Yes, this is the typical 70's all-star disaster flick. Though this one was made in 1980. This one, however, was not a hit. When "The Towering Inferno" was in theaters, it made over 100 million at the box office. When this one was at theaters, it made less than 2 million. Part of the problem is that it doesn't look much like a movie for the theater. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought it was a made for television movie. I think most of the budget in this one went to the stars, and not nearly enough went into special effects. The story in this one is typical of a volcano movie as it has someone trying to warn people that the volcano is going to erupt. Of course no one believes them and then an eruption occurs. We have people getting fried, and a select group trying to head for safety. Along the way they have to cross a bridge, and it turns out there is someone who has a special ability to be put in use here like the character in "The Poseidon Adventure" who was an excellent swimmer. This one has some good qualities though and if you have nothing else to do it may be worth a look-see, but it is definitely nothing special.
77 Reviews
Failed and boring catastrophe movie that even a wasted all-star cast cannot save
ma-cortes10 March 2014
An active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer , James Franciscus , and a drilling foreman , Paul Newman . Molten lava and explosion spread across the island . As an all-star cast is on the run when Mother Nature blows her top .
Exciting film about a volcanic eruption threatens a Pacific island that packs blasts , thrills , overwhelming scenes of blowing up , suspense , excessive talking and turns out to be slightly entertaining . Allen's shameless rehash of all his disaster film clichés set on a Pacific island in which time never seems to run out , as a video version runs 141 minutes . Disastrous catastrophe movie in which lacks characterization , being an immense bore . Lousy screenplay by the prestigious Carl Foreman and Stirling Silliphant ; both of whom were presumably well paid . This formula intrigue movie belongs to catastrophe genre of the 70s , being the undisputed king , ¨The towering inferno¨ along with ¨Earthquake¨ , ¨Two minutes warning¨ and many others ; this formula disaster movie was widely developed by Irwin Allen , previously winner of numerous Oscars for ¨Poseidon¨ until the failures as ¨Beyond Poseidon¨, ¨Swarm¨ and this ¨When the time ran out¨ , retitled ¨Earth's final fury¨ . Filmed at the height of the disaster genre from the 7os , this entry in the spectacular series profits of an all-star though really wasted and a suspenseful final that takes place at a bridge surrounded by molten lava . The bridge was 30 feet above the stage, with smoke bombs and light flashes used to simulate the lava. Main cast carries out average acting such as Paul Newman , Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden , he was hospitalized for six days during production to treat his alcoholism after director James Goldstone convinced producer Irwin Allen that Holden was a danger to himself and others in the cast. Furthermore , a top-notch secondary casting such as Valentina Cortese , Barbara Carrera , Veronica Hamel , Alex Karras , Burgess Meredith , Red Buttons , James Franciscus , Pat Morita and Ernest Borgnine . Ernest Borgnine claims in his memoirs that the reason why the film's special effects were so cheap looking was that the huge amount spent on location shooting absorbed what was usually spent on FX. Many actors were all under contract with Irwin Allen, and appear in this film to void their contracts.
Colorful and gripping photography in Panavision by Fred J. Koenekamp . Intriguing and thrilling score by Lalo Schifrin in his usual style . This big-budgeted disaster movie was middlingly directed by James Goldstone ; this was final feature film of Goldstone . He was a director and writer, known for Scalplock (1966) , ¨Jigsaw¨ ,¨A Man Called Gannon¨ , ¨They Only Kill Their Masters¨ , ¨Red sky at morning¨ , ¨Winning" or "500 miles" and ¨Swashbuckler¨ . Goldstone was also an ordinary TV movies director and subsequently made another catastrophe film , Roller-coaster (1977), much better than the disastrous and monumental bore ¨When time ran out¨ .
Exciting film about a volcanic eruption threatens a Pacific island that packs blasts , thrills , overwhelming scenes of blowing up , suspense , excessive talking and turns out to be slightly entertaining . Allen's shameless rehash of all his disaster film clichés set on a Pacific island in which time never seems to run out , as a video version runs 141 minutes . Disastrous catastrophe movie in which lacks characterization , being an immense bore . Lousy screenplay by the prestigious Carl Foreman and Stirling Silliphant ; both of whom were presumably well paid . This formula intrigue movie belongs to catastrophe genre of the 70s , being the undisputed king , ¨The towering inferno¨ along with ¨Earthquake¨ , ¨Two minutes warning¨ and many others ; this formula disaster movie was widely developed by Irwin Allen , previously winner of numerous Oscars for ¨Poseidon¨ until the failures as ¨Beyond Poseidon¨, ¨Swarm¨ and this ¨When the time ran out¨ , retitled ¨Earth's final fury¨ . Filmed at the height of the disaster genre from the 7os , this entry in the spectacular series profits of an all-star though really wasted and a suspenseful final that takes place at a bridge surrounded by molten lava . The bridge was 30 feet above the stage, with smoke bombs and light flashes used to simulate the lava. Main cast carries out average acting such as Paul Newman , Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden , he was hospitalized for six days during production to treat his alcoholism after director James Goldstone convinced producer Irwin Allen that Holden was a danger to himself and others in the cast. Furthermore , a top-notch secondary casting such as Valentina Cortese , Barbara Carrera , Veronica Hamel , Alex Karras , Burgess Meredith , Red Buttons , James Franciscus , Pat Morita and Ernest Borgnine . Ernest Borgnine claims in his memoirs that the reason why the film's special effects were so cheap looking was that the huge amount spent on location shooting absorbed what was usually spent on FX. Many actors were all under contract with Irwin Allen, and appear in this film to void their contracts.
Colorful and gripping photography in Panavision by Fred J. Koenekamp . Intriguing and thrilling score by Lalo Schifrin in his usual style . This big-budgeted disaster movie was middlingly directed by James Goldstone ; this was final feature film of Goldstone . He was a director and writer, known for Scalplock (1966) , ¨Jigsaw¨ ,¨A Man Called Gannon¨ , ¨They Only Kill Their Masters¨ , ¨Red sky at morning¨ , ¨Winning" or "500 miles" and ¨Swashbuckler¨ . Goldstone was also an ordinary TV movies director and subsequently made another catastrophe film , Roller-coaster (1977), much better than the disastrous and monumental bore ¨When time ran out¨ .
More like when the budget ran out
Leofwine_draca19 August 2012
WHEN TIME RAN OUT
is a silly, superficial and often cheesy coda to the cycle of disaster movies produced by Irwin Allen in the 1970s. As a huge fan of disaster movies, I found myself enjoying this film a lot, even if everything that happens has been done before and better. This film sees an all-star cast menaced by a volcano on an Pacific island, and you can pretty much guess every plot point along the way if you've seen any of Allen's other, earlier, better disaster flicks.
Still, you can't say that Allen doesn't try his best it's just that the budget (or lack of it) lets him down this time around. The volcano itself is a silly little miniature, the rivers of lava are back-projected nonsense, and the final 'disaster' scene at the hotel is so poor as to beggar belief. Even ignoring the below-par special effects, this film takes the biscuit. Although it's notably shorter than the likes of THE TOWERING INFERNO, it takes half the running time for the volcano to actually blow, and until that point we have lots of cheesy dialogue scenes involving romance between uninteresting characters.
Thankfully, things really get going once the disaster hits home as Allen throws tsunamis, explosions, cliffslides and whatnot into the mix. Twinkly-eyed Paul Newman is on hand, thankfully, to take charge and act all manfully, although he's up against a scheming James Franciscus as the island resort's owner who'll stop at nothing to protect his investments. Also caught up in the mix are the usual stereotypes: doting (or should that be dotty) old timers (step forward, Burgess Meredith); hard-timers (Ernest Borgnine in his umpteenth disaster outing), youthful beauties (Barbara Carrera and Jacqueline Bisset, the latter looking a bit off) and even a few ethnic types too (Pat Morita, going Chinese). Much of the resultant running time follows Newman's group as they scramble for safety, evading dangers along the way.
It's no surprise as to who lives or dies, but the 'obstacle' scenes are great fun, especially the extended 'bridge crossing' which makes up the film's climax. And I'll never tire of those ultra-cheesy 'falling into lava' shots which are repeated at various intervals. It's just a shame that the volcano itself only has coming of a cameo appearance in the movie, and that the characters are never menaced by ash clouds or falling lumps of pumice now that would have been something to see!
Still, you can't say that Allen doesn't try his best it's just that the budget (or lack of it) lets him down this time around. The volcano itself is a silly little miniature, the rivers of lava are back-projected nonsense, and the final 'disaster' scene at the hotel is so poor as to beggar belief. Even ignoring the below-par special effects, this film takes the biscuit. Although it's notably shorter than the likes of THE TOWERING INFERNO, it takes half the running time for the volcano to actually blow, and until that point we have lots of cheesy dialogue scenes involving romance between uninteresting characters.
Thankfully, things really get going once the disaster hits home as Allen throws tsunamis, explosions, cliffslides and whatnot into the mix. Twinkly-eyed Paul Newman is on hand, thankfully, to take charge and act all manfully, although he's up against a scheming James Franciscus as the island resort's owner who'll stop at nothing to protect his investments. Also caught up in the mix are the usual stereotypes: doting (or should that be dotty) old timers (step forward, Burgess Meredith); hard-timers (Ernest Borgnine in his umpteenth disaster outing), youthful beauties (Barbara Carrera and Jacqueline Bisset, the latter looking a bit off) and even a few ethnic types too (Pat Morita, going Chinese). Much of the resultant running time follows Newman's group as they scramble for safety, evading dangers along the way.
It's no surprise as to who lives or dies, but the 'obstacle' scenes are great fun, especially the extended 'bridge crossing' which makes up the film's climax. And I'll never tire of those ultra-cheesy 'falling into lava' shots which are repeated at various intervals. It's just a shame that the volcano itself only has coming of a cameo appearance in the movie, and that the characters are never menaced by ash clouds or falling lumps of pumice now that would have been something to see!
The first Golden Age of Disaster Movies closes with this whimper as `time runs out'-- on the genre.
