Grand Tour: Disaster in Time (1992) VS The Time Shifters (1999)

There's very little in common with these two movies except for the premise of "taking tours of past disasters" and a character who tries to prevent one.

Both have their merits and bad points, but they're both worth a watch.

In reality, the comparison is more like that of "Freejack" and "Millennium" (not to be confused with the TV series of the same name). Both of those feature people going back to collect people an instant before death. However, the movies have enough differences to make them unique.

Your question should be an easy one to answer. But, it made me think of many things that have influenced and changed my thoughts about both films through the years. I saw "Disaster in Time," which now goes by the title "Grand Tour: Disaster in Time" in 1992, on a premium cable channel and video taped it. Since I do not remember any theatrical release of the film, I suspect that it was what we would today call a straight to video release. But, at that time in lieu of what would later be called straight to video not being what it is today, I guess the studio thought TV rights, foreign release dumping, and maybe a small VHS release was the way to go. Other than Jeff Daniels, there wasn't any name that would have been a box office draw. The film has the look of a studio release. In 1992 the tech age was just starting to really change the world. Within 3 years, with the release of Windows 95, and its ease of connection to the internet, CDs and DVDs becoming the norm, and the BIG social changes, with people losing civility, and starting to lack empathy, etc., etc., which would have made the plot of the film about people from the future who entertain themselves by visiting human disasters not having any empathy for dead and dying masses, seem boring to people who were becoming like those future tourists. They'd probably have trouble relating to small town Jeff Daniels' horror at their lack of compassion. I didn't see that then, but I sure see it now more and more. I began re-watching the film every few years. It's so full of a sadness of the loss of humanity that our future was bringing. Now in 2015 I look at reality TV and see what people have become. e.g. those youngsters on SURVIVOR wanting desperately to get rid of the hearing impaired woman. I digress. The small town atmosphere, and emotional family situations made 1992's "Disaster in Time" a favorite of mine. People would borrow my VHS of it, never return it, and I'd have to record it again.

Fast forward to 1999 and the premiere of "The Time Shifters" on TBS. I recorded it as well, because I could never be sure if I liked something, that it would have a VHS release. In the 7 years since "Disaster in Time," Windows 95 and Windows 98 with their easy internet connections had changed the world. The story was updated, with the family, small town, and emotional aspects gone. The core story was still there, and Casper Van Dien, along with a winning performance by a very young Catherine Bell made it worth watching. This remake is more of a sci-fi action film, playing to the X Generation. Though I have guilty pleasures for some pop corn sci-fi action films, and this is a decent one (I don't know why the title has been changed to "Thrill Seekers"), The original is more satisfying to me. Many, like me, who saw it in 1992, can't hear Fur Elise, without getting a bit misty.