Fire in the Sky (1993)

An Arizona logger mysteriously disappears for five days in an alleged encounter with a flying saucer in 1975. His co-workers endure ridicule and contempt as they are wrongly accused of murder.

Director:

Robert Lieberman

Writers:

Travis Walton (book), Tracy Tormé (screenplay)

Stars:

D.B. Sweeney, Robert Patrick, Craig Sheffer

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
D.B. Sweeney	...	Travis Walton
Robert Patrick	...	Mike Rogers
Craig Sheffer	...	Allan Dallis
Peter Berg	...	David Whitlock
Henry Thomas	...	Greg Hayes
Bradley Gregg	...	Bobby Cogdill
Noble Willingham	...	Blake Davis
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Katie Rogers
James Garner	...	Frank Watters
Georgia Emelin	...	Dana Rogers
Scott MacDonald	...	Dan Walton
Wayne Grace	...	Cyrus Gilson
Kenneth White	...	Buck
Robert Covarrubias	...	Ray Melendez
Bruce Wright	...	Dennis Clay

Storyline

On the evening of November 5, 1975, a group of loggers saw a bright crimson light in a forest in White Mountains, Arizona. Curious, Travis Walton goes out for a closer look and is pushed to the ground by a blue-green energy beam. His co-workers escape in terror and they inform the police that Travis has been abducted by a flying saucer. For the next five days, Travis remains missing and the loggers endure ridicule and contempt as they are accused of murder. When he is found alive, Travis is unable to account the missing days, but the amazing ordeal slowly begins to emerge.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | alien | alien abduction | logger | arizona | 

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Taglines:

For five days, a man was borrowed. The story that Travis Walton and five other witnesses told is so unbelievable, so unimaginable, that it has become the most famous case of UFO abduction ever recorded.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Studio executives thought the film would be a hit. According to director Robert Lieberman, director William Friedkin and husband of Sherry Lansing gave the film a standing ovation after watching the film. Despite a wide release, the film was not financially successful at the time.

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Goofs

In the initial escape scene in the truck, the passenger side mirror reappears on the truck after being torn off by a tree.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Citizen: [truck just raced into parking lot] What the hell is that all about?

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Connections

Referenced in Watchman Video Broadcast: UFO's: Chariots of the Beast (2011)

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Soundtracks

Blinded by Love
by Allen Toussaint
Performed by Johnny Winter
Courtesy of Columbia Records
by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Very scary, important metaphor

Not much to say about this one, i really really liked it. The hour and a half prior to the money shot scene was worth the wait. I agree that this would be the best X-files episode ever if it were added to the series with Scully and Molder doing the investigating instead of the sheriff.

I didn't read all the comments but if mine proves useful at all, i have to say, the entire abduction scene was an accident. The writer and director were pressured by the studio to put it in. It's beyond me why they didn't want one at all. Tracy Thorne concocted the whole thing to have a message that went deeper than aliens. It goes a little something like "how would you feel if you were taken from your comfortable lifestyle with your own species and subjected to cruel experiments with no way of reasoning with your captors, being humiliated and borderline raped with no reason of why" sound a little like when you used a magnifying glass on a random ant? or like the experiments done to animals for research? if we cant co-exist with our planets own damn creatures than where's the logic in wondering about aliens? District 9 is a little less vague, but still a good example of human ignorance.

Best abduction movie to date! very scary, with a good message.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fire in the Sky

Filming Locations:

Idleyld Park, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,116,484, 14 March 1993

Gross USA:

$19,885,552

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,885,552

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1