Timeline (2003)

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers (WGA):

Michael Crichton (novel)
Jeff Maguire (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

They had to travel into the past to save the future

Plot:

A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century France long enough to be rescued.

Plot Keywords:

France | Ruins | Battle | Village | Team

Cast

Paul Walker	...	Chris Johnston
Frances O'Connor	...	Kate Ericson
Gerard Butler	...	Andre Marek
Billy Connolly	...	Professor E.A. Johnston
David Thewlis	...	Robert Doniger
Anna Friel	...	Lady Claire
Neal McDonough	...	Frank Gordon
Matt Craven	...	Steven Kramer
Ethan Embry	...	Josh Stern
Michael Sheen	...	Lord Oliver
Lambert Wilson	...	Lord Arnaut
Marton Csokas	...	Sir William De Kere / William Decker
Rossif Sutherland	...	François Dontelle
Steve Kahan	...	Baker
David La Haye	...	Arnaut's Deputy

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences and brief language.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40033)

Filming Locations:

Harrington, Québec, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The film was originally slated to be released in the fall of 2002, however the studio was not happy with the Richard Donner's cut of the film, which included a Prologue explaining the disappearance of the Billy Connolly character in the film and contained Jerry Goldsmith's original score for the film. Donner was then forced to re-cut the film by Paramount and asked Goldsmith to edit down his score to the re-cut version of the film, which also prompted another release date by the studio to March of 2003. Paramount and particularly studio head Sherry Lansing, was again unhappy with Donner's second cut of the film that he had delivered which completely had eliminated the Billy Connelly prologue, which was essential to the both the Michael Crichton novel and the film's back-story, which was originally scored by Goldsmith as a cue called "The Dig" and the musical recording slate number of 1M1. Donner was forced to re-cut the film once more and the film was again delayed to unspecified date and again Goldsmith was asked to return to the project. At this point, Goldsmith's health was deteriorating due to cancer and had recently begin to score Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) for his friend Joe Dante, a project which required the assistance of composer John Debney for additional music and would also be his last score as he would pass away on July 28, 2004. Donner really wanted Goldsmith to stay on, but could not for those reasons and liked the score that he had written for the first cut of the film. Paramount then hired composer Brian Tyler, who had written the music for the film, The Hunted, which was released that March in place of Timeline. Tyler would score almost all the identical scenes in which Goldsmith originally scored and each score recorded by both Goldsmith and Tyler are the same length at 74 minutes. The final cut of the film would be 116 minutes from it's original 136 min cut, mainly the Billy Connelly prologue clearly absent from re-cut version and the final cut, which proves that the film was clearly interfered with by the studio. Goldsmith's and Tyler's music would be released respectively by Varese Sarabande records later on.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Kate is in the tunnel and spots the broken monastery wall, she stands up and the sound of her helmet hitting the boom mic above her can be plainly heard.

Quotes:

Lord Oliver: [to Andre] Scottish? You've come to kill us all in our beds, eh?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Journey Through 'Timeline' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Just A Little Bad

Is this supposed to be like the book?

TimeLine the book is probably one of my most favourite books. I have read it countless times and have enjoyed it every single time. So I was very happy when I saw a preview a long while back that there was going to be a movie about the book.

I wish that when people decided to make a movie out of a book they would make the movie just like the book. Don't change the plot, don't change the characters or their relationships, just leave it intact. They never do. I have been disappointed every time a book that I enjoy has been brought to the screen. I really don't know why I keep getting excited.

Ok, I understand somewhat that you can't re-create everything from a book. It just wouldn't be feasible. But they changed entire genders of people, removed some more interesting moments, changed character relationships slightly, and totally bombed at all the stuff dealing with the ITC, time travel and the vileness of both bad guys.

If you have read the book and seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. Some of the more exciting parts of the book were just not in the movie, like the struggle between the crazed man at the chapel, the fight at the mill and the entire tournament.

I mean I was confused with the whole thing. One of Donnigers right hand men is supposed to be a woman, Chris is NOT the professors son (in the book he is father figure), the French guy that gets killed in the movie does not exist in the book, Marek is supposed to be fluent in all aspects of time period including the languages.

I could go on about all the differences between the book and the movie, but there is no point. I would have to use up an entire screen just to point them out. It was a interesting movie if you had NOT read the book. However, if you have read the book and enjoyed it, a lot of great stuff was left out or warped into something different. I would say that the movie is very loosely based on the book, VERY loosely.

Overall I say I was disappointed. I did enjoy Gerard Butler as Marek, Ethan Embry as David Stern and Paul Walker as Chris. The females leads (Frances O'Connor as Kate and Anna Friel as Lady Claire) could have been better. And I suppose Billy Connoly did an ok job as the professor, although I just didn't quite believe that he was a professor for some reason.

I think I'll go re-read the book.