The operator of a tropical hotel conceals the mounting threat of the island's active volcano when his laissez-faire partner and a renegade oilman start asking questions. When the volcano finally blows its top, a small group of hotel residents make a dangerous trek to higher ground, but not all will survive as the peak spews smoke, fire, and lava across the island.
This relaxed disaster movie signals the end of the first Golden Age of Disaster movies. It is appropriate, then, that it was produced by Irwin Allen and recycles a variety of cliches that spanned the seventies. When Paul Newman and Jacqueline Bisset start sipping wine on the beach with the volcano in the distance, for example, we know to start counting the minutes until the mountain blows.
With both Paul Newman and William Holden playing roles very similar to those in "The Towering Inferno", it isn't difficult to draw parallels between the two movies. "The Towering Inferno", however, was a unique project involving a joint venture between two studios, a huge budget, an all-star cast, and a blockbuster script culled from the best elements of two popular novels. Does When Time Ran Out represent what we should expect from Irwin Allen when all of the cards AREN'T stacked in his favor?
When Time Ran Out harkens back to the drama-heavy days of the original Airport, with a web of infidelity that will make your head spin. Battle lines are quickly drawn between the defensive developer of the island (Franciscus) and a renegade oil driller (Newman) who believes the mountain is, as he puts it, `a powder keg.'
Occasional visits to the volcano's crater provide distraction while the relationships between the characters are cultivated for the disaster. The oilman stirs up trouble when he wants to see for himself that the mountain is safe before drilling in a high-pressure oilfield. However, it's just ridiculous to think that his inspection would involve stepping into a laughable protective capsule and being lowered inside the smoldering volcano. Naturally, the capsule--with a glass floor!--experiences a series of unexplained malfunctions that send him hurtling towards bubbling lava at the bottom of the crater.
It's the kind of special effect that Irwin Allen was famous for from his television days on The Time Tunnel and elsewhere. But the silver screen requires a much greater level of believability than is needed by television. When Time Ran Out contains some of the worst effects in the history of the genre--images which aren't even acceptable for the SMALL screen. What happened to the Master of Disaster?
When Time Ran Out is heavy on talk before the volcano erupts, but the runaway action we were expecting during the buildup simply never arrives. Only two action sequences occur with the Newman followers, and they both involve a large group of people taking a very long time to cross a treacherous path to safety. It's a snooze-fest all around.
The special effects are ho-hum, even though Irwin Allen attempts to diversify the experience with flaming meteors fired from the volcano and a tidal wave that inexplicably levels part of the same island whose shock wave created it! They're not enough. Most of the visuals are clearly pre-existing volcano footage placed on a chroma-key in front of the actors. And the rest of the eruption footage appears to be poorly executed post-production animation.
The lush tropical setting is a refreshing change of pace for most disaster movies, and Jacqueline Bisset and Paul Newman try their best to keep things classy. But an unnecessary cock fight in the village and a preposterous laboratory perched on the rim of the volcano immediately suggest that this movie needs a dose of reality--and adrenalin. The first Golden Age of Disaster Movies closes with this whimper as `time runs out'-- on the genre.
tgodel24 October 2002
- 2/5 STARS -
The operator of a tropical hotel conceals the mounting threat of the island's active volcano when his laissez-faire partner and a renegade oilman start asking questions. When the volcano finally blows its top, a small group of hotel residents make a dangerous trek to higher ground, but not all will survive as the peak spews smoke, fire, and lava across the island.
This relaxed disaster movie signals the end of the first Golden Age of Disaster movies. It is appropriate, then, that it was produced by Irwin Allen and recycles a variety of cliches that spanned the seventies. When Paul Newman and Jacqueline Bisset start sipping wine on the beach with the volcano in the distance, for example, we know to start counting the minutes until the mountain blows.
With both Paul Newman and William Holden playing roles very similar to those in "The Towering Inferno", it isn't difficult to draw parallels between the two movies. "The Towering Inferno", however, was a unique project involving a joint venture between two studios, a huge budget, an all-star cast, and a blockbuster script culled from the best elements of two popular novels. Does When Time Ran Out represent what we should expect from Irwin Allen when all of the cards AREN'T stacked in his favor?
When Time Ran Out harkens back to the drama-heavy days of the original Airport, with a web of infidelity that will make your head spin. Battle lines are quickly drawn between the defensive developer of the island (Franciscus) and a renegade oil driller (Newman) who believes the mountain is, as he puts it, `a powder keg.'
Occasional visits to the volcano's crater provide distraction while the relationships between the characters are cultivated for the disaster. The oilman stirs up trouble when he wants to see for himself that the mountain is safe before drilling in a high-pressure oilfield. However, it's just ridiculous to think that his inspection would involve stepping into a laughable protective capsule and being lowered inside the smoldering volcano. Naturally, the capsule--with a glass floor!--experiences a series of unexplained malfunctions that send him hurtling towards bubbling lava at the bottom of the crater.
It's the kind of special effect that Irwin Allen was famous for from his television days on The Time Tunnel and elsewhere. But the silver screen requires a much greater level of believability than is needed by television. When Time Ran Out contains some of the worst effects in the history of the genre--images which aren't even acceptable for the SMALL screen. What happened to the Master of Disaster?
When Time Ran Out is heavy on talk before the volcano erupts, but the runaway action we were expecting during the buildup simply never arrives. Only two action sequences occur with the Newman followers, and they both involve a large group of people taking a very long time to cross a treacherous path to safety. It's a snooze-fest all around.
The special effects are ho-hum, even though Irwin Allen attempts to diversify the experience with flaming meteors fired from the volcano and a tidal wave that inexplicably levels part of the same island whose shock wave created it! They're not enough. Most of the visuals are clearly pre-existing volcano footage placed on a chroma-key in front of the actors. And the rest of the eruption footage appears to be poorly executed post-production animation.
The lush tropical setting is a refreshing change of pace for most disaster movies, and Jacqueline Bisset and Paul Newman try their best to keep things classy. But an unnecessary cock fight in the village and a preposterous laboratory perched on the rim of the volcano immediately suggest that this movie needs a dose of reality--and adrenalin. The first Golden Age of Disaster Movies closes with this whimper as `time runs out'-- on the genre.
Terrible, a must-see
Sandcooler11 November 2014
Paul Newman only bothered to be in "When Time Ran Out..." (ominous points make any title better) because he needed funding for a salad dressing company, so you can imagine how riveting his performance is. He reacts to the mayhem of a volcano eruption with the shocked grimace of someone who could really go for a salad just about now. In fact, every name actor in this movie completely phones it in. Most of them were there against their will because they signed a wonky deal with producer Irwin Allen, but come on, you still have to do your job. Burgess Meredith is the only one that really tries, so he deservedly gets to play a pivotal part in the movie's (ridiculous) climax. After they got all the stars on board there clearly wasn't any money left for the special effects, so the volcano action is mostly left to your imagination, bits of stock footage and one of those stupid background photos they used before stupid CGI was commonplace. Thankfully, all of this is put together so incompetently that you just can't help but laugh and have a good time. "When Time Ran Out..." starts of a little bit too slow to be a full-blown "so bad it's good"-movie (almost nothing happens in the first hour), but once the volcano erupts you get an absolute feast of terrible dialogue, mom&pop store explosions, forced suspense and marvellous genre clichés. Sorry Paul Newman, I'm going to have to recommend this.
When credibility ran out...
dwr24617 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
You would think the setup of a volcano blowing up at a remote, yet crowded location, leaving a handful of survivors to fend for themselves until they can be safely rescued would be a good one. Unfortunately, this movie shows just how poorly that premise can be executed.
The plot - what there is of it - centers around a resort hotel located close to a picturesque, and supposedly dormant volcano. The hotel is owned by successful businessman, Shelby Gilmore (William Holden), and his greedy son-in-law, Bob Spangler (James Franciscus). Gilmore is openly disapproving of Spangler, since he suspects that Spangler has only married his daughter, Nikki (Veronica Hammel), in order to become his business partner, and get his money. Gilmore's disapproval is justified by Spangler's affair with native Iolani (Barbara Carrera). The other natives of the island, those who don't work at the hotel, seem to spend their time either cockfighting, or drinking at a bar owned by Sam (Pat Morita) and Mona (sheila Allen, Irwin's wife, a little nepotism here?). Gilmore is interested in Kay Kirby (Jacqueline Bisset), who is in turn interested in oil driller, Hank Henderson (Paul Newman). When the ground starts rumbling during drilling, Henderson suspects their may be a problem with the supposedly dormant volcano, so he goes to talk to the scientists who work at a lab precariously perched on the lip of the volcano. While there, Henderson goes into the volcano in a gondola to inspect it, and nearly gets dropped into the lava. Somehow, he is able to see that eruption is imminent, even though the head of the lab, John Webster (John Considine), doesn't. Spangler doesn't want to cause a panic, or lose money, so he refuses to evacuate the hotel. While Henderson and Kirby are on a picnic, the volcano blows up, causing a tidal wave which wipes out half the island, including the cockfighting population. The hotel guests are in a panic when Henderson and Kirby arrive back there, as the volcano is spewing lava bombs at them. Once again, Spangler refuses to evacuate, and encourages the guests to sit tight. A small group, which includes a private eye (Ernest Borgnine) and the thief he is trying to catch (Red Buttons), and a retired high wire walker (Burgess Meredith) and his wife (Valentina Cortese), decides to follow Henderson to higher ground to get away from the lava, and we follow them for most of the rest of the movie, with a break to watch the hotel get destroyed by a surprisingly accurate lava bomb.
Clear as mud, right. The writers tried to cram so many subplots into the movie that the result is a tangled mess. It's hard to tell who is who, much less who is involved with whom. And that makes it hard to develop a sense of concern about their well being. You watch so many gratuitous characters die throughout the course of the movie that you are too numb to react to the deaths of the important ones. Simplifying things somewhat would not only have shortened a movie that seems tediously long, but it would have helped to keep the viewer focused on the important characters.
The writing also has a contrived feel to it, relying so heavily on clichés that it becomes unintentionally comical. We have not one, but two love triangles. In addition, we have a noble thief, who helps the cop out when he becomes disabled. Then there's the rickety bridge over the river of lava, which, of course, gives way before everyone gets over it. There are two deaths by falling into the lava, one by heart attack, and one by falling onto hard rock. There are two foolish children who become so frightened that they run away, and must be rescued. And there just happens to be an aerialist around when you need one. All in all, it adds up to a bit much to swallow.
