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
Stars:
Jodie Foster,
Matthew McConaughey,
Tom Skerritt
A commercial transport ship and its crew are marooned on a planet full of bloodthirsty creatures that only come out to feast at night. But then, they learn that a month-long eclipse is about to occur.
Two crew members of a spaceship wake up from hypersleep to discover that all their colleagues are missing. Despite this, it appears that they are not alone.
Astronauts, and their robotic dog AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion), search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
The wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.
Left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick finds himself up against an alien race of predators. Activating an emergency beacon alerts two ships: one carrying a new breed of mercenary, the other captained by a man from Riddick's past.
1000 feet below the ocean, navy divers discover an object half-a-mile long. A crack team of scientists are deployed to the site in Deepsea Habitats. What they find boggles the mind as they discover a perfect metal sphere. What is the secret behind the sphere? Will they survive the mysterious 'manifestations'? Who or what is creating these? They may never live to find out.Written by
Michael Hofer <fbci4@escape.ca>
In the novel the surname of Dustin Hoffman's character Norman is Johnson, but in the film it has been changed to Goodman. The novel also contains a fourth team member, a marine biologist named Arthur Levine who was omitted from the film. See more »
Goofs
(at around 39 mins) When Harry and Norman are talking after the scene in the eating area, and Harry tells Norman they are going to die down there, Harry lies down in his bunk. The first shot shows Harry lying with his head on the pillow and the next shot shows Norman from Harry's perspective and his right foot is hanging over the bed. As the conversation ensues, Harry sits up in his bed and is clearly seen leaning against the wall, which means his legs should have moved up too. The next shot of Norman shows that Harry's right foot is still hanging over the edge. See more »
Quotes
Norman Goodman:
['Jerry' types on the screen "I WILL KILL YOU!"]
No Jerry don't do that.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening credits are cast over an invisible sphere. See more »
Alternate Versions
SPOILER ALERT: An alternate television edit has been shown with a simplified and more ambiguous ending that follows the shooting script; Harry warns them that the authorities are on their way to debrief them, and they will demand answers. The three survivors ready themselves to forget about their mission and the power they possess. Outside, a helicopter sets down. Subsequently, we see the three survivors being interviewed in a debriefing room after decompression, each shot individually against the same background. They react as if they're oblivious to anything going wrong in the Habitat, unaware of anything that happened to Ted, Barnes or the Sphere. The helicopter leaves, and the camera pans down to the ocean, where the Sphere supposedly still remains. See more »
"Sphere" (1998) is about the discovery of a huge spacecraft at the bottom of the ocean and the humming, maybe living, sphere found inside. A team of scientists are sent down to investigate – a psychologist (Dustin Hoffman), a mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), a biochemist (Sharon Stone) and an astrophysicist (Liev Schreiber). Two notable characters at the station on the ocean floor are played by Peter Coyote and Queen Latifah. Mystery and (some) horror ensue.
Based on Michael Crichton's novel, "Sphere" intermixes elements of other scif-fi flicks, like "Forbidden Planet" (1956), "Solaris" (1972), "Alien" (1979) and "The Abyss" (1989). Like those movies, the plot involves a small group of people who are isolated from society and encounter the unknown. The theme is the actualization of one's thoughts and fears and the potential for good or, more likely, bad that comes with it. Are we mature enough as a species to handle such power?
Of course, we already have this power, just not to the degree depicted in the story (seemingly). Anything important that we do, whether productive or destructive, is formulated within first and then manifests without, like a song or a book or a loving relationship. If we truly knew the power at our disposal we'd hardly be able to sleep at night we'd be so excited!
The first hour or so is quite good because the film definitely makes you feel like you're at the bottom of the ocean. The mystery is engaging and the actors formidable. Unfortunately, some parts of the second half don't work so well. The sea snake scene, for instance, is really weak, particularly the way Stone's character responds to the situation. It seemed more like a dream than reality and maybe that's what the director (Barry Levinson) was shooting for, a cross between reality and nightmare, but it comes across wrong. Lame parts like this destroy the illusion of the movie. As far as the ending goes, it features tricky material that's not easy to pull off and the movie's only half-successful with it. The fact that it's somewhat successful is largely due to having great actors. They pulled it off.
