinite loop, the destruction of the universe, or the obliteration of their own personal timelines, erasing them from history. The only theory the movie works under is the horrendous Replacement theory which explains that every trip through time spawns a new dimension, an easy cop out for writers with their minds on time travel as a means to tell a story instead of letting a story develop as a result of time travel. Timecrimes is everything Primer sought to be but failed at.
too bad they can't add one of the three Doctor Who movies to the list, as they don't actually deal with time travel, apart from the TARDIS travel at the start of each. I know many people did not like the Fox TV movie, but I think it is great!
If anyone wants to read the short story that inspired almost all of today's time travel movies (most recently Time Crimes) go to http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/scifi/byhisbootstraps.h…. It was written by Robert Heinlein in 1941.
What about The Grand Tour (Disaster in Time) with Jeff Daniels?
I was also thinking about The Grand Tour (Disaster in Time), loved the part where Jeff was telling himself what to do. There was a conundrum about the two Jeffs at the end but was definitely engaging.
all u people …whatever u say…..BUT BACK TO FUTURE ALL the PARTS…is best….best of all times….moreover its steven speilberg movie…nd that matters
Decent list although I would definitely have to add "The Final Countdown" as my number 1. Bump "Primer" up to more than an honorable mention, and also include "The Jacket" in there somewhere.
Don't believe "Donnie Darko" or "Timeline" should've made the list, though, so nice job there. As for Butterfly Effect, however, I've gotta give you props for putting it up there. In my opinion it's a better "time travel" movie than some of the others further down the list. Takes brass to even put it up there no less.
Not a bad list, but I agree it should be longer. Time travel movies are my favorite genre
"The Philadelphia Experiment" would be on my top 10 list, and "Flight of the Navigator" .
But most of all "The Final Countdown". The all time best time travel movie in my opinion.
Its absolutely killer, a must!
But nice to see "Star Trek; The Voyage Home" so high up. Its one of the best too.
I think The Jacket was pretty good, maybe not top ten. I can't wait for The Time Traveler's wife to come out. Sappy I know but I am a girl!
Time Crimes is way better than Primer.
EPIC FAIL. Butterfly Effect was terrible and any list that contains that movie is instantly wrong by default. Primer also sucked balls, but not as bad as Butterfly Effect. IT HAD EFFIN ASHTON KUTCHER IN IT, that should clue you in there right there.
I liked Butterfly Effect 3. I didn't expect much going in, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Much better story than Primer for sure. That one was just boring. And there's no Ashton Kutcher if that makes a difference.
Primer required thinking. A lot of people who don’t like to think while watching movies (or maybe in general?) just couldn’t do it.
You’re sure full of assumptions, and yourself sounds like. Please troll somewhere else for compliments on your thinking processes please.
Hey guys, this might sound like a joke, but Timecop 2 – The Berlin Decision (2003) is actually a fantastic time travel movie. It really has nothing to do with Timecop 1, and I believe it should have been made into it's own movie outright. Heaps of time travel to different date, time paradoxes and alternate universes. Great Action and a fantastic ending that you won't predict…
A couple of really good ones are M.I. A. FREQUENCY-Starring Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel
It may not meet the author's criteria, a weather phenomenom allows a 21st Century man to talk to his father in 1969 over a short wave radio. I love time travel movies and I loved the '69 Mets(That series is a key plot point), so this is one of my favorites.
THE NAVIGATOR-A Medieval Oddysey A band from 14th Century New Zealand find a tunnel that leads to the 20th Century.
The story. They travel (Dig a tunnel) from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand to escape the black plague.
But read this
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095709/#comment
Austin Powers' movies!!
Jay Po – In the opening paragraph I specifically mentioned why I left Austin Powers out, even though I think the first movie is a top 10 comedy of all time.
"The movie must have time travel central to the plot. And when you think of the movie, the theme of time travel must jump to the forefront. So movies like Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery were dropped from contention, because even though Austin travels back in time, the theme of time travel isn't prevalent in the movie."
Question.
Does anyone remember a time travel movie in B&W from the 50's or 60's that involved creatures from the future that had a sack on one arm insted of a hand? The movie begins in a class room talking about time travel. That's about all I can remember about it. I was very young at the time when I saw it. I'm quite sure it was a very low budget film, but it left an impression.
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Just gotta add one more vote for "Somewhere in Time." And if it's not on the list of top ten tearjerkers, the list creator oughta be tarred and feathered.
my uncle james cameon made terminator I&II
GOOD FOR YOU!
hey guys, all of you , check out: TIMECRIMES
(spanish movie) one of the BEST time travel ones out there!!!
you wont regret it
I know this doesn't count but it is FYI for time travel movie fans. At first I thought it was just a rumor but I think the rumor is going to happen. A production company called United Filmways has a time travel film in development titled Million Dollar Morgan. I don't know much about it but I found their websites. Not much on them but I keep checking. I heard about this from the script supervisor working on the George Clooney flim "Up In The Air".
you missed a really good one.. stargate, Continuum
"TimeQuest" (2000) does it for me. A time traveler goes back in time, stops the Kennedy assassination, and history as well as the time traveler's life changes because of it. Totally suspenseful and inspiring!
Maybe it's time for the top 20 time traveler movies.
Primer honorable mention. It was the best movie out of all of them. It was about time travel. It wasn’t an action movie that use time travel as a plot device.
TIMELINE sucked? That's your opinion laddie….
To see Gerard Butler & Billy Connolly working together again was well worth it to me.
So what about "Life on Mars"? It's cool.
