62 Films of Ale: From Time to Time
Time travel has been an obsession of mine since I first read H.G. Wells' seminal The Time Machine in 1974. So here is a list of films involving time travel, time loops, time paradoxes, etc. There aren't all that many "great" time travel films - at least not that I've seen or heard of - so this list is presented more to show the development of the theme over...time. I do at least like all of the films here, but some aren't really strong favorites, outside of the primary genre trope in question.
First 12 films in rough order of preference; the rest, naturally, in chronological order. You can think of the first three - wildly different from each other, and representing in my mind, respectively, the challenging and mindbending - the comic and exciting - and the poetic and elusive qualities of this genre trope - as co-equals at #1.
First 12 films in rough order of preference; the rest, naturally, in chronological order. You can think of the first three - wildly different from each other, and representing in my mind, respectively, the challenging and mindbending - the comic and exciting - and the poetic and elusive qualities of this genre trope - as co-equals at #1.
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62 titles
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsÉtienne BeckerJean NégroniHélène ChatelainThe story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsMalcolm McDowellMary SteenburgenDavid WarnerH.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.
- DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsEthan HawkeSarah SnookNoah TaylorAs his last assignment, a temporal agent is tasked to travel back in time and prevent a bomb attack in New York in 1975. The hunt, however, turns out to be beyond the bounds of possibility.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsPamela DuncanRichard GarlandAllison HayesA beautiful woman is sent back in time via hypnosis to the Middle Ages where she finds she is suspected of being a witch, and subject to being executed.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsClaude RichOlga Georges-PicotAnouk FerjacAfter attempting suicide, Claude is recruited for a time travel experiment, but, when the machine goes haywire, he may be trapped hurtling through his memories.
- DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara GoenagaA man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsLeslie HowardHeather AngelValerie TaylorA young American man comes to believe that he can will himself back to London in the time of the American Revolution and meet his ancestors, who lived in the house he has just inherited.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsLouis HaywardJoan LeslieVirginia FieldOn New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated.
- DirectorAllen ReisnerStarsWilliam BendixMartin BalsamDarryl HickmanA man is sent back in time to December 6, 1941 and tries to warn people about the upcoming Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsRobert ClarkeDarlene TompkinsArianne UlmerIn 1960, a military test pilot is caught in a time warp that propels him to year 2024 where he finds a plague has sterilized the world's population.
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette MimieuxA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
- DirectorIb MelchiorStarsPreston FosterPhilip CareyMerry AndersIn 1964, a group of scientists create a portal that takes them to a barren, mutant inhabited, Earth in the year 2071.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsMichael SacksRon LeibmanEugene RocheBilly Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsAdam AntRichard O'BrienIan CharlesonQueen Elizabeth I travels 400 years into the future to witness the appalling revelation of a dystopian London overrun by corruption and a vicious gang of punk guerrilla girls led by the new Monarch of Punk.
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsChristopher ReeveJane SeymourChristopher PlummerA Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- DirectorRené LalouxStarsJean ValmontMichel EliasFrédéric LegrosPiel, a 7 or 8 year old boy, is alone on the desert planet Perdide, only survivor of an attack by giant hornets. Calling for help, Piel's father's friend Jaffar keeps contact with the kid and hurries across space toward Perdide.
- DirectorWilliam DearStarsFred WardBelinda BauerPeter CoyoteA maverick motorbike racer wanders into a top-secret time-travel research test site which unintentionally teleports him to the mid-1800s and ends up having to fight violent outlaws for his survival.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
- DirectorCharles BandStarsTim ThomersonHelen HuntMichael StefaniA gruff bounty hunter travels back in time to 1980s Los Angeles to stop a twisted criminal who can transform people into zombie-like creatures.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsNeil DicksonAlex Hyde-WhiteFiona HutchisonDaring British WWI fighter pilot James "Biggles" Bigglesworth and 1980s low-level business executive Jim Ferguson discover that they can time travel to each other's eras. They try to stop the Germans from changing the outcome of WWI.
- DirectorGeorgiy DaneliyaStarsStanislav LyubshinEvgeniy LeonovYuriy YakovlevTwo Russians push the wrong button on a strange device and end up on the telepathic planet Pluke with its strange societal norms.
- DirectorCirio H. SantiagoStarsRobert PatrickLinda CarolEd CrickA man from a post-apocalyptic future travels back in time to prevent the coming nuclear holocaust and enlists the help of a young couple.
- DirectorVincent WardStarsBruce LyonsChris HaywoodHamish GoughMen seeking relief from the Black Death, guided by a boy's vision, dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonAfter visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsKeanu ReevesAlex WinterGeorge CarlinTwo rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.
