Time Travel Narratives | OTIS

Time Travel Movies

Page history last edited by JM Venturini 3 mos ago

Below is a brief list of full-length movies where Time Travel plays a major role as a plot device:

[I assure you, this is not an exhaustive list]

Read through carefully before making your selection! Do NOT post in the comments!

Do not see a movie listed? Add the movie to our list! To receive Extra Credit for contributing to this page: include a brief summary with your review, and links or images or embed videos. In addition, add content to what is already posted below. You will receive Extra Credit for contributing to this page.

Make sure to keep the movies in alphabetical order by title.

To add a row simply highlight a row with your cursor, right click, select rows and then insert row either before or after.

Movie	Release Year/Director	Summary
A Kid in Aladins Palace	April 1998/ Robert L. Levy	Calvin has once more been sent to the past to solve a problem. This time however by the genie of the lamp. Aladin has been "murdered" and the genie in the cave is at risk from Aladin's eveil step brother. Do not need to see these in order as they are not really related except for the character.
A kid in King Athur's Court Groundhog Day Timecop Timecop: The Berlin Decision	Aug 1995/ Michael Gotllieb 1993/Harold Ramis 1994/Peter Hyams 2003/Steve Boyum	Calvin Fuller is sucked into King Arthur's court by Merlin. His Mission: To save Camelot in order to return to his time. Based on mark Twain's novel "A Conneticute Yankee in King Arthur's court" A reporter finds himself endlessly repeating the same lame holiday over and over and over again. With the invention of time travel, also came the timperal police force. Protecting the past to make sure no rogue time traveler changes anything. The problem is, if you do change something, your the only one who knows it. A different timecop, sorry ladies, no Jean-Claude Van Damm, stops his partner from killing Hitler.
Always Will	2007 / Michael Sammaciccia	High-school teen uses a time capsule to travel to the past and alter his social status.
Army of Darkness	1992 / Sam Raimi	Bruce Campbell, a supermarket employee, is sent back in time by a book to the 14th century medieval era.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	1999 / Jay Roach	Dr. Evil is back and has invented a time machine that allows him to go back to the 60's so he can steal Austin Powers's mojo.
Back to the Future	1985 / Robert Zemeckis	Time travel is achieved by means of a flux capacitor. Marty McFly intervenes in his parents' first meeting, preventing them from falling in love, and placing his own existence in danger. It is recommended to watch these films in order.
Back to the Future Part II	1989 - sequel	Continuing the adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown --- this time to the future. It is recommended to watch these films in order.
Back to the Future Part III	1990 - sequel	Continuing the adventures of Marty McFly to save doc Brown in the past. It is recommended to watch these films in order.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker	2000 / Curt Geda	The Joker is killed in Batman's time by the Jokerfied Robin. Years later with the new Batman, the Joker returns the same age.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure	1989 / Stephen Herek	Two teenagers (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) will not graduate from high school unless they pull on A on their history project. A time traveler (George Carlin) visits them to help because their success on this report is vital to a Utopian future. As Bill and Ted travel through time they encounter historical figures including Socrates, Joan of Arc, and Billy the Kid.
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey	1991 / Peter Hewitt	Sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Bill and Ted are killed by an evil robot and have to challenge the Grim Reaper to escape, rescue their girlfriends, and save the future. Cannot choose this movie if using Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
The Blue Yonder Sphere	1985 / Mark Rosman 1998 / Barry Levinson	The main character borrows his neighbor’s time machine to go back in time to prevent his grandfather's death. A team of scientists discover a ship at the bottom of the sea.
The Butterfly Effect The Butterfly Effect 2 The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations	2004 / Eric Bess & J. Mackye Gruber 2006 / John R. Leonetti 2009 / Seth Grossman	A college psychology student (Ashton Kutcher) learns he can temporarily travel to his past and change it. The time traveling in this film involves a process initiated by reading childhood journals. A brain tumor allows a person to change the past by looking at or focusing on photographs, rather than journals and home movies. A young man with the power to time travel tries to solve the mystery of his girlfriend's death.
