Time travel is a popular subject for filmmakers. The notion of travelling forwards and backwards in time is tantalisingly rich in possibilities, but also a fluid enough concept to apply to any genre, any form, and to be understood in any language.
We have travelled back in time from next week to share some of our staff favourites with you, all of which are available to buy now on the Limelight store.
From cult B-movies to blockbusters, from France to Japan, and from the end of humanity to a bit of a kerfuffle in a coffee shop, there is bound to be something here that you have never seen before, or really need to revisit!
We have tried to steer clear of the obvious ones for you, but let us know if we have missed any of your little-seen favourites on our socials. We have to get back to next week again now. You’ll never believe what happens…
"Jack Deth is back... and he's never even been here before!"
The underseen 80s gem, Trancers, shmushes together time travel, noir, zombies, comedy and a bitchin’ synth score.
A cop from 2247, Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson from Near Dark), travels back in time to 1985 LA hunting a madman from the future who can turn people into zombies that obey his every desire. Partnering up with a local punk (THE Helen Hunt!), Deth pursues his nemesis with the fate of time itself hanging in the balance!
Trancers is as much fun as it sounds. A funny and thrilling B-movie with cool effects and sets, and unforgettable characters. The 4K UHD/Blu-ray from 101 Films is gorgeous and comes loaded with all the film’s archive extras, plus newly shot interviews and an 80-page booklet.
"A one-take time travel sci-fi comedy!"
One of the best films at FrightFest 2021 (how’s THAT for time travel), we pointed you towards this one in the Third Window ‘Where To Start’ blog if you enjoyed One Cut of the Dead.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is cleverly made to look filmed in one shot by first-time director Junta Yamaguchi, and is about a moody cafe owner who discovers that a temporal rift between the TV in his flat upstairs and the telly in his shop downstairs enables him to see the future two minutes from now. Pushing the boundaries of what he can use the ‘Time TV’ to do soon gets him into big trouble with local gangsters and the ‘Time and Space Bureau’.
Cute, smart and adorable, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes will break your brain in the most lovely way, while keeping you glued to the screen and smiling.
"The past is the present and future in Alain Resnais' new time machine."
From director Alan Resnais (Stavisky), Je t’aime, je t’aime sees a suicidal man given the chance to be the first human subject in a time travel experiment. Sent back in time one year for just one minute, Claude becomes trapped, hurtling through his own memories when the time machine goes haywire!
Perfect for you if you enjoyed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Je t’aime, je t’aime is an ingenious melding of sci-fi and romance, now available on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
"There is a future that we can’t wait for!"
We’ve discussed the live-action version before, but the animated 2006 adaptation of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is perhaps even better!
Makoto is a teenager who just wants to hang out with her friends. But one day, she nearly gets hit by a train and finds herself jumping backwards through time to avoid the accident!
She immediately makes use of her newfound ability to redo every minor inconvenience – from poor exam results to awkward confessions of love. But when she realises it is not just her own timeline she is changing, Makoto must do everything she can to avoid a dire future that can’t be reversed.
Told with a breathtaking art style, full of youthful energy, but also shot through with tenderness, pain and nostalgia, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a must-see coming-of-age adventure.
If you enjoy The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, you must check out the equally incredible Summer Wars and Belle, both from the same director, Mamoru Hasoda.
"They’re coming."
Terry ‘Time Bandits’ Gilliam’s time-travel thriller Twelve Monkeys features an all-star cast including Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe and Brad Pitt, but those of you who weren’t around in 1995 may have never seen it.
In a dystopian future, Cole (Willis) is routinely sent back in time to the mid-90s to try and gather information on the virus that wiped out humanity and a mysterious group known as The Army of the Twelve Monkeys.
The technology is not quite perfected, and Cole finds himself sent to the wrong time completely - the trenches of the First World War - or not quite where he was before. Regularly picked up and treated by a put-upon city psych nurse (Stowe), whom he falls for, Cole also keeps finding himself meeting a mysterious madman (Pitt) who may hold the answer to the Twelve Monkeys.
A personal favourite Gilliam film that we may or may not be old enough to have seen in the cinema more than once, Twelve Monkeys is a brilliant thriller full stop, but its decrepit tech time travel is unlike anything you have seen before, and the mystery will keep you on the edge of your seat until the thrilling climax!
Also watch:
You have probably seen them all a million times, but there is no denying that Interstellar, The Terminator and The Back to the Future Trilogy are some of the best time travel movies ever made. Watch them immediately if you haven’t, and get them on 4K if you have!