Talk:Somewhere in Time (film)

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Contents 1 Bigfoot 2 Automobiles 3 INSITE 4 I have just begun an article for the book 5 Paradox - - why didnt' he reach out for Elise?

[edit] Bigfoot

The reference to Christopher Reeve being called "Bigfoot" seems very unlikely to me ("Man of Steel", the previous edit, makes more sense) ... but from at least a quick skim of contributor Frecklefoot's other work, he doesn't seem the type to vandalize. Can someone check into this? TimLynch 00:49, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't when this happened, but I sure didn't mean to vandalize. It might've been lumped together with some reverting? If someone can find the correct refence, please cite it and fix it in the article. Sorry! — Frecklefoot | Talk 22:55, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Automobiles

The paradox about the watch is something. My question though is that if automobiles have not been allowed on the island, how did the elderly McKenna's limosine get there, 1971-72, let alone Collier's vehicle later, 79-80?.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.2.231.19 (talk • contribs)

That's a good question. I assume they didn't intend on geeks looking up this type of information on the Internet and brought them in specifically for the film. Plus, I don't think there was any intention on the setting for this film to be the Grand Hotel itself, but, rather, a fictional one. In that case, the presence of cars isn't a problem. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:24, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

In the original book, the hotel was the Coronado in San Diego, but when they decided to make the movie, the Coronado was considered unsuitable because of all the modern surroundings, wires, etc. So Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island was selected. However, the movie never identified any specific area except Chicago...so the "Grand Hotel" and Millfield College could've been anyplace...so because of that, there is no paradox where the vehicles are concerned. According to the book about the making of somewhere in time written by INSITE founder Bill Shepherd, the film crew had to get special permission to have vehicles on Mackinac Island...and they were limited as to how many they could have. Everyone had to get to and from by bicycle or horse. 15.251.169.70 20:36, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] INSITE

Someone put information into the entry about a possible closure of the fan group, International Network Of Somewhere In Time Enthusiasts (INSITE). As I am a former member of INSITE, I got concerned and wrote to Jo Addie about this possible closure. According to the e-email I received from her, she says they are still a "go" for 2007, but because they've lost over 50% of their membership, they are struggling to stay viable as an organized club. So they've introduced a tiered system in order to keep afloat. Just figure folks here would want to know.

Ladycascadia 20:21, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I have just begun an article for the book

I've started an article for the book, Bid Time Return. It is pretty rough at this point, and I will add to it later; I welcome help from anyone else. I recently did a lot of work on the article for Matheson's novel What Dreams May Come. One difference, however, is that with the latter, I liked the novel a lot more than the film. In the case of Bid Time Return/Somewhere in Time, I think the movie was somewhat better. I haven't read Bid Time Return as often as I've read What Dreams May Come, and I haven't read it any time recently, but I do own a copy and can consult it. marbeh raglaim 09:18, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paradox - - why didnt' he reach out for Elise?

In the category of "they didn't expect geeks..." from topic #1 on here, perhaps, but two problems I've had with that coin since I saw the film... 1. Why didnt' he tell himself it was a forgey? I mean, it would have been each for a coppersmith to do that, and if tags on his underwear didn't tell him earleir he was from the future,, that coin shouldn't have. (Remember Back to the Future? "You're Calvin Klein...you're name's swen into your underwear." 2. Why didn't he grab hold of elise's hand? If seeing a coin sends him forward in time, it should send forward *anything* he has hold of. Somebody needs to go on fanfiction.net and write an alternate ending under miscellaneous movies about him doing that. Of course, Elise's shock might destroy her, anyway...

Once he sees the coin, he can't do anything about it. His surroundings fade very quickly. In the book, he's described as almost paralyzed; he tries to throw the coin away but can't. It makes perfect sense based on the rules that are set up. In both the book and the film, time travel is achieved by conditioning one's mind to think it's in the past. Since the process is all mental, seeing the coin is what undoes the conditioning. The mere presence of the coin in his pocket wouldn't have made a difference, because his mind wasn't aware of it until that moment. marbeh raglaim (talk) 02:46, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah, okay, thanks. Elise's reflexes *still* could have led her to reach out to him, though. Hmmm, and I see fanfiction.net *has* a section on "Somewhere In time."...

I might write something on Elise being transported to 1979 by grabbing hold of him. (Or, by having hold of him at that moment) if I have time. :-) I won't keep Richard in 1912, though. There's this thing called World War One he could get drafted into in a few years, and...well, it might end about the same, except with him dying in the trenches. (Not a problem in the book, obviously, being further back.)209.244.187.155 (talk) 11:47, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Think of it like when your knee accidentally bangs into the button for turning the computer off, and you watch in dismay as the windows close and the icons disappear. You can move the mouse around, but no matter what you do, you can't stop the computer from shutting down.

Since I read the book first, I have always been struck by the ambiguity as to whether Richard's entire foray into the past really happened or was simply a self-induced hypnotic fantasy. The movie tries to avoid the possibility, but it's still there.

Of course, you are free to interpret the story differently and write the fan fiction the way you please. Just try to be consistent, if you want your readers to buy it. marbeh raglaim (talk) 15:28, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

True - having not read the book, I hadn't considered the possibility, but it's true. The movie does do a good job of trying to avoid the possibility, though - there has to be some reason for Elise's sudden withdrawal that caused her to give the timepiece...then again, I suppose it's possible tht Richard's presence prevented her from encountering another lover who left her...like you say, it has to be written consistently, and there are enough things to consider as it is...Thanks again.4.68.248.130 (talk) 21:15, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Roger Ebert, who apparently didn't read the book, wondered in his review if Richard's experience was real. Still, I think that interpretation is a stretch. In the movie, there's no particular reason to believe Richard would hallucinate an entire fantasy, and his experience seems to be corroborated by the old version of Elise. This is in contrast to the book, where Richard has a brain tumor, and he never meets an old version of Elise. He claims to have a memory of seeing an old Elise from afar, and he does see an old hotel register with his signature. But we really can't be sure his perceptions are accurate. The two main differences with the book are (1) he has a brain tumor and is therefore not a reliable witness to what's happening (2) there's no external corroboration to his experience either.

I should note here that although I am a fan of Richard Matheson, I liked the movie more than the book. Because the book is presented as a dying man's private journal, it rambles and meanders a lot, and the movie does a good job of tightening the story. But I find it interesting how the book and the movie deal differently with the underlying reality of the events. Matheson has always been into paranormal stuff, and he deliberately set up the book to have this double reality, where the truth of the events would be left up to the reader to decide. This ambiguity is central to the book, but greatly downplayed in the movie. marbeh raglaim (talk) 11:12, 29 January 2008 (UTC)