The science of the movie is laughably bad. Oil is unlikely to be found near a volcano, active or dormant, and you wouldn't drill near a volcano, because the release of pressure would cause the volcano to erupt. A volcano is not a mountain with a shaft in the top that leads down to a lake of lava. If a fissure like that opened up, the volcano would simply erupt because the pressure forcing the magma up would be greater than the pressure holding it down. If the volcano caused a tidal wave, chances are it would head away from the island, rather than heading back to it. And then there's the lab at the lip of the volcano. Who in their right mind would build a lab in such a place, much less work at it? Volcano observatories are usually safely away from the lava flow, not right in the path of it. It just doesn't make sense.
The effects were horribly cheesy, and the cinematography was just awful. Who thought it would be a good idea to have an actress in a red dress fall into a red river of lava? All you see are her head, hands, and feet while she tumbles into the lava.
With the kind of star power assembled in the cast, one would think that the acting would at least be decent, but in truth, the entire cast seems embarrassed to have been involved in the project, delivering their lines with a kind of sheepishness that makes the movie seem all the more embarrassing.
All in all a bad movie, but oddly enough, it can be enjoyable if you're willing to suspend disbelief to a great degree, and lower your expectations. If you don't take it seriously, it can be an amusing little diversion.
The plot - what there is of it - centers around a resort hotel located close to a picturesque, and supposedly dormant volcano. The hotel is owned by successful businessman, Shelby Gilmore (William Holden), and his greedy son-in-law, Bob Spangler (James Franciscus). Gilmore is openly disapproving of Spangler, since he suspects that Spangler has only married his daughter, Nikki (Veronica Hammel), in order to become his business partner, and get his money. Gilmore's disapproval is justified by Spangler's affair with native Iolani (Barbara Carrera). The other natives of the island, those who don't work at the hotel, seem to spend their time either cockfighting, or drinking at a bar owned by Sam (Pat Morita) and Mona (sheila Allen, Irwin's wife, a little nepotism here?). Gilmore is interested in Kay Kirby (Jacqueline Bisset), who is in turn interested in oil driller, Hank Henderson (Paul Newman). When the ground starts rumbling during drilling, Henderson suspects their may be a problem with the supposedly dormant volcano, so he goes to talk to the scientists who work at a lab precariously perched on the lip of the volcano. While there, Henderson goes into the volcano in a gondola to inspect it, and nearly gets dropped into the lava. Somehow, he is able to see that eruption is imminent, even though the head of the lab, John Webster (John Considine), doesn't. Spangler doesn't want to cause a panic, or lose money, so he refuses to evacuate the hotel. While Henderson and Kirby are on a picnic, the volcano blows up, causing a tidal wave which wipes out half the island, including the cockfighting population. The hotel guests are in a panic when Henderson and Kirby arrive back there, as the volcano is spewing lava bombs at them. Once again, Spangler refuses to evacuate, and encourages the guests to sit tight. A small group, which includes a private eye (Ernest Borgnine) and the thief he is trying to catch (Red Buttons), and a retired high wire walker (Burgess Meredith) and his wife (Valentina Cortese), decides to follow Henderson to higher ground to get away from the lava, and we follow them for most of the rest of the movie, with a break to watch the hotel get destroyed by a surprisingly accurate lava bomb.
Clear as mud, right. The writers tried to cram so many subplots into the movie that the result is a tangled mess. It's hard to tell who is who, much less who is involved with whom. And that makes it hard to develop a sense of concern about their well being. You watch so many gratuitous characters die throughout the course of the movie that you are too numb to react to the deaths of the important ones. Simplifying things somewhat would not only have shortened a movie that seems tediously long, but it would have helped to keep the viewer focused on the important characters.
The writing also has a contrived feel to it, relying so heavily on clichés that it becomes unintentionally comical. We have not one, but two love triangles. In addition, we have a noble thief, who helps the cop out when he becomes disabled. Then there's the rickety bridge over the river of lava, which, of course, gives way before everyone gets over it. There are two deaths by falling into the lava, one by heart attack, and one by falling onto hard rock. There are two foolish children who become so frightened that they run away, and must be rescued. And there just happens to be an aerialist around when you need one. All in all, it adds up to a bit much to swallow.
The science of the movie is laughably bad. Oil is unlikely to be found near a volcano, active or dormant, and you wouldn't drill near a volcano, because the release of pressure would cause the volcano to erupt. A volcano is not a mountain with a shaft in the top that leads down to a lake of lava. If a fissure like that opened up, the volcano would simply erupt because the pressure forcing the magma up would be greater than the pressure holding it down. If the volcano caused a tidal wave, chances are it would head away from the island, rather than heading back to it. And then there's the lab at the lip of the volcano. Who in their right mind would build a lab in such a place, much less work at it? Volcano observatories are usually safely away from the lava flow, not right in the path of it. It just doesn't make sense.
The effects were horribly cheesy, and the cinematography was just awful. Who thought it would be a good idea to have an actress in a red dress fall into a red river of lava? All you see are her head, hands, and feet while she tumbles into the lava.
With the kind of star power assembled in the cast, one would think that the acting would at least be decent, but in truth, the entire cast seems embarrassed to have been involved in the project, delivering their lines with a kind of sheepishness that makes the movie seem all the more embarrassing.
All in all a bad movie, but oddly enough, it can be enjoyable if you're willing to suspend disbelief to a great degree, and lower your expectations. If you don't take it seriously, it can be an amusing little diversion.
Oh Dear God
DavidW123427 August 2012
In my rankings of Newman's output, this is rock bottom. I'm a big fan and my heart goes out to the man, retrospectively, because he will have known from day one that he had become embroiled in the turkey of all turkeys. Almost every aspect of the film is woeful. The set, the melodrama, the 2-dimensional characters, the frankly appalling acting from almost everyone. Newman stands head an shoulders above the others, but even he looks uncomfortable the whole way through as cliché is piled on cliché. Do you know, the climax is an interminable crossing a wooden bridge over a lava flow with people falling through slats and every other predictable event you can imagine. But the funniest moment is after that when the survivors are in a cave and one of the female bit parts is standing there as if she's at a cocktail party. They must have all have been giving up by then.
The worst disaster movie of all time
barnabyrudge27 December 2002
Ask a film buff for the worst disaster film of all time and you might get answers like The Swarm, Meteor, City on Fire, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure or Avalanche. But in reality the very worst of all is this incredulously awful Irwin Allen debacle. It has a wonderful cast, which in some ways makes its utter awfulness even more surprising and unacceptable. This is one of the worst films from any genre.
Paul Newman heads the cast, and has a red tinge to his cheeks throughout which may either be sunburn or embarrassment. He is the chief oil driller on a volcanic Pacific island who suspects that a catastrophic eruption is a matter of days away. However, the island relies on its tourist industry, and business bigwigs like William Holden (great actor, never more wasted than he is here) won't heed the warnings and insist on keeping people on the island. The eruption arrives, as anticipated by Newman, and the tourists are left to run for their lives from its clutches. Newman finds himself leading one group of evacuees, made up of the usual clichéd characters. The group includes some great stars, like Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith and Jacqueline Bisset, but anyone with a brain can figure out with a degree of certainty which ones are going to make it and which are doomed.
The action is marred constantly by terrible special effects. The actors are critically defeated by banal dialogue and actions. The suspense element of the film fails also, because it takes way too long to get going and is thoroughly predictable once it finally kicks into gear. There really is nothing positive to say about this film at all, except that it was so bad that it virtually single-handedly ended the disaster genre once and for all. If nothing else, we should thank the cast and crew for that small mercy at least!
Paul Newman heads the cast, and has a red tinge to his cheeks throughout which may either be sunburn or embarrassment. He is the chief oil driller on a volcanic Pacific island who suspects that a catastrophic eruption is a matter of days away. However, the island relies on its tourist industry, and business bigwigs like William Holden (great actor, never more wasted than he is here) won't heed the warnings and insist on keeping people on the island. The eruption arrives, as anticipated by Newman, and the tourists are left to run for their lives from its clutches. Newman finds himself leading one group of evacuees, made up of the usual clichéd characters. The group includes some great stars, like Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith and Jacqueline Bisset, but anyone with a brain can figure out with a degree of certainty which ones are going to make it and which are doomed.
The action is marred constantly by terrible special effects. The actors are critically defeated by banal dialogue and actions. The suspense element of the film fails also, because it takes way too long to get going and is thoroughly predictable once it finally kicks into gear. There really is nothing positive to say about this film at all, except that it was so bad that it virtually single-handedly ended the disaster genre once and for all. If nothing else, we should thank the cast and crew for that small mercy at least!
OK, lay off the silly volcano movie
bockwinkle9910 August 2005
OK, it's not Shakespeare or 'Citizen Kane'. It isn't 'Towering Inferno' or 'Airport'. But back off on 'When Time Ran Out...' After all is said and done, it isn't such a bad little movie. It seems that Allen and company have the disaster movie genre down to shorthand and show it as the film seems to glide from cliché to cliché, almost as if it's saying 'heck with you all, I know what I am, I don't have to work hard to show it.' As most of the cast has done this before, they pull it all off with a flair and a let's just do it style, like the last day of school. It's proof that entertaining movies do not necessarily have to be 'good' movies.
Be kind to this movie
lyricshope5 July 2003
I faithfully watch When Time Ran Out every time it comes on television, and am never bored by it. I had no idea it was such a terrible movie until I read these reviews on IMDB. Sigh...reviewers can be so cruel. At least now I know that I have bad taste in movies so you can stop reading this now if you like.
There are a lot of familiar faces in the cast and they do a good job. This is my favorite Paul Newman movie by the way. (But to be honest I don't watch many Paul Newman movies.) Edward Albert is also great in it, and even though his role is too small, he does get to be heroic but don't blink or you will miss those moments. The women aren't given too much to do but aint that always the way it goes. Sigh again... I did like Veronica Hamel's little bitty role. She was classy but stupid. Should have hooked up with Edward Albert.
