Excellent but underrated film

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I, too, wish that this were available on DVD. Maybe it will be put onto some budget sci-fi collection DVD, someday--why not? I'm not certain that I still have this on VHS--it's been awhile for viewing, unfortunately.This film shares a similar problem with the lesser-regarded special effects of the theatrical film "Clash of the Titans"--a work from the same era--that version of the film starred Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, and other legendary Brit actors. Many people wish that some of today's digital wizardry then proved available for such lesser-supported works. Some of that magic might have made this a great TV movie, after all. (Sometimes, though, improbable modern special effects may prove tedious.) I like Rod Taylor and his movie, too. Really, though, the late '70s is an era in which time travel would have proved more likely to succeed. Thus, the "time-ship," lab, and other prop features appear to be much more "accurate" and likely to succeed at such a task. They're pretty cool! Really, I don't see a problem with John Beck as "scientist," either. He portrays a fellow who proves to be quite calm, logical, and collected. (Linking John to porn proves very insulting. He proved very highly valued in the '70s and '80s. John was one of the few guys in this biz whom, women--after an initial "shock and awe"--never forget! Really, he's etched forever, easily, as one of the most handsome guys ever to grace a screen. Apparently, that's something which John's harsh critics--mostly men--never will understand.)

Apparently this is based on HG Wells The Time Machine but one can't help wondering if the producers read another book with the same title ? Perhaps some of the commentators here also read that book because as someone who did read Wells original novel I can state without any embarrassment and reservation that the first half of this TVM has absolutely nothing in common with the book except for a vague premise of having someone building a time machine The story takes place in a contemporary setting where a Soviet satellite falls out of orbit and threatens Los Angles and scientist Neil Perry saves the day but coming to the conclusion that because there's too many people in the control room their body heat is interfering with the missile sent up to destroy the satellite . Does this make sense ? The lack of credibility is exaggerated by casting John Beck as Perry since he looks like a 70s porn star , think of John Holmes with a sensible haircut and you've got the idea Some military type then takes Perry side and asks him what he's done with the $20 million dollars he's received from the government and you can't blame him because if you' look like a porn star and flirt with a secretary old enough to be your grandmother you might have the instinctive fear that it's been blown on cocaine . Thankfully Porno Perry has invested it all in to a time machine which he's just tried out I might have to re-read the book but I'm pretty certain that in the original novel the protagonist didn't get tied to the stake by 17th century puritans and almost burned alive . The puritans were considerate enough to have Perry sit in his machine while the flames take hold so he's able to literally use his head to escape . I had thought for a moment Porno Perry might have used another part of his anatomy to use his controls but this is an American TVM so no offence is allowed - except offending anyone who has read the book It's not Perry's day however because he soon finds himself caught up in the California gold rush , imprisoned and escapes town while there's a gunfight between good guys and bad guys . It's at this point you think the only bad guys in the world are the people who produced this aberration of literature claiming it's based upon a novel by the most influential writer of the 20th Century . We're now half way through the TVM and there's not been one single scene that has been taken directly from the book Thankfully Perry now travels in to the future where he gets involved with the Eloi and Molochs thereby showing at long last showing at long last why this travesty might owe anything to HG Wells and in keeping with the rest of the TVM it's bland and uninvolving replacing Darwinian subtext with pacifist agitprop Some people may claim the 1960 and 2002 movie versions did change Wells text to a large degree but this was justified . Both films were highly entertaining and the 1960 version especially had lots of charm along with Rod Taylor's time traveler being disgusted as to what mankind had become , he was still recognizably a Wellsian character . Here however we're watching a very cheap and charmless production with not very good actors slumming it in a script devoid of any intellect . Wells must have been turning in his grave and this is possibly the worst film adaptation of any book brought to screen

I had to post a comment about this adaptation of The Time Machine after reading the very harsh review by "Anonymous" from Sacramento.This 1978 version was never intended as a remake to the 1960 version; in the 1960 film, MGM took a lot of liberties with the original book material, and in fact this version is a much more faithful adaptation of the book, and much closer to HG Wells' vision.Whereas the 1960 version had a number of "key events" included that were not actually in the book at all, and also several key issues omitted, this version largely stays true to the book in all aspects.While John Beck is not as confident or assured (or even as "arrogant") in his role as Rod Taylor, his more laid-back performance is far more reminiscent of the Time Traveller from the book than Taylor's. A couple of other famous faces (including the John A. Doucette, Priscilla Barnes and even Whit Bissell, who also starred in the 1960 version, are all pleasant enough in their supporting roles.The effects are not brilliant, but then this was a cheap budget production made in the Star Wars era, so in comparison there was no way the effects were ever going to match up with productions from the likes of MGM or 20th Century Fox for that time! In short, while nothing special, and not as entertaining as the 1960 version, this 1978 adaptation is not absolutely disastrous either.When it comes to accurately depicting HG Wells' original book, the 1960 "Time Machine" film is the weaker version, not this one

Ok, I'll admit, it didn't have oscar winning special effects. But at least this "update" to the 1960's Time Machine existed in 1978 and now the more recent remake of Time Machine. The movie script was fairly decent, and the special effects were somewhat realistic. I think if you give the 1978 remake a chance, that it comes across fairly nice on a whole. The ending was good in that at least they brought closure to the character in meeting back up with Weena in the future. This believe it or not is a very rare film. You don't see it on DVD or VHS anywhere and they don't replay it on TV or cable that I've seen at all, which is a real shame. I lucked out and taped it years ago on VHS. I always enjoy looking at it from time to time. Sure, I know the quality of the effects aren't great, but hey, it's nice to check out every now and then.