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IMDbPro

Outbreak

  • 19951995
  • RR
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
132K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,707
2,038
Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rene Russo in Outbreak (1995)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer1:59
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionDramaThriller
Army doctors struggle to find a cure for a deadly virus spreading throughout a California town that was brought to America by an African monkey.Army doctors struggle to find a cure for a deadly virus spreading throughout a California town that was brought to America by an African monkey.Army doctors struggle to find a cure for a deadly virus spreading throughout a California town that was brought to America by an African monkey.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
132K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,707
2,038
    • Wolfgang Petersen
    • Laurence Dworet
    • Robert Roy Pool
  • Stars
    • Dustin Hoffman
    • Rene Russo
    • Morgan Freeman
    • Wolfgang Petersen
    • Laurence Dworet
    • Robert Roy Pool
  • Stars
    • Dustin Hoffman
    • Rene Russo
    • Morgan Freeman
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 248User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Outbreak
    Trailer 1:59
    Watch Outbreak

    Photos206

    Dustin Hoffman and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Outbreak (1995)
    Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rene Russo in Outbreak (1995)
    Sean Connery at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and Arnold Kopelson at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Dustin Hoffman at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Dolly Parton at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Rene Russo at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Sylvester Stallone at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Christy Turlington at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Toni Braxton at an event for Outbreak (1995)
    Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rene Russo in Outbreak (1995)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dustin Hoffman
    Dustin Hoffman
    • Sam Daniels
    Rene Russo
    Rene Russo
    • Robby Keough
    Morgan Freeman
    Morgan Freeman
    • General Billy Ford
    Kevin Spacey
    Kevin Spacey
    • Casey Schuler
    Cuba Gooding Jr.
    Cuba Gooding Jr.
    • Major Salt
    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland
    • General Donald McClintock
    Patrick Dempsey
    Patrick Dempsey
    • Jimbo Scott
    Zakes Mokae
    Zakes Mokae
    • Dr. Benjamin Iwabi
    Malick Bowens
    Malick Bowens
    • Dr. Raswani
    Susan Lee Hoffman
    Susan Lee Hoffman
    • Dr. Lisa Aronson
    Benito Martinez
    Benito Martinez
    • Dr. Julio Ruiz
    Bruce Jarchow
    Bruce Jarchow
    • Dr. Mascelli
    Leland Hayward III
    • Henry Seward
    Daniel Chodos
    • Rudy Alvarez
    Dale Dye
    Dale Dye
    • Colonel Briggs
    Kara Keough
    Kara Keough
    • Kate Jeffries
    • (as Cara Keough)
    Gina Menza
    • Mrs. Jeffries
    Per Didrik Fasmer
    • Mr. Jeffries
      • Wolfgang Petersen
      • Laurence Dworet
      • Robert Roy Pool
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When investigating the village in Zaire, several huts are burned down. This is the traditional tribal method for controlling the spread of an infection in many parts of the world. Food and water are left outside the entrance to the dwelling, and the occupants cannot leave. If several days (usually three or four) of these supplies are not used, then the dwelling is burned down to stop the infection from spreading.
    • Goofs
      (at around 38 mins) When Keough is trying to interview Jimbo in the hospital ICU, he is clearly intubated. Intubated patients can not talk due to the fact that the intubation tube passes through their vocal cords.
    • Quotes

      General Donald McClintock: With all due respect, Colonel Daniels, if you do not follow us to Travis Air Force Base, I will blow you out of the sky.

      Sam Daniels: General, with all due respect, fuck you, sir.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Outbreak/Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh/Bye Bye Love/Losing Isaiah/Farinelli (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself)
      Written and Performed by Pete Droge

      Courtesy of American Recordings

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

    User reviews248

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    OK but never gets near its potential because of all its weaknesses
    When a deadly virus decimates an African village, the US authorities attempt to draw a line under the incident and take the line that a reoccurrence is unlikely. However, a monkey has become a carrier for the virus and has reached the US. When Jimbo Scott smuggles the monkey out to sell to a pet store, he is infected and spreads it to others. Eventually the local town of Cedar Creek becomes overrun and the US form a barricade around the town. With the politicians planning the destruction of the town to stop the virus spreading, Col Sam Daniels and his team race to find some other way of stopping it.

