Soldier (1998)

A soldier trained from birth is deemed obsolete and dumped on a waste planet where he is reluctantly taken in by a community of defenseless, stranded wayfarers.

Director:

Paul W.S. Anderson (as Paul Anderson)

Writer:

David Webb Peoples

Stars:

Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kurt Russell	...	Todd 3465
Jason Scott Lee	...	Caine 607
Jason Isaacs	...	Colonel Mekum
Connie Nielsen	...	Sandra
Sean Pertwee	...	Mace
Jared Thorne	...	Nathan
Taylor Thorne	...	Nathan
Mark Bringelson	...	Rubrick
Gary Busey	...	Church
K.K. Dodds	...	Sloan
James Black	...	Riley
Mark De Alessandro	...	Goines
Vladimir Orlov	...	Romero
Carsten Norgaard	...	Green
Duffy Gaver	...	Chelsey

Storyline

In a futuristic society, some people are selected at birth to become soldiers, and trained in such a manner that they become inhuman killing machines. One of the most succesfull and older of these soldiers (Russell) is pitted against a new breed of soldiers, and after the confrontation is believed to be dead. His body is left behind in a semi-abandoned colonial planet, where everything is peaceful, and he is taught about the other aspects of life. But eventually he has to fight the new breed of soldiers again, this time to defend his new home...

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Plot Keywords:

time bomb | soldier | planet | crash survivor | survivor | 

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Taglines:

Left for dead on a remote planet for obsolete machines and people, a fallen hero has one last battle to fight

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Soldier

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,447,237, 25 October 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,567,883, 6 December 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Morgan Creek Entertainment Group, Jerry Weintraub Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the sound bites when Caine is pounding the residence is music from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song".

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Goofs

Early in the film, when the young boys are running, the boy lagging behind is wearing a shirt soaked with sweat. When the trainers pull up to shoot him, his shirt is dry.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Female Voice: [to audience of very young boys] A soldier does not speak until spoken to by a superior officer. A soldier shows no mercy. Mercy is weakness. Weakness is death. A soldier...
[squealing pig led in for slaughter]

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Connections

References Shopping (1994)

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Soundtracks

Immigrant Song
(Uncredited)
Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Performed by Led Zeppelin

User Reviews

Reference to Blade runner

In the movie several references are made in subtly to Blade runner, but one of the most obvious is the fact the Cain 607 and his unit are all genetic constructs, breed to be expendable warriors. But as favorite quote of mine from the movie is, " you should have made them smart as well as fast". Kurt Russell did a incredible job, his facial expressions or lack of in the movies gave more in the way of relating the story then the rest of the cast combined. Even when he falls in love with Sandra but does not know how to deal with these emotions, and his tears after being expelled from the group, or his shuddering when he is given a hug, and his attachment to the mute young boy who in many ways reminded Todd of himself, and what he could have been if not for his selection to be a soldier.