Click	2006 / Frank Coraci	Adam Sandler is given a remote that lets him fast forward, pause, and rewind his life.
Deja Vu A Sound of Thunder	2006 / Tony Scott 2005 / Peter Hyams	Denzel Washington is an ATF agent investigating a terrorist act who is invited to assist in a government time travel surveillance project. Based on the amazing short story by the same name. Travelers change something that was not supposed to be changed, and time collapses on itself.
Doctor Who	1996	This film involves Doctor Who in his eighth incarnation and penultimate known showdown with the Master.
Donnie Darko	2001 / Richard Kelly	This complex plot offers many interpretations of time travel.
Kate & Leopold	2001/ James Mangold	Kate and her actor brother live in N.Y. in the 21st Century. Her ex-boy friend, Stuart, lives above...
S. Darko	2009 / Chris Fisher	7 years after Donnie Darko had his experience, younger sister Samantha, now 18 has her very similar one. Don't worry. The Bunny makes a comeback.
The Final Countdown	1980 / Don Taylor	A storm at sea transports a nuclear warship back in time from the 1980s to the 1940s.
Frequency	2000 / Gregory Hoblit	A cop talks to his long time dead father in the past over a CB radio effected by the Northern Lights and tries to stop him from dieing by warning him of events to come.
Flight of the Navigator	1986 / Randal Kleiser	In 1978, a boy is moved 8 years into the future after having an adventure with an alien ship.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	2004 / Alfonso Cuarón	It's Harry's third year at Hogwarts; not only does he have a new "Defense Against the Dark Arts" teacher, but there is also trouble brewing. Convicted murderer Sirius Black has escaped the Wizards' Prison and is coming after Harry. Hermione Granger uses a Time-Turner.
Idaho Transfer	1973 / Peter Fonda	Due to an impending disaster that threatens to destroy mankind, a time machine is built by a group of young scientists to transport themselves into the future to rebuild civilization.
Idiocracy	2006/ Mike judge	Private Joe Bauers, the definition of "average American", is selected by the Pentagon to be the guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program. Forgotten, he awakes 500 years in the future. He discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he's easily the most intelligent person alive.
Star Trek	2009 / J.J. Abrams	This is how it all began, but this time line is slightly askew. Captain Kirk and the Enterprise.
Inuyasha: Affections Touching Across Time	2001 / Toshiya Shinohara	InuYasha is a half-demon who was trapped in the Legendary Tree and was set free by Kagome, a girl who traveled 500 years through time. This time, both of them will have to face Menomaru, a Chinese demon whose father, known as Hyoga, came 300 years ago to invade Japan, but was stopped by InuYasha's Father.
The Jacket	2005 / John Maybury	This thriller stars Adrien Brody as Jack Starks, a Persian Gulf War veteran who has lost his memories to amnesia. When Jack is accused of a heinous killing, he realizes he must find a way to prove his innocence. Desperate to unearth clues about his past, he seeks a controversial treatment that allows him to go back in time -- which turns out to be a heart-rending decision when he realizes he's destined for tragedy.
Masters of the Universe	1982 / David Odell	The villain uses a camcorder-like gadget that shows the past, and an inventor opens up wormholes to other timestreams allowing the heroine to save her parents from dying.
Minority Report	2002/Steven Spielberg	In the future, criminals are caught before the crimes they commit, but one of the officers in the special unit is accused of one such crime and sets out to prove his innocence.
My Science Project	1985 / Jonathan R. Betuel	Michael and Ellie break into a military junkyard to find a science project. They find an orb that dangerously bends time and have to stop it to save the world.
Outlaws	1986 / Nicholas Corea	Five cowboys are sent forward through time 100 years and crime fight.
The Philadelphia Experiment	1984 / Stewart Raffill	In 1943 an anti-radar experiment accidentally sends two sailors forward in time to 1984.
Primer	2004 / Shane Carruth	Four 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 --- a time machine.
Returner	2002 / Takashi Yamazaki	The human race is on the edge of annihilation after decades of war with an alien force. In an outpost in Tibet, mankind’s last hope of survival is a time travel device.