This movie is a great soap opera with love, betrayal, danger, greed, and a dastardly villain. Oh, and the way some of the characters die is kinda funny. Sort of like every other disaster movie from the 70's and early 80's. So cut it a little slack why don't you.
There are a lot of familiar faces in the cast and they do a good job. This is my favorite Paul Newman movie by the way. (But to be honest I don't watch many Paul Newman movies.) Edward Albert is also great in it, and even though his role is too small, he does get to be heroic but don't blink or you will miss those moments. The women aren't given too much to do but aint that always the way it goes. Sigh again... I did like Veronica Hamel's little bitty role. She was classy but stupid. Should have hooked up with Edward Albert.
This movie is a great soap opera with love, betrayal, danger, greed, and a dastardly villain. Oh, and the way some of the characters die is kinda funny. Sort of like every other disaster movie from the 70's and early 80's. So cut it a little slack why don't you.
The most laughably bad effects and plot in the history of cinema.
cableaddict20 April 2004
It's hard to image a major motion picture any worse than this turkey.
Absolutely NOTHING makes any sense. Action sequences are so poorly
executed, you wonder if perhaps they hired brain-damaged high school
students to do most of the work.
Some favorites, not already mentioned:
The ranch-hand must ride on the outside of the helicopter. Dumb enough, but why
then fly DIRECTLY over the mouth of the volcano? You must be kidding.
-And when the guy predictably falls, we first see him fall backwards away from the 'copter, but them the immediate cut-away shot shows him clearly falling in a FORWARD roll. oops.
I also enjoyed seeing telephone poles fall over without anything hitting them, and as they fall over they don't looked cracked at all, just perfect horizontal bottoms that weren't really even in the ground.
Some guy's whole back catches on fire, and he rolls around for about ten
seconds. when they finally put out the flames, only a small part of the top of his jacket is scorched.
two people are flying past the smoking volcano in a helicopter. It suddenly
explodes with a loud crack and flames. Neither person reacts at all.
You could go on and on and on. Every few seconds there's another blatant goof or monumentally stupid scene.
You know, if someone made an edited DVD of this, with all the boring "personal interaction" scenes deleted, and ran a commentary along with the action, this would be possibly the most hilarious movie ever put out.
Absolutely NOTHING makes any sense. Action sequences are so poorly
executed, you wonder if perhaps they hired brain-damaged high school
students to do most of the work.
Some favorites, not already mentioned:
The ranch-hand must ride on the outside of the helicopter. Dumb enough, but why
then fly DIRECTLY over the mouth of the volcano? You must be kidding.
-And when the guy predictably falls, we first see him fall backwards away from the 'copter, but them the immediate cut-away shot shows him clearly falling in a FORWARD roll. oops.
I also enjoyed seeing telephone poles fall over without anything hitting them, and as they fall over they don't looked cracked at all, just perfect horizontal bottoms that weren't really even in the ground.
Some guy's whole back catches on fire, and he rolls around for about ten
seconds. when they finally put out the flames, only a small part of the top of his jacket is scorched.
two people are flying past the smoking volcano in a helicopter. It suddenly
explodes with a loud crack and flames. Neither person reacts at all.
You could go on and on and on. Every few seconds there's another blatant goof or monumentally stupid scene.
You know, if someone made an edited DVD of this, with all the boring "personal interaction" scenes deleted, and ran a commentary along with the action, this would be possibly the most hilarious movie ever put out.
so bad!!! you gotta love it...
jana-8722 May 2007
i wish this movie was available on DVD. it's one of those that makes you laugh hysterically - it is so bad. interestingly enough, airplane came out the same year - obviously, the time was more than ripe.
i've been laughing out loud just reading the forum about this catastrophic masterpiece. i almost forgot some of the gory details (including the science lab perched at the edge of the volcano lip).
i saw it as a teenager behind the iron curtain, freshly dubbed into czech in the early eighties. it was such a treat i had to go see it twice.
are you guys sure this movie was intended to be taken seriously?
(well, i used to think the independence day was a subtle spoof that made fun of self- declared u.s.a. greatness, but people are telling me otherwise. i still enjoy it, though.)
i've been laughing out loud just reading the forum about this catastrophic masterpiece. i almost forgot some of the gory details (including the science lab perched at the edge of the volcano lip).
i saw it as a teenager behind the iron curtain, freshly dubbed into czech in the early eighties. it was such a treat i had to go see it twice.
are you guys sure this movie was intended to be taken seriously?
(well, i used to think the independence day was a subtle spoof that made fun of self- declared u.s.a. greatness, but people are telling me otherwise. i still enjoy it, though.)
When Time Ran Out.
Fimano18 February 2006
I can't get over the amount of negative feedback left here. WTRO was indeed the last of the big disaster movies but the movie, as cheesy as it was, still holds up pretty well. Some of the reviews here, i.e. the guy who falls off the helicopter and falls towards the volcano sideways were very funny but you either take it for what it is or you don't. Personally, I thought it was the cast that made this film. Paul Newman, WIlliam Holden, Jacqueline Bisset, Ernest Borgnine and the late, great, James Franciscus.
As an independent filmmaker myself, check out www.lcafilms.com for more information, I've always loved the big disaster movies of the 70's: THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE TOWERING INFERNO, EARTHQUAKE, and yes, even the likes of THE SWARM and WHEN TIME RAN OUT. Irwin Allen had a knack for getting big name stars to appear in his movies and it's sad that this great storyteller, who was once considered the King of Hollywood, was pushed down to the bottom of the barrel. He probably saw WTRO as the film that could relaunch his career but sadly, that never happened.
I don't agree with this trend Hollywood is going through right now where they feel the need to remake every other movie that has been made already but there are a few exceptions. I can't wait to see POSEIDON, Wolfgang Peterson's remake of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. What Peterson did was what needed to be done. He got an all-star cast for today, just like Irwin Allen did back in the 70's with all his disaster movies. I would love to remake WHEN TIME RAN OUT today, avoiding so many clichés and bad special effects the original had but I love the premise.
Imagine yourself and your significant other, on holidays on a tropical island and while there, an inactive volcano suddenly erupts and you have a choice. Either stay at the hotel and pray to God the lava won't come your way or trek across the perilous wilderness, hoping that you will be safe on the other side of the island. It's a wonderful movie premise and that's probably where he got all the actors to sign off. I really enjoyed WTRO for the kind of movie it was and especially because of the all-star cast it had. There's only one filmmaker today who seems to be able to gather all-star casts for his movies and that is Uwe Boll.
Unfortunately, his movies seem rushed and the actors always appear to be walking through their parts. They obviously got paid well and that's about it. I would love to remake THE TOWERING INFERNO today and have an all-star cast playing lead roles to supporting roles. It would be great to see the likes of Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, Liam Neeson, Michael Douglas, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Capshaw and many others in a disaster movie today. If I get my way, you just might!!!
As an independent filmmaker myself, check out www.lcafilms.com for more information, I've always loved the big disaster movies of the 70's: THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE TOWERING INFERNO, EARTHQUAKE, and yes, even the likes of THE SWARM and WHEN TIME RAN OUT. Irwin Allen had a knack for getting big name stars to appear in his movies and it's sad that this great storyteller, who was once considered the King of Hollywood, was pushed down to the bottom of the barrel. He probably saw WTRO as the film that could relaunch his career but sadly, that never happened.
I don't agree with this trend Hollywood is going through right now where they feel the need to remake every other movie that has been made already but there are a few exceptions. I can't wait to see POSEIDON, Wolfgang Peterson's remake of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. What Peterson did was what needed to be done. He got an all-star cast for today, just like Irwin Allen did back in the 70's with all his disaster movies. I would love to remake WHEN TIME RAN OUT today, avoiding so many clichés and bad special effects the original had but I love the premise.
Imagine yourself and your significant other, on holidays on a tropical island and while there, an inactive volcano suddenly erupts and you have a choice. Either stay at the hotel and pray to God the lava won't come your way or trek across the perilous wilderness, hoping that you will be safe on the other side of the island. It's a wonderful movie premise and that's probably where he got all the actors to sign off. I really enjoyed WTRO for the kind of movie it was and especially because of the all-star cast it had. There's only one filmmaker today who seems to be able to gather all-star casts for his movies and that is Uwe Boll.
Unfortunately, his movies seem rushed and the actors always appear to be walking through their parts. They obviously got paid well and that's about it. I would love to remake THE TOWERING INFERNO today and have an all-star cast playing lead roles to supporting roles. It would be great to see the likes of Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, Liam Neeson, Michael Douglas, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Capshaw and many others in a disaster movie today. If I get my way, you just might!!!
Atrocious!
JasparLamarCrabb25 October 2001
Warning: Spoilers
It's hard to believe that this atrocity exists. Irwin Allen, who began his career producing inane, yet campy TV shows (Lost in Space, etc) reached his lowest ebb with WHEN TIME RAN OUT. It has something to do with oilmen and a toney resort and a volcano about to erupt...but what difference does it make. The real interest in this fiasco is wondering what the likes of Paul Newman, William Holden, and the great Valentina Cortese were paid to attach their names to such a movie. Newman, donning what looks like Chuck Heston's EARTHQUAKE safari jacket, leads a group of stranded vacationer away from the lava of an especially cheesy looking volcano. Echoes of THE POSIEDON ADVENTURE? You bet...and with such grade B talents as Pat Morita, Red Buttons, and Barbara Carera along for the trip. POSIEDON vet Ernest Borgnine plays a cop trailing crooked businessman Buttons. Edward Albert, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, James Franciscus, and Jacqueline Bisset are in it too. The film's highpoint: former vaudevillian Burgess Meredith piggybacking children across a lava flow via a tightrope. Don't bother to see it to believe it...take my word for it. This film gives a writing credit to Carl Foreman (could this really be the same person who penned BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, HIGH NOON, and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE?!?) Inexplicable. Although most of the characters appear to be wearing clothing from Sears (or in the case of the women, perhaps fashions from Jaclyn Smith's K-MART collection), the costumes were nominated for an Oscar! Luckily time did run out for Irwin Allen and he stopped making movies after this one.
