The trailer for writer-director Richard Curtis’ new time travel rom-com, About Time, was recently released, giving us first look at the love story between the chronologically gifted Tim (Black Mirror’s Domhnall Gleeson) and the object of his affections, Mary (Rachel McAdams, who covered somewhat similar territory in 2009’s The Time Traveller’s Wife). We reckoned the ‘time travel romance’ genre doesn’t have enough solid films to bear out a top five, so here instead are our top five romantic time manipulation movies.

About Time - International Trailer

Donnie Darko

In the midst of all his apocalyptic, evil rabbit-featuring visions, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) still finds time to start dating fellow student Gretchen (Jena Malone) and show an interest in time travel. You could argue that Richard Kelly’s 2001 film is about so much more than that, but we’d be here all night.

The Terminator

Perhaps not the most obvious entry but The Terminator, despite being better known for its action movie credentials, is most definitely still a love story at heart. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her protector from the future, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), develop a powerful bond whilst being chased by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s murderous cyborg. If that’s not love, we don’t know what is.

Groundhog Day

Bill Murray plays a TV weatherman who finds himself in the slightly repetitive predicament of reliving the same day on a constant loop. After finding it initially hard to deal with (and following several failed suicide attempts), he decides to take advantage of the situation by using his extra time to make himself more appealing to co-worker Rita (Andie MacDowell).

Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen’s 2011 Oscar-winner follows Gil (Owen Wilson) on some inexplicable time travelling adventures back to the 1920s. While there he meets the likes of Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway and Gatsby author F Scott Fitzgerald (as Paris nights out go, not too shabby), and even gets close to the beautiful Adriana (Marion Cotillard), who just so happens to be Picasso’s mistress. Also, Rachel McAdams is in this one too. We suspect she might actually be a time-traveller.

Somewhere in Time

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s Christopher Reeve circa 1980. Although lacking his trusty Superman cape, his character makes up for it with some pretty impressive self-hypnosis powers, enabling him to travel back to 1912 in search of love interest Elise (Jane Seymour).