PreCommentary: A.k.a. Time Warp. The video box relentlessly announces: "They crossed over the forbidden limits of science, unleashing unknown and uncontrollable forces. Now, their time is running out . . ."

Notes: American General Picture Corporation. Release date, according to video box, 1970. 83 [or, according to video box, 86] minutes.

Stanton Jr.: Scott Brady
Dr. Mark Manning: Anthony Eisley
Dr. Karen White: Gigi Perreau
Dr. Gordon von Steiner: Abraham Sofaer
Mr. Denning: Austin Green
Susan: Tracy Olsen
Dave: Andy Davis
Vina: Poupee Gamin
Frosty Future Guy: Lyle Waggoner

Produced: Ray Dorin and David L. Hewitt
Associate Producer: J. Max Thornton
Directed: David L. Hewitt
Screenplay: David Prentiss
Special Camera Effects: Modern Film Effects

Summary: A tediously sanctimonious and dire male voice blabs about "TIME" and the "cold vast regions of the universe." Someday, perhaps "man" will be able properly to negotiate between the infinite past and the infinite future. [But then the via media, the center, would be . . . the present. So perhaps one day "man" will live now? But then it's not a journey to the center of time since we're already in it, right? I'm confused.]

The credits run over pictures of a sundial, an hourglass, clocks, and gears of clocks. [Obviously the idea was to show endless images in the evolution of TIME-measuring tools, but frankly there aren't that many.] So far, a colossal waste of TIME!

Mr. Denning and Stanton Jr. drive to Stanton's industrial park inherited from his father. He's pissy about being called "jr." and a classically fat-assed '60s Republican. At one of his labs, Drs. Gordon, White, and Manning are experimenting in time travel, but can never travel backwards more than 24 hours. Although this was a pet project funded by Stanton Sr., there is worry that Jr. wants to shut them down and convert the area to weapons development. At a meeting, the Drs. explain that they've been able to photograph parking lots from the past and are on the threshold of time travel, even "Phase B" which would involve looking into the future. But Stanton says he'll shut them down in 24 hours unless they turn up something drastic.

At night amongst the angst, we are forced to watch kissies between White and Manning. The next morning, Stanton shows up in the lab and Mark rashly decides to "open the photon cycle all the way." Their monitor shows bombing and cities collapsing. Dear God, "the time transport circuits are completely fused!" They're 5000 years into the future and "at the center of some sort of nuclear war!" A besilvered Lyle Waggoner comes aboard and takes the four to see Dr. Vina (who offers no wine at all). She explains that the year is 6968 and that their delegation are aliens come to colonize earth, but too late due to the global war which is resulting in the death of earth and humanity. An earthling warrior shoots her and she begs the time travellers to go back and advise 1968 about controlling weapons. In a laser-beam gun fracas, they escape to the lab and launch.

Stanton deduces that since the war they witnessed did happen, then they must never get back to warn earth-1968; but Gordon thinks that maybe they do get back but no one listens. [I'm confused again.] On a collision course with a white blob, communication attempts fail so Stanton rashly shoots the thing with the laser beam, screwing up the system again so that they hurdle into the past.

The monitor shows the American view of "history": a series of wars. Hence we see footage of naval exploits in Korea and WWII, the Civil War, Indians vs. covered wagons, naval battles, sword duels, and armies with spears. We land "one million years b.c." and Stanton for no reason goes outside. Gordon for no reason goes after him. We see enlarged lizards on the monitor. Manning for no reason goes outside. A "dinosaur" approaches the lab and White for no reason goes outside.

She meets up with the others and lies about the lizard: "He came after me and tried to attack the lab!" They hide in a cave and discover gigantic (and implausibly faceted) gems, one of which can replace the shattered one in the lab. [? Whatever.] Stanton, proud of his greed, tries to yank out of the rock wall another gem and starts a cave-in. Gordon plunges into lava and Stanton abandons the others. He plunks down a gem in a gizmo and blasts off in, and with, the lab. But he sees another white blob approaching and we realize that the lab met the lab last time, crossing time-paths, so Stanton blowing up the blob last time means he blew up himself. And he does.

The lab appears back in dino-land where Mark and Karen board. [I'm really confused.] They travel back to 1968, but somehow don't hit it quite right and they end up seeing themselves at an almost frozen still version of the meeting with Stanton and Denning near the beginning of the film. Mark decides they now exist in a world outside time at an accelerated rate where they would be only shadows to their former selves and the others at the meeting. [But what if they stayed put a really long time?] With echoey tedium, we watch scenes from the entire film again! Aaaauuugghh!

Finally, Karen and Mark zip off in their lab, with Mark announcing in self-important and conflated clichés, "We may be the Adam and Eve of a brave new world."

Commentary: I'm really really confused. Some of the ideas are intriguing, such as coming back out-of-sync. But I'm pretty sure this movie doesn't make any sense; however, it also sucks away the viewer's will to live, so one doesn't end up with the energy to follow through logically why this film doesn't make any sense.

The depiction of time, or history, as a series of wars can be used to make a useful point about American education.

Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy to remain here on the periphery of time.