    Whether you viewed in back in 1995 or now, where the threat of viral attack doesn't seem so unlikely, this film should be gripping on the basis of the material. At points it does have good moments but generally this generally suffers from trying to do too much and having a script that cannot control its subject. For most of the film the virus is almost a concept rather than a real threat and it talks a lot without really delivering. Even when an entire town is quarantined and dying, it all remains very calm where really it needed fear and panic to seep into every character and every scene. Sadly it doesn't do this and the film bogs itself down in personal infections, squabbling ex-partners and so on – did we need the main characters to get the virus? Wasn't it enough for an entire town to be dying and for the world to be at risk? Anyway, at the midpoint the film suddenly becomes an action movie with helicopter chases and a plot that can best be summed up as 'catch the monkey'.

    Even with this section, the flaws are rife – the action bits are OK but it seems unlikely that finding a monkey somewhere in the US would be a more complicated task! This is not to say that it isn't entertaining because it just about manages to be enjoyable enough, but nowhere near the potential that this had. Part of the reason is a plot that struggles from logic gaps and a lack of intelligence and urgency. The lack of intelligence comes from the film completely ignoring the moral complexities that come with such a situation – the film ignores the fact that bad things may need to be done to stop the virus and instead just paints good guys (save the people) and bad guys (bomb the people). The lack of urgency comes from the failure to really make the virus a threat; really I needed Cedar Creek to become the US in miniature – having everyone calm didn't do it for me and I needed more than just two cars making a break for it. But then the writing generally isn't up to the task and the heavy dialogue is pretty average at best with clichéd lines and far too much 'personal' stuff between the main characters.

    Even the main 'bad' guy is a fudge as it just paints everything black and white.

    Another reason that this doesn't live up to its potential is the sheer numbers of faces in the film. Hoffman makes a strange action star but he does OK with what little he is given. Russo is no good at all and happily has little to do but deliver the personal 'involvement' that the film cannot manage to deliver any other way. Gooding is pretty good in a semi-action role and Spacey has some good lines before he too becomes a cheap emotional device. Sutherland gives a by the numbers performance as he has nothing to really work with, but Freeman is more interesting because he does. It's just a shame that this talented cast were not used better in this film. An aside that was interesting to me was that Dale Dye has a minor role in the film while also serving as military adviser to the film. He is an interesting man because his career has grown from adviser to being a reasonable actor to becoming a writer, producer and (recently) a 2nd unit director – clearly a motivated and talented man who it would be interesting to listen to talk sometime.

    Overall the potential is there but it is unrealised. The cast are great on paper but have nothing to work with in a script that delivers average dialogue, no real characters, no moral ambiguities, no real involvement and no sense of scale or threat. It does have some pace at times and it has enough 'OK' moments to be worth watching maybe once but I was annoyed that the potential of the material alone was missed. I think the film can be summed up by the ending – one minute we have an exciting helicopter stand off and the next we have a pay-off that is so lazy and so simplistic that I was actually visibly annoyed by it. Passable entertainment if you are in an undemanding mood but it never even gets near the potential it had.
    helpful•73
    57
    • bob the moo
    • Jul 19, 2004

    FAQ9

    • What is 'Outbreak' about?
    • Is "Outbreak" based on a book?
    • What is the beginning of the movie supposed to show? Is it where they bomb the encampment in Africa?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 10, 1995 (United States)
      • United States
      • Warner Bros. (United States)
      • English
      • Korean
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Ferndale, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Arnold Kopelson Productions
      • Punch Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 7 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby SR

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