Phenomenon (1996)

An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writer:

Gerald Di Pego (as Gerald Dipego)

Stars:

John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker

7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	George Malley
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Lace Pennamin
Forest Whitaker	...	Nate Pope
Robert Duvall	...	Doc
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Professor Ringold
Richard Kiley	...	Dr. Wellin
David Gallagher	...	Al
Ashley Buccille	...	Glory
Tony Genaro	...	Tito
Sean O'Bryan	...	Banes
Michael Milhoan	...	Jimmy
Troy Evans	...	Roger
Bruce A. Young	...	Jack Hatch (as Bruce Young)
Vyto Ruginis	...	Ted Rhome
Brent Spiner	...	Dr. Bob

Storyline

John Travolta plays George Malley, who owns the local auto repair shop in a small California town. After celebrating his birthday with friends at the local bar/hang-out, George heads for home. He pauses to watch a strange light in the sky, then collapses for a few seconds in the middle of the deserted street. In the days and weeks that follow, George finds his IQ and consciousness expanding dramatically, and develops telekinetic abilities. Despite his attempts to explain what has happened to him, with just a very few exceptions, most of the local townspeople treat the "new" George as a freak. His state of isolation becomes even more pronounced when his new-found abilities allow him to correctly predict an earthquake, and outside authorities become interested in what's happened to him.

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Plot Keywords:

telekinesis | genius | psionic power | brain tumor | terminal illness | 

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Taglines:

Some things in life just can't be explained.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and mild sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

[20:40] Nate Pope (Forest Whitaker) is an amateur radio operator with the call sign "WB6QLF". QLF is amateur shorthand for "I am sending with my left foot", a reference to someone whose Morse Code sending skill is very bad. This is normally sent as a question "QLF?" meaning "Are you sending with your left foot?" to an operator who is very difficult to understand in Morse. WB6QLF is a real call sign belonging to a Charles B. Roblin of Victorville, California. There is also a QSL card in the background, with the call sign "K6KAP". This is a real amateur ("ham") radio call sign that belongs to Mach Myovich of Merced, California. Much of the radio equipment shown in the movie was purchased from the Ham Radio Outlet store that he was managing in Oakland, California.

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Goofs

When Nate is shown calling "CQ" (a general call for any amateur) for Diana Ross on the 30 meter band (10.135 mHz), Voice (phone) emissions are prohibited on that band - only Digital emissions (Morse code {CW}, RadioTeletype {RTTY} or Packet) are allowed on that band.

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Quotes

Doc: [after hearing several of the townsfolk openly disparage George in the Bar] Why do ya have to tear him down? What are ya so afraid of? What have you got to lose? He wasn't selling anything! He didn't want anything from anybody! He wanted nothing from nobody! Nothing! And you people have to tear him down so you can sleep better tonight! So ya can prove that the world is flat and ya can sleep better tonite! Am I right? Am I right?... I'm right... The Hell with all of ya. The Hell with everyone of ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

NBC network television version features alternate/new footage not present in the theatrical and home video releases.

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Connections

Referenced in Preacher: The Possibilities (2016)

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Soundtracks

Crazy Love
Written by Van Morrison
Produced by Don Was
Performed by Aaron Neville featuring Robbie Robertson
Aaron Neville appears courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.
Robbie Robertson appears courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.

User Reviews

More than it might seem to be

I think any movie that can be described as both (a) a Scientology recruiting pamphlet, and (b) an analogy to Jesus' life has to be a bit out of the ordinary. In some ways, this film reminds me of another seeming science fiction movie that really turned out to be about people's response to the unusual: `Charly' In both films an extraordinary increase in intelligence frightened the people around the main character; they just couldn't deal with it and feared him for it. The love story was a gem. Lacy had obviously been badly hurt by a past relationship, and simply didn't want to encourage George's love. But when he began to be hurt by the way some of his friends treated him, she warmed and opened her heart to him. The way George tried to describe how he looked at things differently and saw relationships that he'd never seen before reminded me of classical descriptions of the act of creativity in many fields. And it's a sad thing but true that we are all capable of concentrating harder and focusing on things to achieve more, but it's very difficult, and more often than not, we tend to take the easier road. Good thought-provoking flick.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Portuguese Spanish English

Release Date:

3 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Phenomenon

Filming Locations:

Petaluma, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,158,901, 7 July 1996

Gross USA:

$104,636,382

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,036,382

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (FotoKem)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1