release year: 1981
genre: sci-fi/drama
viewing setting: home VHS, 9/1/97
what I expected: unknown
what I got: H.G. Wells meets Jack the Ripper...in 1979
synopsis: 1893...Jack the Ripper vanishes from London - and only one man knows how he did it: H.G. Wells, whose newly-invented time machine has been used by the maniac to escape...to the future...to 1979!
impressions: This was a neat mix of various types of movies and characters. It's one of those movies that people know the idea of but can never name.
acting: Malcolm McDowell shines in one of his few non-villain roles, as H.G> Wells. The guy who plays Jack the Ripper was really good, too. Mary Steenburgen is a novice actress here, and it shows.
quote: "The future isn't what you thought...it's what I am." - Jack the Ripper, to H.G. Wells
final word: Neat little period piece.
rating: B-