Put this together with "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure", and you have a side-splitting laugh-a-thon!! LOL
SkippyDevereaux27 October 2001
Another funny film by Irwin Allen. This one is a hoot to watch. I really like the blue screen effect whenever the lava is shown--lol. If it has Shelia Matthews in the cast, you can be sure that it is going to be a funny film, especially if it is a drama. The ending with the volcano is hilarious--I did not know that volcanos could shoot a fireball that far away and still hit the target head-on!! Impressive. Sort of like scenes from "Bird of Paradise" meets "Diamond Head" were taken and spliced together and then had a few more ingredients added. All that was missing was the sacrificial virgin--but then, maybe that is why the volcano exploded--LOL. Not a movie to be missed for laughs!!
When in mortal danger, ALWAYS follow Paul Newman!
Coventry30 June 2010
Lately and for no apparent reason, I find myself to be quite massively obsessed with disaster movies from the 70's decade. These flicks guarantee spectacular action and thrills but, admittedly, it's also a sub genre that can all too easy be labeled as inferior and derivative. It's undeniable that you can summarize practically all 70's disaster movies by listing just a handful of recurring trademarks. #1: without producer Irwin Allen, there wasn't a budget for special effects and thus no movie. #2: all disaster movies star one major star (especially Charlton Heston and Paul Newman were prime choices) and a long list of "secondary" stars (like Ernest Borgnine, Leslie Nielsen,
). #3: The characters are usually split into two camps with completely opposite ideals and/or initiatives. The camp with the lead star is obviously the triumphant camp. #4: Regardless what type of disaster we're dealing with, variants of the exact same perilous situations are always applicable. #5: always remember that, when the situation appears to be at it worst, it can and will still get even worse!
Not coincidentally, "When Time Ran Out" answers to ALL the above trademarks and thus ranks as the ultimately clichéd disaster flick. This shouldn't come as too much as a surprise as the film was released in 1980, which is more than half a decade after the disaster movie hype was at its peak. Paul Newman stars as the robust macho workman Hank Anderson drilling for oil on a Pacific island that is particularly famous for its tropical holiday resort run by the stubborn and obnoxious island patriarch Brian Franciscus. Everyone's victorious when Newman and C° hit the black gold jackpot, but he warns about the oil's pressure causing the island's volcano to regain activity. Almost everybody disregards Hank's warnings, even when the volcano does erupt and spits out flaming balls of fire. Anderson eventually gathers a small group of intelligent people to flee towards higher grounds, but the majority of tourists and workmen stupidly remain at the resort to await a certain and painful death.
"When Time Ran Out" is a bad movie mainly because the characters are walking, talking caricatures and never cease to take really stupid decisions. Take Brian Franciscus, for example. He refuses to leave or even stop the drillings because he desperately wants to prove to his father that he's a successful businessman and resort owner. But his father is dead and all that remains of him is a stern portrait on the wall. The tourists are even worse. Franciscus initially assures them the volcano will not erupt. He was wrong. Later on, he assures them the volcano won't be spitting out any fireballs. He was wrong again. Finally he claims the volcanic lava will never reach the resort and these idiots still believe him! Wouldn't it be smarter to stay close to the guy who has been right about the volcano since the beginning? I guess not, since only the actors with a slightly bigger paycheck accompany Paul Newman on the perilous journey across the island. I didn't think it was possible, but the script becomes even dumber from then onwards. There's a tidal wave approaching the island even though it should go the other direction and into the ocean and Newman's group shrinks in number due to some textbook clichés like steep rocks and ramshackle wooden bridges over lava rivers. If all this isn't trite enough for you just yet, we still have some additional clichés on sale, like the elderly who sacrifices his life to rescue a child, the triangular relationship between the hero, the millionaire and the hot rebellious girl and the ridiculously abrupt ending. There is one remotely ingenious sub plot that is worth mentioning, however. Ernest Borgnine plays a cop indiscreetly following around a fraudulent banker, but during the environmental disaster they become close friends and dependent on each other. In conclusion: "When Time Ran Out" is literally a disaster of film. It's a volcanic eruption of derivative ideas, predictable moves and cheesy effects. But, on the other hand, I didn't get bored for one second throughout the entire 121 minutes of running time and that alone might be worth a recommendation!
Not coincidentally, "When Time Ran Out" answers to ALL the above trademarks and thus ranks as the ultimately clichéd disaster flick. This shouldn't come as too much as a surprise as the film was released in 1980, which is more than half a decade after the disaster movie hype was at its peak. Paul Newman stars as the robust macho workman Hank Anderson drilling for oil on a Pacific island that is particularly famous for its tropical holiday resort run by the stubborn and obnoxious island patriarch Brian Franciscus. Everyone's victorious when Newman and C° hit the black gold jackpot, but he warns about the oil's pressure causing the island's volcano to regain activity. Almost everybody disregards Hank's warnings, even when the volcano does erupt and spits out flaming balls of fire. Anderson eventually gathers a small group of intelligent people to flee towards higher grounds, but the majority of tourists and workmen stupidly remain at the resort to await a certain and painful death.
"When Time Ran Out" is a bad movie mainly because the characters are walking, talking caricatures and never cease to take really stupid decisions. Take Brian Franciscus, for example. He refuses to leave or even stop the drillings because he desperately wants to prove to his father that he's a successful businessman and resort owner. But his father is dead and all that remains of him is a stern portrait on the wall. The tourists are even worse. Franciscus initially assures them the volcano will not erupt. He was wrong. Later on, he assures them the volcano won't be spitting out any fireballs. He was wrong again. Finally he claims the volcanic lava will never reach the resort and these idiots still believe him! Wouldn't it be smarter to stay close to the guy who has been right about the volcano since the beginning? I guess not, since only the actors with a slightly bigger paycheck accompany Paul Newman on the perilous journey across the island. I didn't think it was possible, but the script becomes even dumber from then onwards. There's a tidal wave approaching the island even though it should go the other direction and into the ocean and Newman's group shrinks in number due to some textbook clichés like steep rocks and ramshackle wooden bridges over lava rivers. If all this isn't trite enough for you just yet, we still have some additional clichés on sale, like the elderly who sacrifices his life to rescue a child, the triangular relationship between the hero, the millionaire and the hot rebellious girl and the ridiculously abrupt ending. There is one remotely ingenious sub plot that is worth mentioning, however. Ernest Borgnine plays a cop indiscreetly following around a fraudulent banker, but during the environmental disaster they become close friends and dependent on each other. In conclusion: "When Time Ran Out" is literally a disaster of film. It's a volcanic eruption of derivative ideas, predictable moves and cheesy effects. But, on the other hand, I didn't get bored for one second throughout the entire 121 minutes of running time and that alone might be worth a recommendation!
Towering Inferno Meets Poseidon Adventure,Film Burns & Sinks
lorenzo2126 July 2002
Irwin Allen should be thanked for discovering a cure for insomnia.
The most notable feature about this movie is in the credits. Gayle Kananiokalapontigay's name takes two lines.
The movie is another Irwin Allen disaster - all the way around.
What agents got Paul Newman, William Holden, Jacqueline Bisset, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine, Burgess Meredith, James Franciscus, Barbera Carrera, Veronica Hamel, Edward Albert and Pat Morita into this loser?
And the writing? What writing? Carl Foreman and Stirling Silliphant should have had their names removed to save some embarrassment.
A bag of fish left in a car trunk in Sylmar would smell better than this stinker.
The story is stupid. A volcano settles scores and rights wrongs. Except it didn't destroy the master print copy. The acting is wooden, with bad, cliche lines just being spoken. And there's not one shred of excitement or danger at the climax. Just 20 minutes of watching 10 boring people cross a footbridge over a lava bed that poses no real harm.
Somehow Allen got this financed, and nobody read the script. At least I hope that's what happened. Otherwise some people would do anything, and I mean anything, for money.
When Time Ran Out, everybody fled the set.
Even if you've got five million hours left to live, don't waste one second on this piece of junk. Unless you're an insomniac. Even then, you will sleep, but your stomach's gonna churn with this garbage in it.
The most notable feature about this movie is in the credits. Gayle Kananiokalapontigay's name takes two lines.
The movie is another Irwin Allen disaster - all the way around.
What agents got Paul Newman, William Holden, Jacqueline Bisset, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine, Burgess Meredith, James Franciscus, Barbera Carrera, Veronica Hamel, Edward Albert and Pat Morita into this loser?
And the writing? What writing? Carl Foreman and Stirling Silliphant should have had their names removed to save some embarrassment.
A bag of fish left in a car trunk in Sylmar would smell better than this stinker.
The story is stupid. A volcano settles scores and rights wrongs. Except it didn't destroy the master print copy. The acting is wooden, with bad, cliche lines just being spoken. And there's not one shred of excitement or danger at the climax. Just 20 minutes of watching 10 boring people cross a footbridge over a lava bed that poses no real harm.
Somehow Allen got this financed, and nobody read the script. At least I hope that's what happened. Otherwise some people would do anything, and I mean anything, for money.
When Time Ran Out, everybody fled the set.
Even if you've got five million hours left to live, don't waste one second on this piece of junk. Unless you're an insomniac. Even then, you will sleep, but your stomach's gonna churn with this garbage in it.
Unbelievably Awful
alex83015 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Wow, what can I say? Never have I seen such an appalling movie come out of a major studio. How this film ever got into theater's is simply beyond me. Direct-to-video would have been more appropriate with the director opting for an "Alan Smithee" credit to spare the embarrassment. There is not a single redeeming value to be found in this horrendous piece of clap-trap. The acting is deplorable, the script is inane, the sets look like left-overs from Fantasy Island, the dialog is awful (and, at times, unintentionally hilarious) and the "special" effects are unspeakably bad. To approach this movie with the expectation of seeing a good feature film is utter lunacy. The only way to watch this movie is to take it for what it is. A joke.
