MovieChat Forums > The Quiet Earth (1985) Discussion > Simlar Sci Fi Movies -Time Travel, Alter...

Simlar Sci Fi Movies -Time Travel, Alternate Reality etc

posted 17 years ago by audiofreak
79 replies | jump to latest

firstly this is not just another post asking for other "last man on earth" style movies (yes i have seen the other posts)

I really enjoy these cool 80's sci fi movies.. anything related to space\time...
time travel, alternate realities, wormholes, time loops, scientists experimenting with that sort of thing
Something about them really fascinates me

I remember bits of old films i saw on tv when i was younger but cant remember the titles

So can anyone help jog my memory or recommend some films to check out

[–] Ant_Lan 15 years ago

Lots of title have been suggested, some I more than gladly recommend as well (Donnie Darko, Twelve Monkeys, Dopplaganger) but there's a fairly recent one that I feel is the closest to Quiet Earth in terms of imagery, weirdness and endless theorization from viewers;

The Big Empty
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321442/
Killer soundtrack, pitch-perfect cameo performances and a premise as mind-boggling as it is fascinating. Not to mention really funny.

Autism isn't a disaster
http://www.youtube.com/user/Anjuzo2

[–] Culturalcycle 15 years ago

From Eastern Europe in the 1970's comes the gem: Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213322/

"Alas, poor Hollywood, I knew him.
Alas, poor Hollywood, I knew him."

[–] twelvepointnine 15 years ago

Ken Russell's Altered States. Not literarely time travel, but nevertheless…

[–] optimusprime12345 15 years ago

by the way The Lathe of Heaven was not that great it was medecore at best.
I would of watched the remake with james caan an actor I know it acctually looked really good and sometimes I know they overdue the trailer but if anyone knows a torrent site it's on please tell.

[–] litmustest 15 years ago

An excellent (as in terms of a science fiction story) time travel movie is As Time Goes By.

[–] stonerbeats 15 years ago

Hi, on the topic of 'last man on earth' movies, maybe someone here can help find a movie I've been looking for for a loong time. I remember the plot but can't seem to locate it on IMDB with any search keys:( I think it's made in the 80s as well.

It's about a crew (waking up?) in a spaceship. They know when they're in that spaceship, the earth was probably destroyed. While getting back to earth, they fight for control and get suspicious of eachother and start killing eachother. In the end only two (?) survive and they realise they are in a simulation of the spaceship as an experiment to see how the crew would behave in case they had to leave earth. At the end of the movie, when the survivors get out of the bunker, they see how the earth managed while they were inside.

Something like that...:) Anybody any clue on which movie this is?

Thanks.

[–] marcdecb 15 years ago

Wow! This rings a bell! Just that I can´t spot it...this was running on TV when I got to it maybe 30min into the movie. Do you have any other key words?

[–] folkpoet80 14 years ago

How come no one mentioned Jeff Daniels starrer "Disaster in Time/Timescape"
Easily 8/10 for me:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104362/

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rezman333 14 years ago

this is a really good movie from the 80's its about a guy who finds out the world is going to end in 5 hours, it is called Miracle Mile.

[–] HikerBoy57 14 years ago

I enjoyed Miracle Mile; watched it a number of times (I believe he actually has less than 90 minutes in the movie-- it mostly takes place in real time).

For the Time Travel aspect, this is not a film but a book (but SHOULD be made into a film): The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold is absolutely fascinating, at least to me. Basic premise: our protagonist receives a timebelt from his only relative, an old Uncle, as an inheritance. He quickly realizes all the things he can do with it (make money, explore, etc.) but also that every time he does something unsuitable to his existence, his future self will warn him not to... which he can choose to follow or not. He ends up in physical relationships with both male and female alternates of him/herself. All sorts of believable, but often ignored, aspects of time travel are on display here. Highly recommended.

The war is not meant to be won... it is meant to be continuous.

[–] rezman333 14 years ago

You must be a movie lover to have already seen that film! If you read a lot and enjoy books too I would recomend a book called Replay by Ken grimwood. My brother who rarely reads books but will from time to time even liked it after i gave it to him.

[–] HikerBoy57 14 years ago

Thanks for the tip!... after reading some synopses of it, I picked up Replay at my library today when I was out. I'll give it a look!

The war is not meant to be won... it is meant to be continuous.

[–] rezman333 14 years ago

Let me know what you if you like it

[–] HikerBoy57 14 years ago

Hey, rezman333-- I didn't get around to starting Replay till a few days ago, but man! As soon as I started I couldn't stop reading. What a great book! I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before. Great suggestion!

I officially can second rezman333's endorsement of Replay by Ken Grimwood, for people who like alternate reality/time travel/future knowledge-type stories. Without giving a full review, I'd call it the Groundhog Day concept, only instead of repeating a single day, the character is repeating 25 years of life (with that timespan getting exponentially shorter on each replay). And yes, Replay pre-dates GD.

I could easily see this adapted as a film, and apparently it was optioned by studios years ago (which allowed Grimwood to live pretty well before he died), but never made into a full film. OTOH, as with most book adaptations, I'd worry that the film would fall well short of the novel.

Anyway, thanks again for the recommendation! A great read. It's been a long time since I read a novel that I just couldn't put down.

The war is not meant to be won... it is meant to be continuous.

[–] rezman333 14 years ago

Glad u liked the book, it is one of those books that stick with you, it really makes u appreciate what u have

[–] GoodDogme 14 years ago

Thank you :)

[–] thebigmouth 14 years ago

If you're not watching Fringe, you absolutely should be. There's one episode, in particular, that's a must-see TV for fans of the '80s aesthetic.

TV: http://ihatemydvr.blogspot.com
LOST:http://eyemsick.blogspot.com