Twister (1996)

Bill and Jo Harding, advanced storm chasers on the brink of divorce, must join together to create an advanced weather alert system by putting themselves in the cross-hairs of extremely violent tornadoes.

Director:

Jan de Bont

Writers:

Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie Martin

Stars:

Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helen Hunt	...	Dr. Jo Harding
Bill Paxton	...	Bill Harding
Cary Elwes	...	Dr. Jonas Miller
Jami Gertz	...	Dr. Melissa Reeves
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Dustin Davis
Lois Smith	...	Meg Greene
Alan Ruck	...	Robert 'Rabbit' Nurick
Sean Whalen	...	Allan Sanders
Scott Thomson	...	Jason 'Preacher' Rowe
Todd Field	...	Tim 'Beltzer' Lewis
Joey Slotnick	...	Joey
Wendle Josepher	...	Haynes
Jeremy Davies	...	Laurence
Zach Grenier	...	Eddie
Gregory Sporleder	...	Willie

Storyline

TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo, to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa. But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans. Soon the three have joined the team of stormchasers as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device into the very heart of several extremely violent tornados.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | storm | divorce papers | tornado | weatherman | 

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Taglines:

The Beautiful yet Destructive side to life

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense depiction of very bad weather

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wind Devils

Filming Locations:

Ames, Iowa, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$92,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£11,304,300 (UK) (16 August 1996)

Gross:

ITL 10,363,429,000 (Italy) (15 November 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real town of Wakita, Oklahoma had part of its old downtown area demolished by the film crew for the scenes after the twister passes. The studio then paid for the downtown to be rebuilt. The town also kept the new fire truck used in the film.

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Goofs

When Melissa is getting into the car with the lemonade, she puts it on the top of the car. As she drives off, the cups come tumbling down and nothing spills. One "blows" in the wind. Where is the lemonade?

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Quotes

Melissa: I gotta go Julia, we got cows.

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Crazy Credits

Despite being filmed in Panavision, the "Lenses and Panaflex Camera by Panavision" credit was used instead.

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Connections

Referenced in Dawson's Creek: Hurricane (1998)

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Soundtracks

"See The Sky Again"
Written by Edwin McCain
Performed by Edwin McCain
Courtesy of Lava/Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

I like Twister

I get a lot of stick from friends for saying this, but: I really like Twister. I enjoy a good thoughtful film as much as the next stuck-up film snob, but I also love damned good action flicks.

Twister is a big dumb summer blockbuster with no pretensions whatsoever. I *like* the fact that the money is all up there on the screen - lots of tornadoes ripping apart farmhouses and throwing trucks around. I *like* that it's one long chase movie. I *like* looking at Helen Hunt's beautiful face. I saw Twister twice at the cinema, and at least three times since - and I've enjoyed it every single time. Can you get a better recommendation than that?

Twister will never satisfy some people... in particular, those who watch it, for some strange reason, expecting a cerebral masterpiece. Enjoy it for what it is: One of the best summer blockbusters ever.