FILMS… Somewhere in Time (1980)

#1980s #AllPosts

 

Going back in time with a romantic theme…

 

A man falls in love with a picture of an actress from the early 20th Century and plans to go back in time to meet her.

 

Christopher Plummer and Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve

Somewhere in Time Official Trailer #1 – Christopher Reeve Movie (1980) HD, Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers AND PHOTOS © UNIVERSAL PICTURES

 

In the mid-1980s, I was an incurable romantic and hoped for a young Larry Hagman – J.R. Ewing from TV’s Dallas (1978-91) – would sweep me off my feet and carry me off on his white charger to some exotic country where we’d live happily ever after… I got my wish, I’m living in Finland – kinda exotic – and married to a young Jack Nicholson lookalike, so not complaining.

My favourite film romance in these times was Somewhere in Time (1980). It is my favourite film romance involving time travelling, sorry Outlander (2014-) fans. After a series of disastrous relationships and episodes of unrequited love, I turned into a hopeful romantic after an overdose of Richard Curtis’ romantic comedies.

So you might deduce that Hugh Grant was solely responsible for this change of heart. Which he wasn’t, as my romantic hero was Alan Rickman’s character Jamie from Truly, Madly, Deeply (1992) who could sing, play the double bass like a guitar and come back for his girl even after death. As for Richard Curtis, I went off his romantic films big time, but that’s another rant told HERE in my review of Notting Hill (1999).

Somewhere in Time stars Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Realweegiemidget’s favourite, Christopher Plummer. The soundtrack includes Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini and John Barry who wrote music for the James Bond films, Robin and Marian (1976) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) to name a few.

The plot of the to be reviewed film tells how Richard Collier (Reeve) a playwright is approached by an old lady at an after-show party in 1972. She gives him a pocket watch and then pleads with him to “Come back to me”.  The story then moves on 8 years, as Collier visits a hotel to help get over his writer’s block. He falls in love with a picture of a woman, an actress named Elise McKenna (Seymour) from the early 20th century. He discovers she was the old lady who approached him.

He vows to meet her, removing all items of the present from his room and using self-hypnosis. Collier is hopeful he will meet her especially when he sees his signature in the hotel guest book at the time she stayed there. So ignore the comments involving his DC superhero, Superman (1978) going too far back in time to get his girl and get your tissues handy because it’s going to be a bumpy ride…

 

Weeper Rating: 😦 😦 😦😦 😦 😦 😦 😦 /10

Handsqueeze Rating: 🙂 🙂  🙂 🙂  🙂🙂 /10

Hulk Rating:   ‎  ‎/10

 

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Richard Matheson Blogathon 2019 No 12

This review was added to Moon in Gemini and Wide Screen World’s Richard Matheson’s Blogathon. Other films with this cast reviewed here include my spoiler-filled review of Somewhere in Time here. Christopher Plummer is tributed in his Remembrance Post. He also stars in my reviews of Knives Out, 5 Golden Hollywood Greats,  Star Trek VI – The  Undiscovered Country, The Lake House and International Velvet. The Sound of Music is reviewed HERE and HERE in two different reviews.  Christopher Reeve stars in my reviews of Village of the Damned,  Superman, Superman II and Deathtrap.

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