A Romantic Classic

This touching romantic classic is well done. The acting by Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer (as the interfering manager W.F. Robinson) is superb. The musical score by composer John Barry is wonderful and also includes Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody. It has often been the musical choice of figure skaters for their skating programs and is actually where I first heard the music.

Richard Collier (Reeve) is a playwright who lives in Chicago in 1980. One day, out of the blue, he receives the gift of a watch from an elderly woman who says, "Come back to me". He becomes haunted by this experience and becomes attracted to a picture in the hotel of a famous actress, Elise McKenna (Seymour). Through research he realizes that she is the same woman who gave him the watch and also that she died on the same day. He then begins his struggle, through hypnosis, to make it back to 1912 to renew his acquaintance with Elise.

The movie is slow paced, but has some very touching moments. I love the scene of their first meeting when Elise says, "Is it you?" It contains a minimal amount of swearing (religious in nature)and also the ending love scene, although tastefully done, may cause it to be inappropriate for children under 12. I personally prefer the Hallmark movie, The Love Letter, which has a similar theme but is more appropriate for all ages.

It is not surprising that this movie has become a cult classic, with fans meeting every October at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan, where the story takes place and was filmed. It was also filmed in Chicago.

The special edition also includes an interesting featurette from 2000 about the making of the film and interviews with the actors. Christopher Reeve shares an experience from his own life that is very similar to what happens to his character in the film. It must be noted that this featurette on the video is an edited version of the one on the DVD which is at least 15 min. longer.

A Love throughout Time

Somewhere in Time is an excellent film that combines Time Travel with romance, using an interesting and unique idea involving hypnotizing your mind to believe you are actually in that moment in history. If you can avoid analyzing the rationality of time travel and suspend your disbelief, this film will be very enjoyable for you. The idea of travelling back through time to find your soulmate is something both men and women can believe in. It is to the credit of the performances of the leads, Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, that the viewer believes that such a thing is possible. Reeve and Seymour also look well together and have obvious chemistry, making their love affair entirely believable. Especially with their first kiss, there is a deep and passionate love that seems entirely real. The third element is the acting of Christopher Plummer, who is always excellent and quite effective here as the overprotective manager of Seymour's character. But, there are two more elements that contributes greatly to the atmposhere of the film - the moving music composed by John Barry, and the Grand Hotel where most of the movie is set. The handsome and expressive Reeve, the calm beauty of Seymour, the brooding and calculating Plummer, the romantic and moving music and the timeless presence of the Grand Hotel combine into a magical film for the hopeless romantic.

DVD Comments: Compared to reference DVDs the video and audio quality are average, with slight graininess at times. However, this can be forgiven because of the excellent quality of the film. Those who have only seen Pan Scan versions on Cable and VHS will enjoy the widescreen presentation. The extras include a Behind the Scenes Special, Trailer, Fan Club Information, Bios and Production Photos. All are excellent and welcome additons. Of note, I found the Behind the Scenes Special added to the film experience. You will learn interesting tidbits about the making of the movie, with comments by the director, Reeve, Seymour and other players. It becomes readily apparent that the actors and crew loved making this film and hold it in a special place in their hearts. To see Reeve, who suffered a horseback-riding accident that left him paralyzed years after making the film, lends to the heartbreaking experience of seeing the film again. His comments about the final scenes of the film are very interesting and insightful to his own tragic life experience. The production photos are excellent, especially the stills of Seymour with her incredibly beautiful face and long, flowing hair. It is easy to relate and believe that Reeve's character would fall so hopelessly in love with her picture alone. The events that occur in the film, the time travel and events that happen at the end of the film are believable because of Seymour's beauty and acting ability. All of the actors, the setting, and the music are important aspects of the film, but Seymour makes the movie. Therefore, if you are a hopeless romantic, or a fan of Reeve or Seymour, I highly recommend this DVD to you.

Get the Ben & Jerry's and settle in...

At times this movie does put the "suspension of disbelief" to the test... it is far-fetched, but enjoyable if you allow yourself to accept the story as it's presented. The acting is ok, the music beautiful and haunting.

This is a great movie for those times when you feel the need to have an emotional outlet. There are some scenes where you can almost think it's a comedy, and then the mood changes to something more serious. The end seemed a little awkward, and is a real tear-jerker if you've let yourself get sucked into the story. With a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a few tissues (and some friends, if you're into sharing tears with them), it's worth the time if you're in the mood.