Meteor (1979)

The USA must join forces with the USSR in order to destroy a gigantic asteroid heading straight for Earth.

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Stanley Mann (screenplay), Edmund H. North (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Paul Bradley
Natalie Wood	...	Tatiana Donskaya
Karl Malden	...	Harry Sherwood
Brian Keith	...	Dr. Dubov
Martin Landau	...	General Adlon
Trevor Howard	...	Sir Michael Hughes
Richard Dysart	...	Secretary of Defense
Henry Fonda	...	The President
Joseph Campanella	...	General Easton
Bo Brundin	...	Rolf Manheim
Katherine De Hetre	...	Jan Watkins
James G. Richardson	...	Alan Marshall
Roger Robinson	...	Bill Hunter
Michael Zaslow	...	Sam Mason
John McKinney	...	Peter Watson

Storyline

After a collision with a comet, a nearly 8km wide piece of the asteroid "Orpheus" is heading toward Earth. If it hits, it will cause an incredible catastrophe which will probably extinguish mankind. To stop the meteor, NASA wants to use the illegal nuclear weapon satellite "Hercules," but soon discovers that it doesn't have enough firepower. Their only chance to save the world is to join forces with the USSR, which has also launched such an illegal satellite. But will both governments agree?

---

Plot Keywords:

asteroid | meteor | nuclear weapon | astronaut | politics | 

---

Taglines:

There's No Place On Earth To Hide!

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

19 October 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meteoro

Filming Locations:

Richmond, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,250,000, 19 October 1979, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,400,000, 31 December 1979

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Meteor Joint Venture, Palladium Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shots containing the buildings collapsing in the New York City destruction scene, were taken from footage of the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe apartments in St. Louis Missouri. These buildings were designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the same designer as the World Trade Center, which also got destroyed in the movie.

---

Goofs

In a shot of the meteor passing in front of the Sun, the Sun appears eclipsed AND the meteor appears to be lit from somewhere to the left of the camera.

---

Quotes

Dr. Paul Bradley: Would you really have gone across my bows?
Coast Guard Officer: Yes, sir!
Dr. Paul Bradley: Well then I would have rammed you.
Coast Guard Officer: All the way to the bottom, sir!

---

Crazy Credits

Info panel and Voice Over about a real defence project Icarus, similar to the one in the film.

---

Alternate Versions

In early television broadcasts, the "Fuck the Dodgers!" line was overdubbed by coughing or the entire toast was simply cut.

---

Connections

Referenced in Too Young to Die: Natalie Wood - Die Macht der Prophezeiung (2014)

User Reviews

Armageddon It!

As a person who loves disaster movies (in spite of it being a basically flawed genre), I could not hate this movie as much as most people seem to. It is a big budget disaster about a disaster and much about its construction is highly flawed, and yes the acting is mostly weak, and yes the effects are often obvious, and yes that was stock footage, but, BUT, this movie does deliver in one vital department: it blows sh*t up!

I'm sure by now most people are familiar with this as a folly for Sean Connery, and Henry Fonda, and the rest of the all star cast. It pretty much is, but that doesn't mean it isn't somewhat enjoyable. Some of the disaster and action sequences are quite good. And the special effects are really not so terrible for 1979 (not that special effects today are at all convincing by comparison). The score is really something hilarious to behold and the space photography is pretty overwrought (as if the movie were saying "holy crap, dude, look at this awesome spaceship!"). It is kind of neat to see Brian Kieth as a Russian. It's also a bit refreshing to see a movie pose a more plausible solution to meteors that landing a space shuttle full of oil drillers on one. It's also funny that a movie that precedes Reagan's Star Wars Project proposes a far better use for it. Another interesting prophetic note: the first thing destroyed in the USA in this film is the world trade center.

And if you still think this is the worst disaster movie ever, go and watch "Beyond The Posiedon Adventure" or "Raise The Titanic". Hell, even "Earthquake" was pretty damn bad in spite of it's "revolutionary" contribution to cinema. And besides, what other disaster movie has its heroes threatened by sewage? Now, I think that I could have made a better film out of this story, but that doesn't mean we can't watch this version and laugh. And besides, sh*t blows up!