Contact (1997)

Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

James V. Hart (screenplay by), Michael Goldenberg (screenplay by)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jena Malone	...	Young Ellie
David Morse	...	Ted Arroway
Jodie Foster	...	Eleanor Arroway
Geoffrey Blake	...	Fisher
William Fichtner	...	Kent
Sami Chester	...	Vernon (as SaMi Chester)
Timothy McNeil	...	Davio
Laura Elena Surillo	...	Cantina Woman
Matthew McConaughey	...	Palmer Joss
Tom Skerritt	...	David Drumlin
Henry Strozier	...	Minister
Max Martini	...	Willie (as Maximilian Martini)
Larry King	...	Larry King
Thomas Garner	...	Ian Broderick
Conroy Chino	...	KOB-TV Reporter

Storyline

Astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway has long been interested in contact to faraway lands, a love fostered in her childhood by her father, Ted Arroway (David Morse), who died when she was nine-years-old, leaving her orphaned. Her current work in monitoring for extraterrestrial life is based on that love and is in part an homage to her father. Ever since funding from the National Science Foundation (N.S.F.) was pulled on her work, which is referred to some, including her N.S.F. superior David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), as more science fiction than science, Ellie, with a few of her rogue scientist colleagues, have looked for funding from where ever they could get it to continue their work. When Ellie and her colleagues hear chatter originating from the vicinity of the star Vega, Ellie feels vindicated. But that vindication is short lived when others, including politicians, the military, religious leaders, and other scientists, such as Drumlin, try to take over her work. When the messages received ...

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Plot Keywords:

message from outer space | religion versus science | wormhole | first contact | nasa | 

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Taglines:

Get ready to take a chance on something that just might end up being the most profoundly impactful moment for humanity, for the history... of history.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some intense action, mild language and a scene of sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish German Russian

Release Date:

11 July 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Contact

Filming Locations:

Mojave Desert, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,584,908, 13 July 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$100,920,329

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$171,120,329

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., South Side Amusement Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matthew McConaughey dropped out of the lead role in The Jackal (1997) in order to be in this movie.

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Goofs

The start of the film young Ellie is shown operating the amateur radio station W9GFO. Her operating procedure and dialog sound more like CB radio than amateur radio. The use of the term "come back" (inviting a listening station to reply) was not used in ham parlance. Rather it should have been "over", "go ahead" or just plain "go". If using VOX (voice operated control) she would only need to stop talking. This would have automatically switched her transceiver from transmit to receive, allowing her to hear the other station.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Ellie: CQ, this is W9GFO. CQ, this is W9GFO here. Come back?

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Crazy Credits

"For Carl"

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 First Contact Movies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Spaceman
Written and Performed by Harry Nilsson
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

An excellent, thoughtful movie

This movie examines the premise of what would actually happen if we were to make first contact with aliens, and how that contact would logically happen.

The protagonist is loosely based on an actual astronomer named Jill Tartar. She is focused on finding other life almost to the exclusion of all else in her life. When aliens respond to the Earth's first interstellar broadcast, she is caught up in the hysteria.

What follows is an interesting observation of humanity rather than any aliens. We learn very little about aliens throughout the movie. Rather, we see how people react to knowledge of this magnitude. The movie examines religious, scientific, military and international reactions to the idea of humanity not being alone. I thought they did a fantastic job of representing the scale of reaction, from the fanatic to the skeptic, within the confines of a 2 hour movie. The movie mixes a thoughtful, sentimental tone with a good pace for action and excellent characterization. There is a somewhat arbitrary love story thrown in, but it is tolerable based on how it helps the protagonist's long-delayed progress towards a deeper understanding of her own humanity.

The movie ends in a poignant yet hopeful tone, understanding our human problems but accepting them. I think the message is that the alien contact is the catalyst that will help humanity mature and grow past our more dark halves.

If you like the movie I'd recommend the book. It gives much more insight on the aliens, and expands the scope as there are a number of scientists that participate rather than just one from America, and goes more in depth into the science. It also attempts to show that religion and science can get along. My favorite part is at the very end of the book where Sagan shows how God hid a message in the very fabric of the cosmos, that we could only read when we were ready. Be prepared however, the book is quite a bit drier than the movie and those who don't enjoy reading Discover magazine may have to dig in to get through the slower, more scientific parts.