- DirectorJonathan HeapStarsJane AldenDon AmendoliaJohn BachelderPoor Myron Castleman is stuck reliving the same 59 minutes of his lunch break.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydMary SteenburgenStranded in 1955, Marty McFly learns about the death of Doc Brown in 1885 and must travel back in time to save him. With no fuel readily available for the DeLorean, the two must figure how to escape the Old West before Emmett is murdered.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsJohn HurtRaul JuliaNick BrimbleThe ultimate weapon which was meant to be safe for the mankind produces global side effects including time slides and disappearances.The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817's Switzerland.
- DirectorPeter HewittStarsKeanu ReevesAlex WinterWilliam SadlerA tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
- DirectorCharles BandStarsTim ThomersonHelen HuntMegan Ward6 years after a time cop returns home from battling future alien zombies, his settled life is turned upside down when a mad scientists creates more.
- DirectorJack SholderStarsHelen SlaterJonathan SilvermanNicolas SurovyA man likes a woman at work. He sees her get murdered. He gets drunk and zapped at 12:01AM. Next morning she's back and everything is exactly like the day before. The time loops gives him chances to save her.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsJean-Claude Van DammeMia SaraRon SilverMax Walker, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel, must fend for his life against a shady politician who's intent on changing the past to control the future.
- DirectorJeong-kwon KimStarsYoo Ji-taeKim Ha-neulHa Ji-WonTwo students, separated in time, are somehow able to talk to each other using amateur radio, one in 1979 and the other in 2000.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsDennis QuaidJim CaviezelShawn DoyleAn accidental cross-time radio link connects father and son across 30 years. The son tries to save his father's life, but then must fix the consequences.
- DirectorHyun-seung LeeStarsLee Jung-jaeJun Ji-hyunMu-saeng KimIn 1999, a voice actor moves from Il Mare, a seaside house, and leaves a Christmas card in its (magical) mailbox. An architecture student receives it in 1997, and a friendship separated by 2 years begins.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonPaula PattonJim CaviezelAfter a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRiisa NakaTakuya IshidaMitsutaka ItakuraA high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
- DirectorChristopher SmithStarsMelissa GeorgeJoshua McIvorJack TaylorFive friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsJake GyllenhaalMichelle MonaghanVera FarmigaA soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittBruce WillisEmily BluntIn 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
- DirectorColin TrevorrowStarsAubrey PlazaMark DuplassJake JohnsonThree magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.
- DirectorAhmad AlyaseerStarsZaid BaqaeenNajwan BaqaeenZad is on a mission to convince a woman to go with him in order to save the world.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsTom CruiseEmily BluntBill PaxtonA soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
- DirectorHugh SullivanStarsJosh McConvilleHannah MarshallAlex DimitriadesA man's attempt to construct the ultimate romantic weekend backfires when his quest for perfection traps his lover in an infinite loop.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
- DirectorDon HertzfeldtStarsJulia PottWinona MaeSara CushmanA little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.
- DirectorVikram KumarVikram K. KumarStarsSuriyaSamantha Ruth PrabhuNithya MenenA scientist invents a time machine, which leads to a bitter battle between his evil twin brother and his son.
- DirectorChristopher LandonStarsJessica RotheIsrael BroussardRuby ModineA college student must relive the day of her murder over and over again, in a loop that will end only when she discovers her killer's identity.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJosé Luis FerrerIsmael FritschiJuan López-TagleToby, a disillusioned film director, is pulled into a world of time-jumping fantasy when a Spanish cobbler believes himself to be Sancho Panza. He gradually becomes unable to tell dreams from reality.
- DirectorDean ParisotStarsKeanu ReevesAlex WinterKristen SchaalOnce told they'd save the universe during a time-traveling adventure, two would-be rockers from San Dimas, California find themselves as middle-aged dads still trying to crank out a hit song and fulfill their destiny.
- DirectorChung-Hyun LeeStarsPark Shin-hyeJeon Jong-seoKim Sung-ryungTwo people live in different times. Seo-Yeon lives in the present and Young-Sook lives in the past. One phone call connects the two, and their lives are changed irrevocably.
- DirectorMax BarbakowStarsAndy SambergCristin MiliotiJ.K. SimmonsStuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsJohn David WashingtonRobert PattinsonElizabeth DebickiArmed with only the word "Tenet," and fighting for the survival of the entire world, CIA operative, The Protagonist, journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a global mission that unfolds beyond real time.