Film

When Time Ran Out...

Name: When Time Ran Out...
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Released: 1980
Cast: Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, James Franciscus, Ernest Borgnine

A disaster film where Paul Newman and an all-star cast face an erupting volcano on a Pacific island resort. It's glossy 1980 spectacle with genuine peril, built on the tension between business interests and survival. For viewers who love ensemble casts scrambling against nature's indifference, or who enjoy watching expensive things burn.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love old-fashioned disaster spectacle, where a crowd of mismatched characters is thrown together and the fun is watching their egos collide with the rumbling earth.

Skip it if you want tight, grounded storytelling; the human plot is talky and soap-operatic, and the long stretches between eruptions can feel like waiting for the next set piece.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a two-hour-plus runtime of mostly talk and rising tension, with the spectacle arriving in bursts rather than steadily.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Poseidon Adventure1972

The template all disaster films followed. A luxury ship capsizes, and a small group fights upward through the wreck. Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine (who's also in When Time Ran Out) anchoring a sprawling cast in genuine jeopardy.

But The pacing is leisurely by modern standards, and some of the miniature work is visible enough to pull you out of the moment.

Earthquake1974

Charlton Heston and a stellar ensemble trapped in Los Angeles during a catastrophic quake. Beautifully shot disaster sequences and a script that understands how civilisation fractures under pressure.

But The gender politics are of their time, and the romantic subplot feels obligatory rather than urgent.

The Towering Inferno1974

Fire consumes a new skyscraper on opening night. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen navigating smoke and flame with real style. The disaster sequences are genuinely harrowing, the cast interaction is warm, the dialogue snaps.

But At nearly three hours, it dawdles in the middle act while characters repeat information you've already gathered.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from When Time Ran Out...

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Sorcerer1977

Both pit ordinary men against indifferent natural and economic forces. Both ask what people will do when the cost of staying put exceeds the cost of moving forward.

William Friedkin's remake of The Wages of Fear: four men drive trucks full of unstable dynamite across a South American jungle. A thriller that builds catastrophe from character and environment, not spectacle. Utterly gripping, visually stunning, and morally complex.

But There is no moment of relief. The tension compounds for 122 minutes with minimal dialogue and no reassurance. It's exhausting by design.

Airport 19751974

A plane loses its flight crew mid-air. Charleton Heston, Karen Black, and a rotating cast of famous faces handling crisis with varying degrees of composure. Tense and oddly funny about human panic.

But The plot is thin and the romantic beats feel artificially wedged in to meet studio requirements.

Dante's Peak1997

Pierce Brosnan as a volcanologist racing against a reawakening mountain. Modern disaster filmmaking with better effects and actual seismic science woven into the spectacle. Linda Hamilton brings weight to the civilian perspective.

But It smooths the rough edges into something safer and more sentimental than the scenario warrants.

The Deep1977

Robert Shaw and Jacqueline Bisset (yes, your film's co-star) diving into wrecks and undersea intrigue in Bermuda. Beautifully photographed, genuinely tense, with a scrappy energy and practical underwater work that feels real.

But The third act abandons the elegance for a more conventional action formula, and some plot threads go nowhere.

Krakatoa, East of Java1969

A salvage ship and its crew face the 1883 eruption. Maximilian Schell leading a smaller ensemble through spectacular disaster sequences. The scope is genuinely epic and the spectacle earnt through practical effects.

But It's overlong and the personal drama doesn't grip as hard as the environmental threat does.

The Last Voyage1960

Robert Stack trying to rescue his family from a burning ship before it sinks. Lower budget means higher stakes—you feel the jeopardy because the production actually used a real ship and a real fire. Claustrophobic and gripping.

But The small scale means you're watching people solve problems rather than watching spectacle, which some find less exciting.

Avalanche1978

A ski resort threatens to collapse under an avalanche. Rock Hudson and a B-movie budget create something genuinely scrappy and fun. The disaster sequences are surprisingly effective and the ensemble clicks.

But The script is thin, the acting ranges from solid to hammy, and it knows it's not quite serious.

Rescue Dawn2007

Both centre on men isolated in hostile terrain, forced to improvise against a landscape that doesn't care. Both make survival feel like argument rather than luck.

Werner Herzog directing Christian Bale as a pilot shot down in Laos. A survival film about will and ingenuity when rescue seems impossible. Herzog finds beauty and horror in equal measure, and the physical ordeal feels genuinely earned.

But Herzog's pacing is meditative, not propulsive. Those needing clear momentum will find it deliberately slow.

The Wages of Fear1953

The spiritual predecessor to the disaster ensemble film. Where When Time Ran Out asks 'can this group survive together?', this asks 'why do they keep moving when stopping seems saner?' Same question, deeper answer.

A French masterpiece: four men driving volatile cargo through an Andean landscape where every mile could be the last. Clouzot builds unbearable tension from character friction and geography. The 1977 Friedkin remake is excellent; this original is the reason why.

But It's in French with subtitles, two and a half hours long, and the sense of dread never lifts. Not a film you watch for entertainment.