Watch Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann For Free

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Crappy film

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Can't understand the low rating at all. Only complaint is the movie isn't long enough. Saw this movie 20 years ago and it's even better now. The soundtrack by Mike Nesmith (former Monkees) touches on all kinds a genres. Hard to find DVD too. Fred Ward is a very interesting actor in all his movies. His uniqueness and style adds to the interest. He's one of few actors whose eye gestures needs no words spoken with it. Tremors is another great example where he adds to the quality of the movie.The supporting cast is excellent too. 1) Lauter is great in all his movies. 2) Bauer is awesome and is a shame she hasn't been in more movies in the past. 3) As for Coyote, this has to be his best movie as the bad guy.Thumbs up!!!

Fred Ward gives a typically credible and engaging performance as Lyle Swann, a hotshot off-road motorcycle champion who becomes lost in the Mexico desert while in the middle of a motorcross race. Swann accidentally stumbles across a top secret government base that's conducting a time travel experiment and gets transported back to 1877. Grimy, vicious desperado Peter Coyote and his two dumb, craven, greasy, unwashed scuzzbag partners (marvelously played by the ever-grubby Tracey Walter and an uncharacteristically nasty Richard Masur) want to steal Swann's wheels. Swann seeks refuge in a small, remote Mexican village. The God-fearing peasant vocals think Swann is the devil incarnate. Only priest Ed Lauter and fiery, fetching femme Clair (the highly alluring and enticing Belinda Bauer) treat Swann with any hospitality and become his sole allies, protecting him from both Coyote's gang and a couple of bothersome federal marshals (one of 'em is grizzled Sam Peckinpah movie regular L.Q. Jones).The fantastic premise is given a semblance of gritty, lived-in plausibility thanks to the brightly conceived script, believable reactions the 18th century characters have to both Swann and his motorcycle, sound acting from a top-rate cast, and especially director William Dear's harsh, rough around the edges, very dingy and fiercely unromanticized evocation of the Old West. It's this latter element of ragged, dust-under-the-fingernails filthy historical authenticity which makes "Timerider" such an effective and engrossing offbeat sci-fi/Western outing. Former Monkey Michael Nesmith co-produced, co-wrote the quirky screenplay, and supplied the lively, thumping, guitar-blasting, synthesizer-driven rollicking rock score for this interesting anomaly. The Anchor Bay DVD offers an excellent letterboxed presentation of this unsung favorite, along with a disarmingly candid William Dear commentary, two theatrical trailers and a bunch of TV spots.

This was the first Cable movie I ever saw way back in 1983.The best things were its gadgets and predictions, more or less about our time believe it or not. He had a tricked up motorcycle with a heads up display on the inside of his helmet. Today I wish I had one of those with an lcd panel for my cubicle at work, complete with 5.1 dolby and bluetooth, oh well. The movie was great and I believe an ex-Monkey fellow named Mike Nesmit was somehow involved. It kinda fits in that genera that included 'The Comet' and Fred Wards later movie 'Remo Williams'. The helicopter scene is legendary even today. And Peter Coyote and Richard Masur have gone on to bigger and better things. I think it would play very well even today it has a timeless quality to it. The dead on predictions about gadgets though were erie, like Captain Kirk and his cell phone and Quantum Leaps Albert and Zyggy's Palm Pilot or iPaq.. just goes to show that Art doesn't often imitate life, its usually the other way 'round. I'd highly recommend this movie even for a contemporary audience. Though, the shocker scene I think is often edited out.. even on the VHS or DVD releases I've heard... it doesn't take too much away from the story.

This film is a great example of what can be done with a low budget, decent story, and a great cast. The direction is broad, and at the same time both light-hearted and dark. I think it's a good example of balance in that regard. Please see my comments in the message board regarding the ending of the DVD version. I think you have to be able to remember back to the day - 1982 - to appreciate this movie. Superior low-budget time-loops starting with "The Terminator" were still 2 years away....