Let's begin with the special effects, shall we? According to IMDb, When Time Ran Out... was filmed on a budget of over 20 million dollars. You will have a VERY hard time believing this after witnessing the not-so-special effects presented here. They could not possibly have cost more than a few dollars. For the daytime shots, the volcano is a painting matted onto the frame, with black diesel smoke being emitted from behind it. During nighttime, the volcano is shown via stock footage, which doesn't even resemble the original volcano seen during daytime. And don't even get me started on the climactic scene in which the resort explodes in a massive fireball. Let's just say I've seen more convincing special-effects in episodes of Bewitched.
The script? Horrendous. From dialog to storyline, the script is riddled with clichés and fails to deliver anything even closely resembling quality entertainment. I actually cringed when some of the characters delivered their lines. Try not to laugh as Holden spouts lines such as "Nicki dear, we have to get out of here, the volcano's pouring lava this way!". James Franciscus's overblown dialog is particularly amusing ("There's not going to be any evacuation!!"). The scene that takes the cake for being the most cringe-worthy is the beach scene with Newman and Bisset. This scene will have you searching frantically for your remote to hit fast-forward.
As many other users have already said, the plot recycles ideas from many of Allen's previous disaster movies and relies HEAVILY on clichés. And since the budget for special effects was clearly non-existent, the director opted to film endless footage of actors reacting to off-screen calamities while blaring melodramatic music in the background. In fact, about half this movies running time is composed of actors making faces into the camera. The scene in which the all-star cast journeys to the other side of the island by car is particularly noteworthy. It consists of 10 full minutes of actors sitting in cars, staring into space or at each other, while trying hard not to actually say anything. Somebody actually got paid to write this?
As you may have already guessed, many aspects of the movies storyline are utterly absurd. Here are a few examples that will have you roaring with laughter or just leave you scratching your head
1) There is a laboratory perched right ON THE LIP of an ACTIVE volcano. Who would spend millions of dollars to build this?! As expected, the place is vaporized when the volcano erupts.
2) The volcano will occasionally spew meteor-like lava balls which only hit the luxury hotel. Furthermore, the lava balls do only minor damage while the all-star cast is in the hotel, but when they have reached a safe location the lava balls cause the entire hotel to explode, killing everyone inside. Very inconsistent.
3) The volcano creates a tidal wave which comes TOWARDS the island. It ravages every part of the coastline except where the luxury hotel is located. How convenient.
4) The all-star cast is forced to cross a rickety bridge over a river of what is apparently cold lava (a scene that takes a FULL 20 MINUTES to complete). Anyone who took high school physics class would know that the bridge and anyone/anything on it would be incinerated by the heat radiating from the magma but clearly logic is not a concern in this movie. Why they have to cross the damn thing is never explained either. Action for the sake of action I suppose. Once they cross it, they walk a few feet to a cave where they hide out for the rest of the movie.
5) Jacqueline Bisset adopts a completely different hairstyle midway through the film. Just how long did the production stall on this thing?!
The acting in this movie is appalling. Newman barely acts and looks extremely uncomfortable just being there. Bisset fails spectacularly at trying to act sexy (it looks more like she has gas) and the way she delivers many of her lines is awkward. Holden, a legendary actor, gives what is no doubt the worst performance of his career. Franciscus overacts to the point of insanity and the rest of the cast is not even worth mentioning. They're just a bunch of television stars who are used to appearing in crap like this.
The cinematography is pathetic. Our director, James Goldstone, has seemingly achieved the impossible: making a tropical island look ugly. Seriously, this movie has almost no visual appeal to it, making it all the more painful to endure. It's also blatantly obvious that many of the "outdoor" scenes were filmed on a sound-stage.
Shockingly, When Time Ran Out was nominated for an Academy Award (for best costume design anyway). Despite the (undeserved) nomination, this movie is not recommended unless you are looking for a few unintentional laughs. The only good thing that can be said about this travesty is that it (mercifully) ended the "disaster movie craze" of the 1970's. For that reason alone, this movie gets 2 stars instead of 1.
Let's begin with the special effects, shall we? According to IMDb, When Time Ran Out... was filmed on a budget of over 20 million dollars. You will have a VERY hard time believing this after witnessing the not-so-special effects presented here. They could not possibly have cost more than a few dollars. For the daytime shots, the volcano is a painting matted onto the frame, with black diesel smoke being emitted from behind it. During nighttime, the volcano is shown via stock footage, which doesn't even resemble the original volcano seen during daytime. And don't even get me started on the climactic scene in which the resort explodes in a massive fireball. Let's just say I've seen more convincing special-effects in episodes of Bewitched.
The script? Horrendous. From dialog to storyline, the script is riddled with clichés and fails to deliver anything even closely resembling quality entertainment. I actually cringed when some of the characters delivered their lines. Try not to laugh as Holden spouts lines such as "Nicki dear, we have to get out of here, the volcano's pouring lava this way!". James Franciscus's overblown dialog is particularly amusing ("There's not going to be any evacuation!!"). The scene that takes the cake for being the most cringe-worthy is the beach scene with Newman and Bisset. This scene will have you searching frantically for your remote to hit fast-forward.
As many other users have already said, the plot recycles ideas from many of Allen's previous disaster movies and relies HEAVILY on clichés. And since the budget for special effects was clearly non-existent, the director opted to film endless footage of actors reacting to off-screen calamities while blaring melodramatic music in the background. In fact, about half this movies running time is composed of actors making faces into the camera. The scene in which the all-star cast journeys to the other side of the island by car is particularly noteworthy. It consists of 10 full minutes of actors sitting in cars, staring into space or at each other, while trying hard not to actually say anything. Somebody actually got paid to write this?
As you may have already guessed, many aspects of the movies storyline are utterly absurd. Here are a few examples that will have you roaring with laughter or just leave you scratching your head
1) There is a laboratory perched right ON THE LIP of an ACTIVE volcano. Who would spend millions of dollars to build this?! As expected, the place is vaporized when the volcano erupts.
2) The volcano will occasionally spew meteor-like lava balls which only hit the luxury hotel. Furthermore, the lava balls do only minor damage while the all-star cast is in the hotel, but when they have reached a safe location the lava balls cause the entire hotel to explode, killing everyone inside. Very inconsistent.
3) The volcano creates a tidal wave which comes TOWARDS the island. It ravages every part of the coastline except where the luxury hotel is located. How convenient.
4) The all-star cast is forced to cross a rickety bridge over a river of what is apparently cold lava (a scene that takes a FULL 20 MINUTES to complete). Anyone who took high school physics class would know that the bridge and anyone/anything on it would be incinerated by the heat radiating from the magma but clearly logic is not a concern in this movie. Why they have to cross the damn thing is never explained either. Action for the sake of action I suppose. Once they cross it, they walk a few feet to a cave where they hide out for the rest of the movie.
5) Jacqueline Bisset adopts a completely different hairstyle midway through the film. Just how long did the production stall on this thing?!
The acting in this movie is appalling. Newman barely acts and looks extremely uncomfortable just being there. Bisset fails spectacularly at trying to act sexy (it looks more like she has gas) and the way she delivers many of her lines is awkward. Holden, a legendary actor, gives what is no doubt the worst performance of his career. Franciscus overacts to the point of insanity and the rest of the cast is not even worth mentioning. They're just a bunch of television stars who are used to appearing in crap like this.
The cinematography is pathetic. Our director, James Goldstone, has seemingly achieved the impossible: making a tropical island look ugly. Seriously, this movie has almost no visual appeal to it, making it all the more painful to endure. It's also blatantly obvious that many of the "outdoor" scenes were filmed on a sound-stage.
Shockingly, When Time Ran Out was nominated for an Academy Award (for best costume design anyway). Despite the (undeserved) nomination, this movie is not recommended unless you are looking for a few unintentional laughs. The only good thing that can be said about this travesty is that it (mercifully) ended the "disaster movie craze" of the 1970's. For that reason alone, this movie gets 2 stars instead of 1.
Oh, IT'S BAD. Like REAL BAD. Like Perfect MST3K fodder Bad
thebaldphoenix6 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Ahh..."Irwin Allen's (cymbals crash when name appears on screen) Production of: EARTH'S FINAL FURY" (err, I mean "When Time Ran Out..." (never forget those elipses)...or is it "The Day The World Ended"?
I am sorry friends...but as a lifelong Irwin Allen fan here"? Thus is one I simply "cannot be kind to". Nor can I "take it easy" on this one. Nor is it "a misunderstood classic".
At all. In any way.
This ONE film...makes (all by itself) BOTH "The Swarm" and "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure" look like "The Godfather 1 and 2" by comparison.
The film was an expensive mess. It looks cheap, appears to have been shot thru a "crud covered screened window" (honestly....for a film in PARADISE? Why is the film so fuzzy/foggy/dimly-lit?
And then...ya get: THE CAST. (I will address the "not very special" effects later)...but the CAST. First off...Bill Holden (again) wanted "Top Billing" for this. Paul Newman should have said to Irwin "Let him HAVE it...as I am phoning in MY performance to clear my contractual obligation to appear in a 2nd Irwin Allen Film". But Holden (who actually DOES turn in a halfway decent performance...albeit with a script written by what HAD to be a 4th Grader) still did at least...try. (can't say that for the rest of the entire cast however. Unless one counts Alex Karras as an "actor").
Newman has less emotion than Michael Myers.
Jackie Bissett is SO BAD that she doesn't even look good in a tight shirt.
Borgnine and Buttons pal around the whole film with some hokey "I am gonna arrest you" subplot...and yet I love ya anyway bromance" thing going on.
Then...ya got PAT MORITA and SHEILA ALLEN as owners of a "brothel that hosts chicken fighting?" With Pat Morita spouting his lines "Where da fight? Where da fight...Mona!" (As if he were caricatures his OWN language. While "Mona the Brothel Matriarch" dresses like a wall tapestry found at a Jimmy Buffett-owned tiki bar.
Thank goodness Burgess Meredith and Valentina Cortesa are around to lend "credibility" as "The quasi Flying Walendas" to take a Half Hour to cross a bridge (that is a FOOT WIDE) carrying kids on their back, as if he were crossing a razor-thin tightrope.
Okay...so, this "not even good enough to be Irwin Allen's Production of "CAVE-IN" caliber" film had film actors in what wasn't even B-Grade Made for TV fodder back then"...went into theaters(!?!?) with movie stars reciting lines that aren't even fit for a Roger Corman Production...in a film with effects that aren't even on par with Corman.
