Deep Impact (1998)

Unless a comet can be destroyed before colliding with Earth, only those allowed into shelters will survive. Which people will survive?

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers:

Bruce Joel Rubin, Michael Tolkin

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Duvall	...	Spurgeon Tanner
Téa Leoni	...	Jenny Lerner
Elijah Wood	...	Leo Biederman
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Robin Lerner
Morgan Freeman	...	President Beck
Maximilian Schell	...	Jason Lerner
James Cromwell	...	Alan Rittenhouse
Ron Eldard	...	Oren Monash
Jon Favreau	...	Gus Partenza
Laura Innes	...	Beth Stanley
Mary McCormack	...	Andrea Baker
Richard Schiff	...	Don Biederman
Leelee Sobieski	...	Sarah Hotchner
Blair Underwood	...	Mark Simon
Dougray Scott	...	Eric Vennekor

Storyline

Journalist Jenny Lerner is assigned to look into the background of Secretary Alan Rittenhouse who abruptly resigned from government citing his wife's ill health. She learns from his secretary that Rittenhouse was having an affair with someone named Ellie but when she confronts him, his strange reaction leads her to reconsider her story. In fact, a meteor, discovered the previous year by high school student Leo Biederman and astronomer Dr. Marcus Wolf, is on a collision course with the Earth, an Extinction Level Event. A joint US-Russian team is sent to destroy the meteor but should it fail, special measures are to be put in place to secure the future of mankind. As the space mission progresses, many individuals deal with their fears and ponder their future.

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Plot Keywords:

comet | mission | astronomer | secretary | reporter | 

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Taglines:

Oceans rise. Cities fall. Hope survives.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense disaster related elements and brief language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Impacto Profundo

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 8,332,899 (Germany) (22 May 1998)

Gross:

$140,459,099 (USA) (18 September 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Zanuck/Brown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first movie to prominently place MSNBC as the main journalistic station in the film.

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Goofs

It would not be possible for the helicopter to take a full load of people to higher ground and then to the Ark from Washington, D.C. without stopping for fuel.

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Quotes

Spurgeon Tanner: [about the Wolf comet] Now the outgassing has created a vent a half mile wide and at least two miles deep. Comet gets closer to the sun; sun melts the ice, ice turns to steam. We get a big hole, okay? So, how many nukes do we have left in the back?
Mikhail Tulchinsky: Four.
Spurgeon Tanner: Okay. If we can get the remaining bombs in that vent, there shouldn't be anything left of that comet bigger than a suitcase. Now, we can't do anything about the little one, but you know... it just might give them a chance. Now, without the ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Michael Phelps/Lil' Wayne (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)"
Written by Bart Howard
Performed by Tom Jones

User Reviews

Fantastic and Moving

Having seen such films as Armageddon and The Day After Tomorrow, I really expected this film to be basically an effects demo reel. Most disaster films fit into this category: their plot is loosely tied together with some major event; humanity is threatened, a group of heroes is sent to try to save the world, and mankind prevails over nature. The rest of the film is essentially nifty visual effects that don't do much to enhance the plot.

So when I saw the first half of Deep Impact, I was amazed. Apart from a brief montage of special effects in the opening sequence (a car crash that simply screams "big budget"), the movie is one of the first disaster movies I've seen that actually focuses more on the human side of the drama rather than the awesome visual effects that computers can accomplish.

Many times during the film, especially during the latter half, I felt myself touched by the realism that the actors and actresses convey. There are moments when you realize how fragile and precious life is, and that's saying something for a film of this budget.

While the visual effects are indeed impressive, there are other features that make Deep Impact a necessary film to watch. James Horner's music is strikingly similar to his previous "Titanic" and "Apollo 13" scores, but it is still hauntingly beautiful and fits the tone of the movie perfectly. Tea Leoni does a good job of portraying a newscaster attempting to cover the events surrounding her while dealing with her own personal emotions, which is undoubtedly a hard act to pull off. Elijah Wood shows his skill years before "Lord of the Rings" hit theaters. The other actors and actresses are very realistic and emotional, and the movie flows smoothly with their presence.

All in all, this movie is not one to be missed. Keep an open mind while watching this movie: don't watch it with the misconception that it's just going to be another one of those big-budget dull blockbuster films that gets churned out every summer. This one dares to avoid the seemingly standard clichés set by other films of the genre, which makes it a truly unique film to experience.

Score: 9/10