When Time Ran Out... Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

When Time Ran Out... Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 12, 2023

1980’s “When Time Ran Out” is largely credited as the final nail in the coffin of disaster movie mania. The subgenre had been on a downward trend throughout the late-1970s, but here was producer Irwin Allen trying to maintain his fortune by spending a fortune on a volcano eruption picture that cashed in a handful of contractual obligations, including star Paul Newman, who never once, not for a minute, seems interested in participating in the project. Catastrophe hits Hawaii in the feature, which intends to put on a major show of force featuring an exploding mountain, lava flow, and multiple survival challenges once again facing a collection of characters. What “When Time Ran Out” mostly comes up with is a botched final edit and cheapy special effects, with director James Goldstone (“Rollercoaster,” “Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story”) working hard to make an attractive looking film, but he shows less interest in creating an even remotely suspenseful one.

Bob (James Franciscus) is in charge of the Kalaleu Gilmore Resort, overseeing a large staff for owner Shelby (William Holden), who’s paying a visit to the Pacific island with Kay (Jacqueline Bisset), an employee he wants to marry. Bob’s invested money into monitoring a nearby volcano, and he’s hired Hank (Paul Newman) to find oil, helping him to escape comparisons to his father, a sugar magnate. Hank finds black gold, but he also discovers instability in the area, turning to Bob to understand what’s happening with the volcano. During their investigation, a fresh wave of guests are welcomed to the luxury resort, with hostess Iolani (Barbara Carrera) tending to Rene (Burgess Meredith) and his sick wife, Rose (Valentina Cortese). Francis (Red Buttons) is a possible white-collar criminal trying to evade visiting NYC cop, Tom (Ernest Borgnine). And domestic lives are threatened with the arrival of Brian (Edward Albert), who hopes to marry Iolani, only she’s secretly sleeping with Bob, who’s married to Nikki (Veronica Hamil), the daughter of Shelby.

Bob has created quite a property in the Kalaleu Gilmore, which not only has luxury accommodations for guests, but an elaborate volcano research station built right on the edge of the gurgling hot spot, complete with an elevator that brings visitors down to the depths of the mountain. It’s a major operation, giving “When Time Ran Out” a slightly futuristic quality while remaining a story from the 1970s, including an extensive subplot about the hunt for oil, with Hank overseeing a discovery he’s not entirely confident about, while everyone else is ready for a major payday. Energy concerns and financial reward are present in “When Time Ran Out,” but the screenplay is mostly concerned with love lives and betrayals, going the soap opera route with most of the characters, finding Kay delicately trying to dodge her boss’s advances while snapping to attention around Hank, her ex-lover and a man she’s very interested in reuniting with.

Hank and Kay rekindle their affair on the island, confusing Hank’s mission in “When Time Ran Out.” One minute, the oil worker is deeply concerned about a possible eruption capable of destroying the island, even taking a ride in the elevator, which falls apart in the intense heat and seismic activity. Soon after, he’s enjoying a cheery picnic with Kay, with the pair trying to work on rebuilding their chemistry. It’s one of many tonal bootleg turns in the picture, which underwent a severe recut when the studio recognized the movie wasn’t working, looking to keep it short and exciting for an international release, which meant losing a lot of character activity. Not that a longer cut would solve many of the problems in “When Time Ran Out,” but editorial butchery is on display here, reducing subplots everywhere, including Bob’s juggling of relationships, Brian’s presence on the island, and the strange game of intimidation between Francis and Tom, which comes close to making no sense whatsoever in the Blu-ray cut.

“When Time Ran Out” sets up a variety of characters and situations (including the promise of a cockfight), but the big show is the volcano, and eruption eventually does occur, putting the island into a state of emergency as sides are taken in a “fight or flight” scenario, with Bob leading the cause to remain at the resort, confident the lava flow won’t reach them. Hank leads a small assortment of guests and employees into the jungle, hunting for higher ground. The Allen-ness of it all finally breaks free in “When Time Ran Out,” but the production absolutely fumbles all special effects, which struggle mightily with scale and sharpness. Victims do battle with flying rocks and a tidal wave in the picture, and, because this is an Allen endeavor, a helicopter plays a key role in rescue operations and disaster. There are big ideas for catastrophe, but little to no money was spent to create plausible danger, and in a post “Star Wars” world, such visual intensity is necessary to capture audience interest.

Two versions of “When Time Ran Out” are presented on this disc: a Theatrical Cut (109:13) and an Extended Cut (143:18, SD).

When Time Ran Out... Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "When Time Ran Out" preserves the wonderful greenery of the locations, with a pleasing sense of nature and island surroundings. Color is also lively with costuming, bringing out defined primaries, and the deep reds of volcanic activity are appreciable. Skin tones are natural. Detail captures a slightly softer sense of skin particulars, and interiors retain a look at decorative additions. Exteriors maintain decent depth. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is adequately resolved. Source is in good condition.

When Time Ran Out... Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix presents a good understanding of dialogue exchanges, preserving performance choices and offerings of emotional volatility. Scoring supports with clear instrumentation and suspenseful support. Sound effects are blunt but appreciable, handling the general chaos of the erupting volcano.

When Time Ran Out... Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Additional Scenes (53:41, SD) are offered.

• Image Gallery (3:06) collects poster art, publicity shots, BTS snaps, and film stills.

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

When Time Ran Out... Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"When Time Ran Out" initially seems like it has a lot planned for its survival sequences, but, amazingly, there's a limited amount of danger in the feature. Hank leads the gang across a precarious ledge on the edge of the volcano, and there's a bridge crossing sequence that, no kidding, leads to a tightrope walk over boiling lava. Some of the characters don't make it (sold with hilariously substandard falling visuals), and it's unlikely viewers will really care by the end of the feature, which doesn't exactly build to a conclusion. It all just sort of ends. As with most Allen endeavors, "When Time Ran Out" is largely supported by the cast, with most showing more concentration on dramatic opportunity than Newman, and it's helpful, bringing some level of passion to an otherwise dull, mismanaged effort. Perhaps the material was something complete at one point during the creative process, but frugality and choppiness transforms the film into a parody of the disaster movie experience.