Thusly...the EFFECTS. Lol. There were "effects"? Where?
Of course, every Irwin Allen film has to have the "mandatory helicopter exploding scene" (the LONE decent special effect)...more a stunt than an "effect". But the film is about...a VOLCANO. (Which kid's grade school project was stolen to create the "volcano"?) And it manages to "hurl Bus-Sized lava bombs....with precision accuracy...that explode on impact...enough to blow up an entire HOTEL?) They 1) look like a kid's thrown Sparkler and 2) "explode" like an atomic bomb.
My question to "defenders of this"...is EXACTLY WHAT did Irwin spend 22 Million...on?
The cast? (Doubtful. As Irwin was clever to always sign them for under-price and contractually obligated them to "appear in 2 IA films" by giving them a cut of the films Bix Office Take) The writers? Ummm...no. It is doubtful that neither Carl Foreman nor Stirling Silliphant were "commanding any type of A Grade Salary" at this point in EITHER career. (Nor did they seem to do any "writing" here as this isn't even on par with An Ed Wood script.
Am thinking THIS film (as it was originally to be a 20th Century Fox film entitled "The Day The World Ended") was held up for a LONG time as Irwin left Fox...went to Warners..made 2 bombs back to back...and this thing was held up in "Production Hell"...as even Holden looks different than he does in "Damien Omen 2" (same time frame made) and the effects are bad for even 1977. (This film says 1980) No way. The effects in "Condominium or Hurricane or Meteor" were ALL better than this. And Irwin...even in his bad films understood "set design and special effects" (Beyond The Poseidon Adventure AND The Swarm had some "hokey effects" too...but at least many were passable if not very good. And the sets were still magnificent.
Here? Whole Production looks cheap.
Like "could make it for 3 Million" cheap.
That aline would make me "go easier" on this film.
But for Irwin Allen to even LET this film fly? Is a travesty.
In no way...even following "Swarm and Beyond" could he THINK this was "good" in any way.
Those other 2? He directed and produced...so he probably thought "well...I did a good job, let em fly".
But this mess? No way.
It is boring. It has scenes that are pointless that go on for 15 minutes (the "exciting cars driving scenes to music that sounds like a tuba and one drum are playing") and has stock footage (same tidal wave that took out "The Poseidon" takes out the Backlot here.
Not one redeeming thing (except for the ridiculous "beach scene" where Bissett laughs hysterically at Newman telling some story about "selling negligees". ???? So bad...for 2 pros...that you GOTTA see it to believe it.
My guess? Is Irwin simply thru whatever profits he had left after Poseidon and Towering at this film and said "That's It...Fort Pitt".
Not even "so bad, it's good" (at least "The Swarm" is that). No. When Time Ran Into Earth's Final Fury on The Day Barbara Carrera's and James Franciscus' World Ended....is just DREADFUL.
I am sorry friends...but as a lifelong Irwin Allen fan here"? Thus is one I simply "cannot be kind to". Nor can I "take it easy" on this one. Nor is it "a misunderstood classic".
At all. In any way.
This ONE film...makes (all by itself) BOTH "The Swarm" and "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure" look like "The Godfather 1 and 2" by comparison.
The film was an expensive mess. It looks cheap, appears to have been shot thru a "crud covered screened window" (honestly....for a film in PARADISE? Why is the film so fuzzy/foggy/dimly-lit?
And then...ya get: THE CAST. (I will address the "not very special" effects later)...but the CAST. First off...Bill Holden (again) wanted "Top Billing" for this. Paul Newman should have said to Irwin "Let him HAVE it...as I am phoning in MY performance to clear my contractual obligation to appear in a 2nd Irwin Allen Film". But Holden (who actually DOES turn in a halfway decent performance...albeit with a script written by what HAD to be a 4th Grader) still did at least...try. (can't say that for the rest of the entire cast however. Unless one counts Alex Karras as an "actor").
Newman has less emotion than Michael Myers.
Jackie Bissett is SO BAD that she doesn't even look good in a tight shirt.
Borgnine and Buttons pal around the whole film with some hokey "I am gonna arrest you" subplot...and yet I love ya anyway bromance" thing going on.
Then...ya got PAT MORITA and SHEILA ALLEN as owners of a "brothel that hosts chicken fighting?" With Pat Morita spouting his lines "Where da fight? Where da fight...Mona!" (As if he were caricatures his OWN language. While "Mona the Brothel Matriarch" dresses like a wall tapestry found at a Jimmy Buffett-owned tiki bar.
Thank goodness Burgess Meredith and Valentina Cortesa are around to lend "credibility" as "The quasi Flying Walendas" to take a Half Hour to cross a bridge (that is a FOOT WIDE) carrying kids on their back, as if he were crossing a razor-thin tightrope.
Okay...so, this "not even good enough to be Irwin Allen's Production of "CAVE-IN" caliber" film had film actors in what wasn't even B-Grade Made for TV fodder back then"...went into theaters(!?!?) with movie stars reciting lines that aren't even fit for a Roger Corman Production...in a film with effects that aren't even on par with Corman.
Thusly...the EFFECTS. Lol. There were "effects"? Where?
Of course, every Irwin Allen film has to have the "mandatory helicopter exploding scene" (the LONE decent special effect)...more a stunt than an "effect". But the film is about...a VOLCANO. (Which kid's grade school project was stolen to create the "volcano"?) And it manages to "hurl Bus-Sized lava bombs....with precision accuracy...that explode on impact...enough to blow up an entire HOTEL?) They 1) look like a kid's thrown Sparkler and 2) "explode" like an atomic bomb.
My question to "defenders of this"...is EXACTLY WHAT did Irwin spend 22 Million...on?
The cast? (Doubtful. As Irwin was clever to always sign them for under-price and contractually obligated them to "appear in 2 IA films" by giving them a cut of the films Bix Office Take) The writers? Ummm...no. It is doubtful that neither Carl Foreman nor Stirling Silliphant were "commanding any type of A Grade Salary" at this point in EITHER career. (Nor did they seem to do any "writing" here as this isn't even on par with An Ed Wood script.
Am thinking THIS film (as it was originally to be a 20th Century Fox film entitled "The Day The World Ended") was held up for a LONG time as Irwin left Fox...went to Warners..made 2 bombs back to back...and this thing was held up in "Production Hell"...as even Holden looks different than he does in "Damien Omen 2" (same time frame made) and the effects are bad for even 1977. (This film says 1980) No way. The effects in "Condominium or Hurricane or Meteor" were ALL better than this. And Irwin...even in his bad films understood "set design and special effects" (Beyond The Poseidon Adventure AND The Swarm had some "hokey effects" too...but at least many were passable if not very good. And the sets were still magnificent.
Here? Whole Production looks cheap.
Like "could make it for 3 Million" cheap.
That aline would make me "go easier" on this film.
But for Irwin Allen to even LET this film fly? Is a travesty.
In no way...even following "Swarm and Beyond" could he THINK this was "good" in any way.
Those other 2? He directed and produced...so he probably thought "well...I did a good job, let em fly".
But this mess? No way.
It is boring. It has scenes that are pointless that go on for 15 minutes (the "exciting cars driving scenes to music that sounds like a tuba and one drum are playing") and has stock footage (same tidal wave that took out "The Poseidon" takes out the Backlot here.
Not one redeeming thing (except for the ridiculous "beach scene" where Bissett laughs hysterically at Newman telling some story about "selling negligees". ???? So bad...for 2 pros...that you GOTTA see it to believe it.
My guess? Is Irwin simply thru whatever profits he had left after Poseidon and Towering at this film and said "That's It...Fort Pitt".
Not even "so bad, it's good" (at least "The Swarm" is that). No. When Time Ran Into Earth's Final Fury on The Day Barbara Carrera's and James Franciscus' World Ended....is just DREADFUL.
One Big Disaster
bkoganbing27 June 2006
One thing I do have to say for When Time Ran Out. There is some lovely Hawaiian scenery in it. That's a plus for any film.
But this film may have killed the disaster film genre. Might have had a lot to do with the death of the big budget soap opera as well. At least it got a lease on life on television during the eighties.
Bad guy in this film is James Franciscus who thought it would be a grand idea to build a resort hotel on a small Hawaiian island with an active volcano. Great tourist attraction. He's not happy just growing sugar cane like his dad did and becoming filthy rich. He wants to become richer and he does become filthier.
He marries Bill Holden's daughter, Veronica Hamel, to get to Holden's money. Holden is a Conrad Hilton type hotel magnate.
Meanwhile another Franciscus enterprise is an oil well which Paul Newman has brought in. All their drilling is giving the volcano an upset tummy.
Of course we've got some grand soap opera type romantic conflicts. Newman and Holden over Jacqueline Bisset, Franciscus stepping out with Barbara Carrera on Veronica Hamel with Edward Albert objecting big time. Dynasty can't hold a candle to this bunch.
Irwin Allen ripped himself off also. The characters that Burgess Meredith and Valentina Cortesa play are an Italian version of who Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters played in The Poseidon Adventure.
Newman, Holden, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine all veterans of Irwin Allen disaster films from before just go through the motions here.
What did they get out of it? A big paycheck and a Hawaiian vacation. That's probably reason enough to do this film as time finally ran out on the disaster film.
But this film may have killed the disaster film genre. Might have had a lot to do with the death of the big budget soap opera as well. At least it got a lease on life on television during the eighties.
Bad guy in this film is James Franciscus who thought it would be a grand idea to build a resort hotel on a small Hawaiian island with an active volcano. Great tourist attraction. He's not happy just growing sugar cane like his dad did and becoming filthy rich. He wants to become richer and he does become filthier.
He marries Bill Holden's daughter, Veronica Hamel, to get to Holden's money. Holden is a Conrad Hilton type hotel magnate.
Meanwhile another Franciscus enterprise is an oil well which Paul Newman has brought in. All their drilling is giving the volcano an upset tummy.
Of course we've got some grand soap opera type romantic conflicts. Newman and Holden over Jacqueline Bisset, Franciscus stepping out with Barbara Carrera on Veronica Hamel with Edward Albert objecting big time. Dynasty can't hold a candle to this bunch.
