Ein tödlicher Traum

Being one who always seems to enjoy time-travel stories, it's no wonder I like this movie so much, but it isn't the interesting "time" angle that draws me in: it's also the fact that this is one of the most touching love stories I've ever seen. I'm not usually a big fan of romance stories, but this one has always moved me, maybe because, as another reviewer points out, it's from the man's point of view.

The film is a wonderful old-fashioned type of story with a really nice feel for the period (1912) and is simply a pleasant, leisurely-paced story I found comfortable. Would kids of today like this? No. Too slow for them. Too bad, because I found the movie moved pretty well. The 100 minutes went by quickly.

Christopher Reeve is the star of the film but personally I found Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer far more entertaining. The theme song, "Somewhere In Time," is one of the prettiest songs ever and that adds to the sad and frustrating romance angle of the story. The language also is quite tame. Yes, it's a bit "sappy" at times, but for sentimental people, this is a nice film to keep.

My only real complaint is I've never seen a sharp transfer put on a DVD yet. There have been two DVDs out and both have that grainy look to them. That's disappointing because this would really look nice with a clear picture. The film deserves better treatment.

NOTE: A Blu-Ray of this film was released in March of 2014 and finally does this great film justice!

"Somewhere in Time" is nothing if not deeply sentimental; like one big romance novel hurled up onto the screen. And that unrelenting sincerity is the key to making all of this work. It's what makes you accept the silly time travel mechanics and just go with it. It's nowhere near science fiction; this is pure fantasy, set to the tender strings of a priceless John Barry score. It's also nice to see Christopher Reeve in a welcome departure from the cape (I can't help the comparison; I was reared on Superman movies).

But even with all of that, you don't have a movie if you don't find the right Elise McKenna. But they did. Jane Seymour is the twinkling gem in this crown. She is every bit as beautiful as we're led to believe (and not just in the portrait). She lights up the screen with radiance. The reveal of that photograph is startling.

7/10

I am a young man who grew up loving horror, action, and kung-fu movies. I hated the Victorian books we were forced to read in school. However, the one exception to the rule has been this movie. I LOVED this movie. The story line was solid. The direction was superb. And the acting was so good, that I have always wondered why Reeves & Seymour's career didn't catapult after this film. I have watched it many times since it came out, and ever time I am captivated. If you can't relate to this movie, I think you must have a heart of cold stone. This gets a strong KBONE rating of 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Pay special attention to Seymour's soliloquy during the play and Reeve's facial expressions during that time as well Reeve during the last 10 minutes of the movie. I really can't say enough about this masterpiece.

For us hopeless romantics, this kind of love story gives us the feeling that our own soulmate might have lived in another time instead of our own. It is a pleasant little fantasy to get lost in for a couple of hours anyway. For someone who analyzes the small details in movies like myself, the story has many hidden twists and turns to figure out. For example, when you consider that Elise Mckenna was 85 years old when she died in 1972, why was Richard Collier a young man in college? Was he the reincarnation of the Richard she had loved 60 years earlier in 1912? Did Richard's time-traveling professor have some connection to Elise? Why did Elise's manager warn Elise of Richard's coming? If you get too concerned with these details then you miss the overall message of the film...true love never dies and true love is worth dying for.

I was rather young when I first saw this film; I found it mildly interesting and, being a science fiction fan, was drawn to the time travel aspect. I found it a bit slow and uneventful. As one grows older, priorities change, certain matters not considered when younger begin to take precedence. When I watch this film now, I find the time travel angle plays out differently for me; yes, it's still an interesting take on how to travel backwards in time, without machinery (as in "The Time Machine" - all versions). But, I realize now the entire focus of the story is on the mystical depiction of timeless love surfacing for the two main characters, played by Reeve and Seymour. It's a romance of the most old-fashioned kind, bridging decades, and enhanced by the whole premise of traveling further to achieve that romantic connection than most would ever dream of.

Obviously, the task for Reeve's character, that of making the connection, appears simply impossible. We've all read stories or seen movies about some character traveling over half a continent or even half the world to make such a connection. We root for them, of course - for them to beat the odds. The odds here are seemingly insurmountable: not traveling across land, but time itself. Well, he makes it; it's an incredible feat. And he pursues his dream, an exotic, to say the least, fantastic dream. She's worth it: Seymour is truly beautiful in this film, and gets more so with each viewing. Just her photo portrait in this story manages to capture a serene, mysterious type of beauty. She's touched with a melancholy sadness and Reeve is there to balm her wound. Writer Richard Matheson knows how to write good stories, romance included, and didn't need to fall back on contrived side plots to 'energize' the script, as is often the case nowadays. It's a straightforward, unfussy story, the kind they don't produce anymore.