<P> Somewhere in Time is a 1980 American romantic science fiction drama film directed by Jeannot Szwarc . It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay . The film stars Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer . </P> <P> Reeve plays Richard Collier, a playwright who becomes obsessed with a photograph of a young woman at the Grand Hotel . Through self - hypnosis, he travels back in time to the year 1912 to find love with actress Elise McKenna (portrayed by Seymour). However, this relationship may not last as long as the two of them think; Elise's manager, William Fawcett Robinson (portrayed by Plummer), fears that romance will derail her career and resolves to stop him . </P> <P> The film is known for its musical score composed by John Barry . The 18th variation of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini also appears several times . </P> <P> On May 19, 1972, college theatre student Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) is celebrating the debut of a play he has written . During the celebration, he is approached by an elderly woman (Susan French) who places a pocket watch in his hand and pleads, "Come back to me ." Richard does not recognize the woman, who returns to her own residence and dies soon afterward . </P>

Who wrote the music for somewhere in time