Enemy Mine (1985)

Director:

Wolfgang Petersen

Writers:

Barry Longyear (story)
Edward Khmara (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Enemies because they were taught to be. Survivors because they had to be.

Plot:

A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor...

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Alien | Survivor | Future | Friendship

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dennis Quaid	...	Willis Davidge
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Jeriba 'Jerry' Shigan
Brion James	...	Stubbs
Richard Marcus	...	Arnold
Carolyn McCormick	...	Morse
Bumper Robinson	...	Zammis
Jim Mapp	...	Old Drac
Lance Kerwin	...	Joey Wooster
Scott Kraft	...	Jonathan
Lou Michaels	...	Wilson
Andy Geer	...	Bates
Henry Stolow	...	Cates
Herb Andress	...	Hopper
Danmar	...	Wise Guy
Mandy Hausenberger	...	1st Medic

Also Known As:

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Author Barry Longyear reported at a convention that the studio insisted on adding a subplot involving a mine, thinking the audience would not realize that the "Mine" in the title was a possessive (as in "My Enemy") rather than an object.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Drax is sitting by the camp fire reading from his book, we see the open book for a few seconds. The page on the right is the same page as the left just upside down.

Quotes:

Davidge:[after Jerry saved Davidge from sand monster] You saved my life. Why?
Jerry:Maybe I need to look at another face... even one as ugly as yours.
Davidge:So you still think humans are ugly?
Jerry:Compared to a Drac? VERY ugly. But that thing out there... is even more ugly than you.
Davidge:[sarcastic] Thank you.
Jerry:[grinning] You... are... welcome.

Movie Connections:

References Steamboat Willie (1928)

Teaching morals through Scifi and Mickey Mouse ...

Aaah, the power of ... no, not cheese ... science fiction and Mickey Mouse!

Science fiction has always been an excellent tool for social comment that has made it a lot easier for people to absorb a lesson about tolerance without being hampered by possible prejudice from a society / social network that we are actually embedded in.

In other words ... replace "alien creature perceived as being evil" with anybody different from you (creed, color, sexual orientation, you name it...), and you pretty much get the tale of tolerance this movie tells about life (on earth or other planets):

- Don't buy anything at face value that "your planet's" authorities tell you.

- Yeah ... that other person is different from you ... so what?

- Don't underestimate Mickey Mouse as a powerful spiritual teacher!

Dennis Quaid is one fine actor ... if you want to get an idea of his tremendous range, just watch "Innerspace", "Frequency" and "Far From Heaven", which are completely different movies.

Furthermore, Louis Gosset Jr. is just plain awesome in this one, possibly giving THE performance of his career.

BTW: this is one of the movie's director's (Wolfgang Petersen) first major hits in the U.S. He also did the very impressive (make that: frightening / claustrophobic) movie "Das Boot", the very successful Harrison Ford vehicle "Airforce One", and the somewhat "macho-heavy" flick "The Perfect Storm" (though I have to admit that the "high sea" visuals / special effects were pretty awesome).

The bottom line for me about THIS movie is: it doesn't matter whether your "holy book" is The Bible, The Koran, The Talmud, or some other sacred scripture from this planet or beyond - the underlying message from every truly "holy" book is essentially the same: it's a message of caring about and loving those you don't necessarily understand when you start out, but come to appreciate over time when you get to know them better.