Solar Crisis (1990)

A huge solar flare is predicted to fry the Earth. Astronauts must go to the Sun to drop a talking bomb (Freddy) at the right time so the flare will point somewhere else. Giant IXL Corp CEO ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writers:

Takeshi Kawata (novel), Joe Gannon (screenplay),

Stars:

Tim Matheson, Charlton Heston, Peter Boyle

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Matheson	...	Steve Kelso
Charlton Heston	...	Adm. 'Skeet' Kelso
Peter Boyle	...	Arnold Teague
Annabel Schofield	...	Alex Noffe
Corin Nemec	...	Mike Kelso (as Corin 'Corky' Nemec)
Tetsuya Bessho	...	Ken Minami
Jack Palance	...	Travis
Dorian Harewood	...	Borg
Paul Koslo	...	Haas
Sandy McPeak	...	Gurney
Silvana Gallardo	...	T.C.
Dan Shor	...	Harvard
Scott Allan Campbell	...	McBride
Frantz Turner	...	Lamare
Richard S. Scott	...	Meeks

Storyline

A huge solar flare is predicted to fry the Earth. Astronauts must go to the Sun to drop a talking bomb (Freddy) at the right time so the flare will point somewhere else. Giant IXL Corp CEO Teague thinks the flare won't happen and wants the mission to fail so he can buy the planet cheaply while the scare lasts. Employee Haas prepares a surprise for the astronauts. While daddy Steve Kelso commands the space ship where temperaturs rise, granddaddy Admiral Skeet Kelso is searching the desert for grandson Mike who's gone AWOL to say goodbye to his dad but who inadvertently crossed the path of the guys from IXL after meeting desert-dweller Travis.

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Plot Keywords:

astronaut | earth | sun | bomb | surgical instruments | 

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Taglines:

In the year 2050, the battle to save the earth will be fought on the sun.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1990 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Crisis 2050

Filming Locations:

Baker, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asahi Breweries, Gakken Co. Ltd., Japan America Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 118 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Mike Kelso and Kovac fall to the desert floor at the end of their fight, Kovac's wig comes off a bit at the nape of his neck.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Is Alan Smithee? (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Strip Star Chase"
Composed by Tedi Sarafian

User Reviews

Ack! What were they thinking!

I remember first hearing about this movie while stationed in Japan. I saw a book detailing the career of visual effects company Boss Film Co. and Richard Edlund, and it featured images from "Solar Crisis" (or as it was called in Japan, "Solar Crisis 2050"

So I figured I'd go check out the movie and see how it was.

Big Mistake.

The movie, while visually flawless (for the most part), was jumbled and annoying. I didn't really find any of the characters especially convincing--especially Peter Boyle--and the entire project seemed to have that "the concept behind the film is better than the actual film itself" quality (the concept-in-question being the collaboration between Japanese media giant Towa [?] and Boss Films.)

Apparently, when Trimark released the laserdisc and DVD in this country, they didn't think anyone would care since it was so awful it never got a domestic release, so they released the film in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio--despite the fact that the film was filmed anaorphically in 2.35:1 (according to cinematographer Russell Carpenter). In this case, nobody did--which means that Trimark--or Lion's Gate (?)--won't correct their mistake anytime soon.

At least there's no doubt where the film's budget went--directly into the visuals. It would've been nice if there had been some left over for the screenplay.