Fire in the Sky (1993)

An Arizona logger mysteriously disappears for five days in an alleged encounter with a flying saucer in 1975.

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

This film recreates the strange events which happened on November 5, 1975 in the town Snowflake, Arizona. Travis Walton works as a logger in the White Mountains. When he and his colleagues drive home after work, they encounter a flying saucer. Travis gets out of the truck to learn more and is struck by a beam of light from the object. For the next five days, Travis disappears without a trace and his colleagues are accused of murder. When he reappears, first he didn't remember that he was gone, but in time, the terrible memories come back...

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Plot Keywords:

ufo | cult film | alien | alien abduction | logger | 

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Taglines:

Alien abduction. November 5, 1975. White Mountains, Northeastern Arizona. Based on the true story.

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fuego en el cielo

Filming Locations:

Idleyld Park, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were actually a total of seven men in the logging crew. The writers whittled it down to six for the movie, not wishing to confuse the audience with too many characters. All seven men have passed lie detector tests, some of them twice.

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Goofs

When the logging crew is encountering the alien craft, the radio in their truck goes haywire. There's a shot of one of the crew trying to adjust the radio, depicting a Philco AM radio. The radio is appropriate to the vintage, but Philco radios were the "factory" radios for Ford vehicles, and the truck used in the story is a Dodge.

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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

Featured in Unacknowledged (2017)

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Soundtracks

Guest of Honor
by Lane Caudell and Roger Brown
Performed by Danea Mitchell

User Reviews

Surprisingly good

This movie has a good plot, a good cast and a good feel to it. It is obviously a low budget movie, but one done well. The story is about an alien abduction, but instead of focusing on the aliens and what they did, the focus is on the people involved and how do they react "under fire".

You can call it a "TV psychological thriller" more than a sci-fi. I expected something dumb, instead I found not a masterpiece, but a good movie, one that was worth the watch.

James Garner had a really weird role, but he is old, so he gets what they throw at him; Robert Patrick does a good role and, even if he did play in some silly movies in his time, I think he is a good actor, one that can surprise if properly cast.