Sphere (1998)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers (WGA):

Michael Crichton (novel)
Kurt Wimmer (adaptation)

Release Date:

13 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A thousand feet beneath the sea, the blackest holes are in the mind...

Plot:

A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean.

Plot Keywords:

Ocean | Sphere | Scientist | Bottom Of The Ocean | Time Loop

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Dr. Norman Goodman
Sharon Stone	...	Dr. Elizabeth 'Beth' Halperin
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Dr. Harry Adams
Peter Coyote	...	Captain Harold C. Barnes
Liev Schreiber	...	Dr. Ted Fielding
Queen Latifah	...	Alice 'Teeny' Fletcher
Marga Gómez	...	Jane Edmunds
Huey Lewis	...	Helicopter Pilot
Bernard Hocke	...	Seaman
James Pickens Jr.	...	O.S.S.A. Instructor
Michael Keys Hall	...	O.S.S.A. Official
Ralph Tabakin	...	O.S.S.A. Official

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action including some startling images.

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | France:U | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Hungary:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-12 | Germany:16 (w) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Mare Island Naval Yard, Vallejo, California, USA

Company:

Baltimore Pictures

Trivia:

"Basura", which is written in one container on the spacecraft, is Spanish for "trash".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In several scenes the team members wear various recreational dive computers, which are useless on a 1000ft saturation dive.

Quotes:

Norman Goodman: I would be happy if Jerry had no emotions whatsoever. Because the thing of it is once you go down that road... here's Jerry, an emotional being cooped up for 300 years with no one to talk to... none of the socialization, the emotional growth that comes from contact with other emotional beings...
Harry: So...?
Norman Goodman: What happens if Jerry gets mad?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Sphere (#5.3)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

BALI HA'I

An excellent movie for the intellects among us...

Alright, I've heard all the comments... Uninspired, unoriginal, boring, whatever... My question is, what movie did these people watch. I can't be the same movie I saw. Granted, "Sphere" isn't a movie for those who prefer to plop their brain on the chair next to them while sucking in a dazzling visual charade devoid of plot, but for those of us who like to get involved in a story, it's hard to do better than this. Talk about sharp dialect, and plot twists. And then there's the tension, the tightness of the whole setting. Just like when Samuel L. Jackson says, "we're going to die down here, yo know." so matter-of-factly. Yikes... if that's not what you're into, fine, go check out "Spiceworld". But don't slam a movie for aspiring to be something more. "Sphere" is a movie for those of us who love a good story. And it's hard to do better than this.