''Timeline'' is a 2003

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American film director, producer and actor. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters", Donner directed some of the mo ...

and starring Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis, and Anna Friel. Based on

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...

's 1999 novel of the same name, the screenplay concerns a team of present-day archaeology and history students who are sent back in time to medieval France to rescue their professor from the middle of a battle.

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

composed the original score, which would have been his last released before his death in 2004, but was replaced with a new score by Brian Tyler, after the first cut of the film was re-edited and Goldsmith's increasing health problems prevented him from continuing. The film was poorly received by critics and bombed at the box office, losing an estimated $49 million.

Plot

Castlegard, a village near La Roque Castle in Dordogne, France, is the site of the 1357 hanging of Lady Claire, sister to Arnaut de Cervole. Her martyrdom led

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to win the Hundred Years War against the English. While excavating a nearby monastery, an archaeological team finds a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

containing the remains of a French knight with a lopped ear, holding the hand of his lady, an unheard-of practice for the time. Professor Edward Johnston, the team's leader, travels to the American headquarters of the ITC Corporation, his project's sponsor, to learn if they have tampered with the site. Johnston's students Kate Erickson, Josh Stern, and François Dontelle, along with Scottish archaeologist André Marek; and his son Chris, discover a lens from Johnston's

bifocals Bifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers correcting vision at both long and short distances. Bifocals are commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hyperopia, and/or astigmatism. H ...

and a note begging for help, although both date over 600 years old. ITC later invites them to its headquarters. In the process of developing

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...

technology, ITC locked onto a stable

wormhole A wormhole is a hypothetical structure that connects disparate points in spacetime. It can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime (i.e., different locations, different points in time, or both). Wormholes are base ...

to 1357 Castlegard. Johnston was invited to see the past for himself, but his group has not returned, and ITC wants Marek and company to go back in time to locate him. All but Josh volunteer to go. The volunteers are stripped of all modern technology save for markers they can use to initiate their return. They are joined by a security team including ITC's head of security, Frank Gordon, and two former military men. On arrival in 1357, the team appears in the path of a young woman chased by English knights; the security men are killed while protecting the group, although one activates his marker after priming a grenade. When his body arrives in the present, the grenade detonates and shatters much of the teleportation device. Josh aids ITC vice-president Steven Kramer in making repairs. The team evades the knights, and the woman leads them to the English-controlled Castlegard. They are captured and brought before Lord Oliver de Vannes and his second-in-command, DeKere. De Vannes kills François, believing him to be a French spy. The others are imprisoned along with Johnston, who previously promised de Vannes that he could make

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret; historians have variously speculated that it was based on saltp ...

for the English in exchange for his life. They escape but are pursued by the English. Gordon and Johnston are recaptured, while the others make for the monastery, led by the woman. DeKere reveals himself to Gordon and Johnston as former ITC employee William Decker; he had frequently used the teleportation device but was not told by ITC that each use damaged his DNA until it was too late, at which point he would die on a return trip. He plans revenge on ITC and kills Gordon. De Vannes orders his knights to march on LaRoque castle, and DeKere brings Johnston along. At the monastery, Marek, Kate, and Chris meet de Cervole and realize that the woman is Lady Claire; they have changed history by saving her. Kate and Chris help to swing the upcoming battle in the French's favor by leading de Cervole's men through the monastery tunnels they had previously mapped to the castle. As the battle starts, Marek frees Johnston, while Chris helps de Cervole defeat de Vannes. Enraged, DeKere slashes off Marek's earlobe, and Marek realizes that he is destined to be the knight in the sarcophagus. Marek defeats DeKere, recovers the markers, gives them to the others, and says his goodbyes while running off to help the French assure victory and restore history. In the present, Josh and Kramer finish the repairs. ITC president Robert Doniger, who tried to sabotage their attempts, fears that when the students' stories become public, ITC will suffer financially. As the machine activates, Doniger races into it, attempting to block the teleportation, but instead is sent back to 1357, where he arrives outside the castle and is presumably killed by a charging knight. Chris, Kate, and Johnston safely return. Later, the team returns to the Castlegard ruins, re-examines the sarcophagus, and finds that Marek and Lady Claire lived together after the war and had three children: Christophe, Katherine, and François.

Cast

Production

The battle sequences used

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

reenactors.

limited the use of CGI in the film as much as possible. Composer

, who had previously collaborated with Donner on ''

The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Sp ...

'', completed a score for the filmthe last score he worked on before his death in 2004 (his last score used in a film was for the 2003 release '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'')but it was replaced by a different score composed by Brian Tyler after Donner was forced to re-cut the film at the insistence of

Sherry Lansing Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American former film studio executive serving as chairwoman of Universal Music Group's board of directors since 2023. She previously served as chairwoman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, ...

, the then-head of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. However, both Goldsmith and Tyler's scores were released on CD.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''Timeline'' grossed $19.5million, with $24.4million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $43.9million, against a budget of $80million. It opened at No.12, then rose to No.8 in its second weekits only week in the Top10 at the domestic box office. In 2018, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' included it in an article about

box office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

Critical response

Kirk Honeycutt of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called it " orious so-bad-it's-good entertainment."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave it 2 stars out of 4, and wrote that it was "not so much about travel between the past and the present as about travel between two movie genres" namely "a corporate thriller crossed with a medieval swashbuckler". He was disappointed that the elaborate premise was not put to greater use, that it was essentially nothing more than a frame for action scenes. Robert Koehler of '' Variety'' wrote: "Lacks the consistent tone, pace and point of view for either a science fiction thriller or medieval war adventure."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline (Film) 2003 films 2003 science fiction action films 2000s action adventure films 2000s science fiction adventure films American action adventure films American science fiction action films American science fiction adventure films 2000s films about time travel Films based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels Films based on works by Michael Crichton Films directed by Richard Donner Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Films scored by Brian Tyler Films set in the 1350s Films set in 2003 Films set in France Films shot in Montreal Films with screenplays by George Nolfi Hundred Years' War films Mutual Film Company films Paramount Pictures films Techno-thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language science fiction adventure films English-language science fiction action films English-language action adventure films