Time After TimeIn 1895, Herbert George "H.G." Wells wrote "The Time Machine", one of the earliest works of science fiction to popularize time travel; in fact, he is credited for having invented the phrase "time machine". Widely acknowledged as a visionary author and socially-minded revolutionary, H.G. Wells advocated radical movements like socialism and free love. What is, perhaps, lesser known is that H.G. Wells once traveled through time in a time machine of his own creation, into the future--well, 1979--in order to track down and bring his good friend, John Leslie Stevenson, a.k.a. "Jack the Ripper", back with him to 1893 to receive justice. No, that wasn't in the history books?
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Time After Time stars Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper, playing two friends from 19th century London, who would engage each other in games to test one another's intelligence. What the film proposes is that while H.G. is a genius--as John puts it, a "Columbus" of a new frontier--he is no match for the raw cunning of his friend and, ultimately, his adversary. H.G. discovers John's terrible secret after he has already revealed to him and his other friends his complete time machine, and the fundamental workings of it, so that John uses the machine to elude the authorities, escaping into the future. The reason why H.G. is able to use the machine to chase John is that it returns to a fixed point without the key; so H.G. is compelled to pursue John into the future, determined to see him brought to justice for his ignoble crimes. In reality, H.G. is so convinced that the future of 1979 is a socialist utopia, one where introducing Jack the Ripper into its arcadian realm would be catastrophic. When H.G. makes his fourth-dimension sojourn, he emerges not in London, but San Francisco, courtesy of the difference in time and space. (An interesting bit of trivia: the date which H.G. and John travel to and from is November the 5th; I suspect that Robert Zemeckis of Back to the Future was also a fan of this movie.) H.G. believes he is prepared for the brave, new world of the 20th century, only to find revelation after revelation in disco-era California, and he immediately sets to documenting his experiences and awkwardly fumbling through the strange land at things like automobiles and plastic tables, even ordering at McDonalds. And while H.G. is consistently behind his murderous friend and foe, he does eventually find answers at a bank's currency exchange desk, where he meets the lovely, "liberated" Amy Robbins (Mary Steenburgen), who invites "Herbert" out on the town, smitten by his apparent child-like naivete at the world and his English manner. Herbert discovers much of the virtues of the 20th century from Amy; but after he manages to track John down, his erstwhile ally reveals to Herbert much of the cruelty, horror, and madness which the new century has in store. John tells Herbert coldly that in the last century, he was a freak...here, he is but an amateur in his bloody pursuits.
In a lot of ways, Time After Time feels a bit like a Brit Lit fan fic--try saying that five times fast--or, more appropriately, "historical science fiction". While there is no evidence to suggest that H.G. Wells knew whomever Jack the Ripper was, the idea of taking one of history's most ingenious and inventive authors and putting him at odds with one of history's most notorious killers in a story with the same kind of context of one of H.G. Wells' most famous novels is exciting. The two characters are polar opposites, at least with regards to their sense of faith in humanity--Wells is convinced that the world will evolve toward utopia, Stevenson claims that the history of humanity was--and always will be--like that of a charnel house, predator and prey. So their conflict is more of an ideological one than simply a sci-fi thriller. John adapts to his environs more immediately, although it begs the question as to whether he is simply in camouflage, like the predator he is and claims to be, as opposed to Herbert, who finds no fruitful purpose in deception, save for the cognizance that no one would believe him were he to announce himself as a chrononaut. It is only when Amy's well-being is threatened by John that he discloses this to her, and through some empirical proof, opens her eyes to his portal to the past. Speaking of "portals to the past", there are one or two nods to another movie about figures lost in time, drifting through San Francisco: Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo; an introspective walk through the redwoods and journeying through The Palace of Fine Arts recalls that film about voices from another time, as well as other moments. Ultimately, what Time After Time suggests--intentionally or no--is that much of Wells' visions of the future come less from his imagination than his powers of perception; admittedly, perception is a virtue in the film, and Herbert credits Amy with this as they walk among the redwoods. And although John is cunning, there are moments when his lack of perception trips him up regardless, such as when he is hit by a car--not looking both ways--and others. One might assume that Time After Time diminishes H.G. Wells' contributions to the idea of women's liberation by suggesting that it was--to some extent--a consequence of his relationship with Amy Robbins; alternately, I propose that the film is progressive in that it invites the idea that their efforts were mutually important and beneficial. While using Time After Time as a reference source for any kind of study or paper on H.G. Wells would be ill-advised, it is a fun bit of fantastic science fiction with a liberal dose of historical fancy sprinkled into the pot.
Recommended for: Fans of a science fiction thriller about time travel and figures from the not too distant past of 19th century London colliding with 20th century San Francisco, in a race against time--with time--to stop a serial killer. And, another bit of trivia: the Cyndi Lauper song of the same name took its name from this movie, even though they have nothing else in common. The more you know!
In a lot of ways, Time After Time feels a bit like a Brit Lit fan fic--try saying that five times fast--or, more appropriately, "historical science fiction". While there is no evidence to suggest that H.G. Wells knew whomever Jack the Ripper was, the idea of taking one of history's most ingenious and inventive authors and putting him at odds with one of history's most notorious killers in a story with the same kind of context of one of H.G. Wells' most famous novels is exciting. The two characters are polar opposites, at least with regards to their sense of faith in humanity--Wells is convinced that the world will evolve toward utopia, Stevenson claims that the history of humanity was--and always will be--like that of a charnel house, predator and prey. So their conflict is more of an ideological one than simply a sci-fi thriller. John adapts to his environs more immediately, although it begs the question as to whether he is simply in camouflage, like the predator he is and claims to be, as opposed to Herbert, who finds no fruitful purpose in deception, save for the cognizance that no one would believe him were he to announce himself as a chrononaut. It is only when Amy's well-being is threatened by John that he discloses this to her, and through some empirical proof, opens her eyes to his portal to the past. Speaking of "portals to the past", there are one or two nods to another movie about figures lost in time, drifting through San Francisco: Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo; an introspective walk through the redwoods and journeying through The Palace of Fine Arts recalls that film about voices from another time, as well as other moments. Ultimately, what Time After Time suggests--intentionally or no--is that much of Wells' visions of the future come less from his imagination than his powers of perception; admittedly, perception is a virtue in the film, and Herbert credits Amy with this as they walk among the redwoods. And although John is cunning, there are moments when his lack of perception trips him up regardless, such as when he is hit by a car--not looking both ways--and others. One might assume that Time After Time diminishes H.G. Wells' contributions to the idea of women's liberation by suggesting that it was--to some extent--a consequence of his relationship with Amy Robbins; alternately, I propose that the film is progressive in that it invites the idea that their efforts were mutually important and beneficial. While using Time After Time as a reference source for any kind of study or paper on H.G. Wells would be ill-advised, it is a fun bit of fantastic science fiction with a liberal dose of historical fancy sprinkled into the pot.
Recommended for: Fans of a science fiction thriller about time travel and figures from the not too distant past of 19th century London colliding with 20th century San Francisco, in a race against time--with time--to stop a serial killer. And, another bit of trivia: the Cyndi Lauper song of the same name took its name from this movie, even though they have nothing else in common. The more you know!