Deep Impact (1998)

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers (WGA):

Bruce Joel Rubin (written by) and
Michael Tolkin (written by)

Release Date:

8 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Heaven and Earth are about to collide.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

End Of The World | Female Director | Black U.S. President | Black President | Disaster Film

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 13	5:30 PM	TNT
Sun. July 13	11:00 PM	TNT

Cast

Robert Duvall	...	Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner
Téa Leoni	...	Jenny Lerner
Elijah Wood	...	Leo Beiderman
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Robin Lerner
Morgan Freeman	...	President Tom Beck
Maximilian Schell	...	Jason Lerner
James Cromwell	...	Alan Rittenhouse
Ron Eldard	...	Dr. Oren Monash
Jon Favreau	...	Dr. Gus Partenza
Laura Innes	...	Beth Stanley
Mary McCormack	...	Andrea 'Andy' Baker
Richard Schiff	...	Don Beiderman
Leelee Sobieski	...	Sarah Hotchner
Blair Underwood	...	Mark Simon
Dougray Scott	...	Eric Vennekor

Also Known As:

Impact (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | New Zealand:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35964) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:A | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Factual errors: The comet is depicted as nearly white when in reality comets are among the darkest objects in the Solar System, normally reflecting about 3% of the light that hits them (in comparison, Earth reflects about 39%). The movie producers were aware of this fact, but special effects technology of the time made it extremely difficult to depict a black object against black space.

Quotes:

Jenny Lerner: When I was 11, I stole $32 from your wallet.
Jason Lerner: When you were a baby I once dropped you on your head.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Disaster! (2005)

Soundtrack:

It Must Be Angel Day

Superior to 'Armageddon'

It seems 1998 was the year Hollywood turned to the idea of the world being decimated by objects from outer space to fuel their disaster films. Both 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon' were released in that year but while I did enjoy the thrill and special effects of the latter film, I find 'Deep Impact' the superior of the two.

The film begins when a teenage amateur astronomer discover a comet on a direct collision course for the Earth. The world is then thrown into turmoil has humanity has to accept their possible extinction. While NASA sends a shuttle up with the intention to try to blow the comet to bits, the US government selects people to be saved in a cave they are building to withstand the event. Focusing on various unrelated characters, the film shows how people react differently to the destruction of all that they know.

The brilliant cast, including Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Devall, Elijah Wood, Ron Eldard and many others, all given great depictions of their characters. It is because of their ability to bring their respective characters to life that 'Deep Impact' stands up so well as it is a very emotional and character driven story, as opposed to 'Armageddon', which relied much more on humour and special effects to sell it. Téa Leoni is the only one who doesn't shine through like her co-stars as her performance is quite bland and doesn't capture her character's turbulent emotions. However, as the rest of the cast give great performances, it's easy to overlook her. And even though there is much attention given to establishing the characters doesn't mean the film skimps when it comes to the special effects. Both the scenes in space and those on Earth when the comet hits the planet are well-handled visually. It features some of the best special effects of planetary annihilation that I've ever seen (and I'm a big fan of these disaster flicks).

What makes 'Deep Impact' rather unique in terms of disaster films is that it gives a very human side to tragedy and devastation by showing how ordinary people cope in times of crisis but it avoids the trap of being trite and overly-sentimental. It's a shame the film is so underrated then as it is a film that would appeal to sci-fi fans and those seeking an interesting story with strong characters.