Despite the rushed vibe of parts of the second half, the theme is great. This isn't a slasher-film-in-space, like "Alien," but is more thought-provoking, which isn't to say it's as good. However, there are some harrowing and creative aspects, like the jelly fish sequence.
While many lambaste "Sphere," it wasn't the box office dog you might think in light of the bad press. It made $37 million (in 1999 dollars) in the USA alone, which is hardly a clunker. The problem was that it cost twice that to make.
The film runs 132 minutes.
GRADE: B-
QUESTIONS ON THE THEME (***Don't read further unless you've seen the film***)
Why is it that the dark side of the human subconscious is empowered by the alien technology/entity? Why not the positive side? The four scientists (and the others) strike me as quality souls who pretty much have it together. While not perfect human specimens, they're strong people who have their phobias and destructive emotions under control. So why aren't their GOOD, PRODUCTIVE thoughts & desires manifested rather than the bad? I could see if the story took place in a prison and the characters were pieces of sheet, but that's not the case.
Also, who or what does the sphere represent? The Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9)?
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"Sphere" (1998) is about the discovery of a huge spacecraft at the bottom of the ocean and the humming, maybe living, sphere found inside. A team of scientists are sent down to investigate – a psychologist (Dustin Hoffman), a mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), a biochemist (Sharon Stone) and an astrophysicist (Liev Schreiber). Two notable characters at the station on the ocean floor are played by Peter Coyote and Queen Latifah. Mystery and (some) horror ensue.
Based on Michael Crichton's novel, "Sphere" intermixes elements of other scif-fi flicks, like "Forbidden Planet" (1956), "Solaris" (1972), "Alien" (1979) and "The Abyss" (1989). Like those movies, the plot involves a small group of people who are isolated from society and encounter the unknown. The theme is the actualization of one's thoughts and fears and the potential for good or, more likely, bad that comes with it. Are we mature enough as a species to handle such power?
Of course, we already have this power, just not to the degree depicted in the story (seemingly). Anything important that we do, whether productive or destructive, is formulated within first and then manifests without, like a song or a book or a loving relationship. If we truly knew the power at our disposal we'd hardly be able to sleep at night we'd be so excited!
The first hour or so is quite good because the film definitely makes you feel like you're at the bottom of the ocean. The mystery is engaging and the actors formidable. Unfortunately, some parts of the second half don't work so well. The sea snake scene, for instance, is really weak, particularly the way Stone's character responds to the situation. It seemed more like a dream than reality and maybe that's what the director (Barry Levinson) was shooting for, a cross between reality and nightmare, but it comes across wrong. Lame parts like this destroy the illusion of the movie. As far as the ending goes, it features tricky material that's not easy to pull off and the movie's only half-successful with it. The fact that it's somewhat successful is largely due to having great actors. They pulled it off.
Despite the rushed vibe of parts of the second half, the theme is great. This isn't a slasher-film-in-space, like "Alien," but is more thought-provoking, which isn't to say it's as good. However, there are some harrowing and creative aspects, like the jelly fish sequence.
While many lambaste "Sphere," it wasn't the box office dog you might think in light of the bad press. It made $37 million (in 1999 dollars) in the USA alone, which is hardly a clunker. The problem was that it cost twice that to make.
The film runs 132 minutes.
GRADE: B-
QUESTIONS ON THE THEME (***Don't read further unless you've seen the film***)
Why is it that the dark side of the human subconscious is empowered by the alien technology/entity? Why not the positive side? The four scientists (and the others) strike me as quality souls who pretty much have it together. While not perfect human specimens, they're strong people who have their phobias and destructive emotions under control. So why aren't their GOOD, PRODUCTIVE thoughts & desires manifested rather than the bad? I could see if the story took place in a prison and the characters were pieces of sheet, but that's not the case.
Also, who or what does the sphere represent? The Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9)?