The new movie "Timecrimes" easily makes the top 5 for me…
What about Millenium (1989)? This is an amazing Time Travel movie albeit a little hokey. It is certainly better than Butterfly Effect. I can't tell you how good this is without spoilers. Just watch it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097883/
Someone else mentioned it, but Deja Vu definitely should be considered. It was a solid flick and time travel is key to the movie.
The Final Countdown!!! I can't believe no one has mentioned this flick!!!! F-14s fighting Jap Zeros!! Great flying footage! Funneeeeeee movie!
Agree 100%. Final Countdown is one of my top 10 all time favorite movies
I found "Butterfly Effect" a miserable movie. Everything is depressing and gross, from the "goth" obese roommate and the frat boys to the dead dog and the foul-mouthed 12 year old. I'm no prude but I felt like a shower and a therapist after this movie.
Everyone will hate me for this but…..
I absolutely HATED Donnie Darko.
Primer was great. It made me feel like time travel was real and had the best suspension of disbelief.
Timeline is not about time travel "technically".
The original premise is that time does not move nor really exist,save for our idea of/need to measure it.Therefore you can not move through time. It was about going to a parallel universe at the same time. However the universe had developed later than ours. Besides the movie sucked.
Timeline was not about that at all. You might be thinknig of a different movie, becasue Timeline was awesome. GERARD BUTLER FTW
Timeline, based on Michael Crichton's book of the same name, was a pretty good time travel movie. It involves going back to the 14th century and getting stuck there. Admittedly the book was much better than the movie, but I think it's worth a viewing.
Sorry to repeat what has already been said, but Somewhere In Time is a glaring omission. That said, it's not your fault if you haven't seen it. It's the best of the lot. Great list. Thanks.
My difference of opinion is in your placement of the 1960 George Pal "The Time Machine" over the 2002 "remake." Although there is always room to differ on such matters, the 2002 version has the benefits of better production abilities, better acting, a less-implausible form of mind-control, layers of literary reference and breadth from the obvious and humorous to the subtle brooding of mythology, and, most important, a far better use and grasp of the multiple layers of metaphor available in time-travel literature.
But then, who am I to say?
Terminator 2 is one of my favourite movies of all time. I was sorely disappointed with how cheesy the third movie ended up, though.
Great list, nice to see Primer get a shout out 😀
Time Crimes! It is in Spanish. Totally worth it.
Time crimes was a great movie and shows how it doesnt need a lot of money to play with idea of time travel succesfully.
Its more of a psychological study than super visual effect blast.
I dont want to tell too much about it, because it would spoil it.
One of the best time travel movies anyways.
what about Dejavu
I really, really wanted to add Groundhog Day, as it is a top 10 movie of mine. But I felt it wasn’t really time travel as much as a time loop. When you limit to 10 items you have to make tough choices. Although, if I had to go back in time, I might think twice. 😉
'Somewhere in Time' with Christopher Reeve, a young beautiful Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer. -one of the best time travel flicks with great romance. And a great premise on time travel, too
Pretty good list, but again where is Donnie Darko?
And also Groundhog Day(!)
Pretty good list as a whole, but only an honorable mention for Primer? And no Donnie Darko?
Back to the Future II was very enjoyable. I would have added it regardless. Better than Butterfly Effect in any case.
I did enjoy Time After Time and thought seriously about it. The on-foot chase scene is probably the best foot chase ever on film. It is worth renting just for that alone. Nice call, RJB.
"Point Break" has a great foot chase scene. I gotta see "Time After Time"
"Time After Time," 1979, with Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen is a glaring omission. While I was reading this list, I kept expecting to see it as #1. Definitely worth the rental if you're a fan of this genre.
The romantically inclined would also include "Somewhere in Time", 1980, with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.
"Somewhere in Time" is a great movie. It belongs on every top ten "Time Travel Movies" list. What about "Timeline"? (2003), Based on Michael Crighton's book by the same name. Movie is very true to the book. Stars Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) Directed by Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon). Also stars Billy Connolly (The Last Samurai) and Gerard Butler(Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) This movie is currently (04/24/10) available on Netflix Streaming, Itunes movies and Amazon.com for instant download.
And how about Deja Vu with Denzel Washington ?, nuff said.
WimpyBurgers
agreed – these were GREAT films!
Sean, you think TimeCop deserves to make this list, but you think Star Trek movies should be left off? That's backwards.com
star trek is [lame]..no way, take it off the list!
time cop is okay.
somewhere in time.
yes, back to the future.
il mare (lake house).
Flight of the Navigator.
Star Trek is a classic (both of them on the list) and earn their way with the strength of their cult statuses. Just because a couple people don’t like them doesn’t mean they deserve disqualification.
TimeCop !
Back to the Future I, II, and III should count as a single movie.
Terminator 1-3 should not be on this list. The time travel event happened only once at the beginning of the movie and to quote the Master "the theme of time travel isn’t prevalent in the movie."
Can't believe that Star Trek movies made this list.
Timecop should most deffinately be included in time travel movies !!
Escape Ladder – When coming up with the list I felt it was more important to get a bigger variety and chose only to include one movie if sequels were involved. For that reason you don't see Terminator on the list. Terminator 2 was a superior movie. Not truly in the spirit of the 10 best time travel movies, but allowed two other movies to show up and give exposure to some movies not as well known.
I did enjoy Back to the Future II, but felt the first was the best and therefore only show it.
yes i i agry with you the first 1 wos beter than the 2
Why didn't Back to the Future II make the list? Here, watch this scene by scene analysis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aipy5kWARi4
Hi, it is true you can travel back and forth in time with quantum computers that know what is best for you.You most likely get a little crazy like the doc in back to the future,except there is no invisible craft . Just pay great attention to what is happening and you might find you are are in one, you will most likely be scared to death.
donnie darko
Primer is a great film you missed.