Retroactive	1997/Louis Morneau	A psychiatrist makes multiple trips through time to save a woman that was murdered by her brutal husband.
Sliding Doors	1998 / Peter Howitt	"A London woman's love life and career both hinge, unknown to her, on whether or not she catches a train. We see it both ways, in parallel." IMBD
Slipstream	2007/Anthony Hopkins	Aging screenwriter Felix Bonhoeffer has lived his life in two states of existence: in reality and his own interior world. While working on a murder mystery script, and unaware that his brain is on the verge of implosion, Felix is baffled when his characters start to appear in his life, and vice versa.
Slaughterhouse-Five	1972 / George Roy Hill	A man travels to various times and places from his life in addition to another planet.
Solaris	Steven Soderbergh
Somewhere in Time	1980 / Jeannot Szwarc	A young man sees an old photograph of a woman, and through hypnosis travels back in time from 1980 to 1912 to meet her.
Star Trek: First Contact	1996 / Jonathan Frakes	The Enterprise follows the Borg back in time to prevent them from altering history and preventing Earth's first warp flight and first contact with the Vulcans.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	1986 / Leonard Nimoy	To save earth, Captain Kirk and his crew travel back in time to retrieve the beings who can communicate with an alien probe (humpback whales).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III	1993 / Stuart Gillard	The turtles end up in feudal Japan due to a mysterious lantern staff.
The Terminator	1984 / James Cameron	A cyborg, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to destroy humanity by killing the future mother of its future savior.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day	1991 / James Cameron	Sequel to The Terminator. It is recommended to watch these films in order.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines	2003 / Jonathan Mostow	Another sequel. Judgement day was just delayed. This shows how the nukes start flying.
Terminator: Salvation	2009 / McG	And yet another. This is what happens to actually make John the big guy in charge. It also features a CGI young Arnold.
Time After Time	1979 / Nicholas Meyer	Using a time machine, Jack the Ripper and HG Wells travel from 1890s London to 1979 San Francisco.
Time Bandits	1981 / Terry Gilliam	A young boy unwittingly joins a band of dwarves as they travel through time hunting treasure.
Timecrimes or Los Cronocrímenes	2007 / Nacho Vigalondo	In this film, Hector (played by Karra Elejalde) is caught in a causal loop. At first a victim of a seemingly random attack, events unfold for Hector that raises the questions of what defines the victim and the murderer? This is an excellent film that explores the question of free will's existence in a Causal Loop.
Timeline	2003 / Richard Donner	Adaptation of the book by Michael Crichton, it omits much of the science.
Time Machine	1960 / George Pal	Loose Adaptation of H.G. Wells's novel.
The Time Machine Time Kid	2002 / Simon Wells 2003/Will Meugniot Pam Carter	Remake of 1960s version of the film, stays closer to H.G. Wells’s original novel. Cashing in on the 2002 film, a cartoon movie featuriing the time traveller's son going into the future to save his father. It's more loose in basis on the book than change is in your pocket.Toki o kakeru shôjo
Toki o kakeru shôjo	2006/Mamoru Hosoda	A teenage girl finds that she has the ability to leap through time. With her newfound power, she tries to use it to her advantage, but soon finds that tampering with time can lead to some rather discomforting results.
Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann	1982 / William Dear	The hero travels by means of "time cannons".
The Time Travelers	1964 / Ib Melchior	A time travel experiment that was supposed to produce a window into different times is actually a portal.
Twelve Monkeys	1995 / Terry Gilliam	James Cole tries to change the past but fails. It therefore runs on the principle of a fixed timeline. Worth mentioning the 1962 short film La Jetée directed by Chris Marker --- The hero is haunted by a memory from his childhood, which turns out to be himself as an adult. La Jetée was the basis of the full-length feature Twelve Monkeys.
The Time Traveller's Wife	2009 / Robert Schwentke	A man goes back in time throughout his wife's life and meets her at different points. After she marries him it turns out he can't control the jumps, so he disappears a lot.
The Family Man	2000/Brett Rantner	A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
The Time Seekers	1999/Mario Azzopardi	A reporter, learning of time travelers visiting 20th century disasters, tries to change the history they know by averting upcoming disasters.