Irwin Allen ripped himself off also. The characters that Burgess Meredith and Valentina Cortesa play are an Italian version of who Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters played in The Poseidon Adventure.
Newman, Holden, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine all veterans of Irwin Allen disaster films from before just go through the motions here.
What did they get out of it? A big paycheck and a Hawaiian vacation. That's probably reason enough to do this film as time finally ran out on the disaster film.
This things a powder keg......
FlashCallahan28 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Before Monday 26th May 2014, I had no idea that this film existed, so as soon as I saw the synopsis, the cast, and the fact that it was on at a really peculiar time, had me very intrigued.
It's another one of those wonderful disaster movies that were made in the seventies and the early eighties which were hugely popular to begin with, and them became just like their budgets, not very big.
And here the lack of budget is evident.
To summarise it quickly, lots of famous people take a holiday on an island with an active volcano. The owners reckon that the volcano is safe, but Paul Newman lands his helicopter there, wearing the same clothes he had on in The Towering Inferno, and the volcano loses it.
and that's the film.
Is it good? no, but for heavens sake, it's a lot of fun to watch.
it's the case of Allen making each obstacle just that little more difficult to get past, and ensuring he's always got a lot of high wattage bulbs at hand, to shine them in actors faces, depicting hot rocks hurtling toward them.
it's the Poseiden adventure with a tan, and Newman looks totally bewildered as to why he did this movie, for the duration of the film.
The rest of the cast are pure filler, but it's funny to watch Mr Miyagi fall slowly into a red lake.
A wonderful find, especially if you like literal disasters.
But a lot more fun than Dante's Peak and Volcano
It's another one of those wonderful disaster movies that were made in the seventies and the early eighties which were hugely popular to begin with, and them became just like their budgets, not very big.
And here the lack of budget is evident.
To summarise it quickly, lots of famous people take a holiday on an island with an active volcano. The owners reckon that the volcano is safe, but Paul Newman lands his helicopter there, wearing the same clothes he had on in The Towering Inferno, and the volcano loses it.
and that's the film.
Is it good? no, but for heavens sake, it's a lot of fun to watch.
it's the case of Allen making each obstacle just that little more difficult to get past, and ensuring he's always got a lot of high wattage bulbs at hand, to shine them in actors faces, depicting hot rocks hurtling toward them.
it's the Poseiden adventure with a tan, and Newman looks totally bewildered as to why he did this movie, for the duration of the film.
The rest of the cast are pure filler, but it's funny to watch Mr Miyagi fall slowly into a red lake.
A wonderful find, especially if you like literal disasters.
But a lot more fun than Dante's Peak and Volcano
when ideas ran out
awblundell18 November 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Fairly decent acting from an impressive cast list was not enough to save this disaster (of a) movie from a thoroughly boring and unoriginal script.
*** potential spoilers follow - not that there's much to spoil ***
The plot is fuller of holes than a Swiss cheese. For a start I'm not sure that an active volcano and an oil field on the same small island are compatible, but as I'm not a geologist I might be inclined to let that go. But there's much more.
There's the tidal wave that trashes the village up the coast when the hotel doesn't see so much as a ripple. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't a tidal wave travel outwards from an eruption and trash the island next door?
There's the long shot of a volcano spewing fire full blast into the stratosphere, cut to the research station on the edge of the crater. OK it doesn't look to be the best place to be but judging by the previous shot it should be vapourised.
There's the overloaded helicopter that crashed, despite having taken of even more heavily loaded (at least 3 people fell off). Oh yes, and it had just arrived even more heavily loaded. All it would have taken to make this less ludicrous was an additional four words in the script, (It's out of gas!) but obviously time ran out for the script-writers some time before they had finished the job.
And where did that blonde woman get that awful pink dress. The group that left the hotel to reach safety on the other side of the island were told they were travelling through rough country and to wear sensible clothes. I don't believe that was the best she could do.
And last but not least, the plot driver for the whole film was the head-in-the-sand attitude of hotel owner. He refused to leave,insisting that the lava could not reach that far, an that the hotel was the safest place to be. Quite a few others followed his lead. We never saw the lava reach the hotel. It was destroyed when the volcano blew its top again, shooting out a few tons of fiery rock which arced high in the air and, much against the odds, scored a bullseye. It seems the hotel owner was right, the odds were better on staying, even if they didn't come off.
All in all, one to miss. But why, you might ask, if it was that bad, why did you watch it for long enough to find all these faults. I wish I knew.
*** potential spoilers follow - not that there's much to spoil ***
The plot is fuller of holes than a Swiss cheese. For a start I'm not sure that an active volcano and an oil field on the same small island are compatible, but as I'm not a geologist I might be inclined to let that go. But there's much more.
There's the tidal wave that trashes the village up the coast when the hotel doesn't see so much as a ripple. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't a tidal wave travel outwards from an eruption and trash the island next door?
There's the long shot of a volcano spewing fire full blast into the stratosphere, cut to the research station on the edge of the crater. OK it doesn't look to be the best place to be but judging by the previous shot it should be vapourised.
There's the overloaded helicopter that crashed, despite having taken of even more heavily loaded (at least 3 people fell off). Oh yes, and it had just arrived even more heavily loaded. All it would have taken to make this less ludicrous was an additional four words in the script, (It's out of gas!) but obviously time ran out for the script-writers some time before they had finished the job.
And where did that blonde woman get that awful pink dress. The group that left the hotel to reach safety on the other side of the island were told they were travelling through rough country and to wear sensible clothes. I don't believe that was the best she could do.
And last but not least, the plot driver for the whole film was the head-in-the-sand attitude of hotel owner. He refused to leave,insisting that the lava could not reach that far, an that the hotel was the safest place to be. Quite a few others followed his lead. We never saw the lava reach the hotel. It was destroyed when the volcano blew its top again, shooting out a few tons of fiery rock which arced high in the air and, much against the odds, scored a bullseye. It seems the hotel owner was right, the odds were better on staying, even if they didn't come off.
All in all, one to miss. But why, you might ask, if it was that bad, why did you watch it for long enough to find all these faults. I wish I knew.
Excellent multiple personality disaster movies.
dlscally31 May 2002
I am relatively indifferent to most action movies but I am willing to make an exception in this case. I was strongly attracted to the multiple personal stories and thus cared a lot about which of these fictional characters survived and which perished. Thus, I am surprised by the cold reception given this film by many writers, both amateur and professional. The characters were all carefully developed, quite an accomplishment for a movie that tells so many personal stories. Examples: We have a ratfink male whose greed gets lots of people killed. He doubles as one third of a love triangle involving two ladies with plenty of misplaced loyalty and very little common sense. We have a reluctant hero who leads many to safety. We have a retired tightrope walker whose former trade will be put to good use before almost everything melts away in the finale. We are treated to the complex relationship between a gentleman crook and his pursuer; the former risks his own survival by going out of his way to render assistance when the latter becomes disabled. A lot of the characters are caught participating in a sadistic cockfight when all hell breaks loose. What happens to most of them before the movie is over seems like a severe penalty, even for cockfighting.
Hollywood first realized the merits of multiple plot movies with the introduction of "[Vicki Baum's] Grand Hotel", circa 1932. This pattern has since been followed many times, usually successfully. Examples: "Stagecoach", "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", "Airport", "[Arthur Hailey's] Hotel", "Lone Star", "The Big Chill" and "Matewan". I believe that those responsible for "When Time Ran Out..." also did an excellent job of multiple character development and I loved every minute of it.
Hollywood first realized the merits of multiple plot movies with the introduction of "[Vicki Baum's] Grand Hotel", circa 1932. This pattern has since been followed many times, usually successfully. Examples: "Stagecoach", "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", "Airport", "[Arthur Hailey's] Hotel", "Lone Star", "The Big Chill" and "Matewan". I believe that those responsible for "When Time Ran Out..." also did an excellent job of multiple character development and I loved every minute of it.
Gobble...Gobble...Gobble...or Red Light, Green Light, 1, 2, 3...
GMJames6 July 2002
The Hollywood movers and shakers who decide which scripts are given the green light ought to be ashamed of themselves.
The actors who signed up for this debacle should have known better.
The behind-the-scenes crew must've kept their mouths shut while filming the Irwin Allen production, knowing that the final product was going to be garbage.
There must have been a conspiracy within the Costume Design branch of the Academy Awards for nominating this and "The Swarm" two years earlier for the bland clothing right off the store shelves from Sears or K-Mart (or whatever store that was close to the Warner Brothers' Burbank studios lot or on location in Hawaii).
And I'm not going to discuss the poor blue screen effects, the cheap miniature effects or the actor's laughable reaction shots.
While writing this review, I realized that "When Time Ran Out" and "Airplane!" were both released in 1980. I guess it speaks volumes when a silly but unintentionally funny disaster movie was a flop and a silly but intentionally funny disaster spoof was a hit.
The actors who signed up for this debacle should have known better.
The behind-the-scenes crew must've kept their mouths shut while filming the Irwin Allen production, knowing that the final product was going to be garbage.
There must have been a conspiracy within the Costume Design branch of the Academy Awards for nominating this and "The Swarm" two years earlier for the bland clothing right off the store shelves from Sears or K-Mart (or whatever store that was close to the Warner Brothers' Burbank studios lot or on location in Hawaii).
And I'm not going to discuss the poor blue screen effects, the cheap miniature effects or the actor's laughable reaction shots.
While writing this review, I realized that "When Time Ran Out" and "Airplane!" were both released in 1980. I guess it speaks volumes when a silly but unintentionally funny disaster movie was a flop and a silly but intentionally funny disaster spoof was a hit.
The volcano is the star!
bettycjung14 March 2018
3/14/18. I have forgotten how suspenseful these old disaster movies were, even formulaic as they were. Why mess with what works? Irwin Allen was always good with that: A love triangle, a helicopter, a loss of one or two of the big stars and you got yourself a hit. While many of the big stars featured were mostly past their prime, that was okay when the disaster was actually THE STAR of the movie. Catch it for nostalgia's sake.
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