Sphere (1998)

A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers:

Michael Crichton (novel), Kurt Wimmer (adaptation)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson

3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Norman
Sharon Stone	...	Beth
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Harry
Peter Coyote	...	Barnes
Liev Schreiber	...	Ted
Queen Latifah	...	Fletcher
Marga Gómez	...	Jane Edmunds
Huey Lewis	...	Helicopter Pilot
Bernard Hocke	...	Seaman
James Pickens Jr.	...	O.S.S.A. Instructor
Michael Keys Hall	...	O.S.S.A. Official
Ralph Tabakin	...	O.S.S.A. Official

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

imagination | bottom of the ocean | hallucination | biologist | marine biologist | 

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Taglines:

A Barry Levinson film

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action including some startling images

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sphere

Filming Locations:

Mare Island Naval Yard, Vallejo, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,586,765, 13 February 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$37,020,277

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,100,000, 5 April 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Baltimore Pictures, Constant c Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samuel L. Jackson and Queen Latifah appeared in Juice (1992).

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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.

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Quotes

Dr. Harry Adams: Where's Teeny? I thought she did all the cooking around here.
Captain Harold C. Barnes: She had an unfortunate accident Harry, she was killed.
Dr. Harry Adams: Killed? how?
Captain Harold C. Barnes: Jellyfish.
Dr. Harry Adams: Jellyfish? That's strange.
Captain Harold C. Barnes: Yes that is strange isn't it.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are cast over an invisible sphere.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Fear Factory: Cars (1999)

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Soundtracks

We're Off to See the Wizard
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Music by Harold Arlen

User Reviews

A fairly decent Crichton flick!

After reading many users' mixed comments on the movie..i can't help but feel that a majority have underrated the film. True it could have been better, especially in the latter half, but having read the book first, i did not feel it actually falling off midway like the way other viewers have described it. People who have read the novel will acknowledge that the movie does follow the novel fairly closely. Thus comments about Hoffman's role and the ending are unfair, since i feel they are the closest big-screen reproductions of one of Crichton's best works. I feel Stone's character was the role followed the weakest.

Definitely the giant squid thrills are insufficient (note that Crichton devoted a good part of his novel describing encounters with 'the monster'). I guess animation artists were short budgeted...though the film as a whole still is a visual treat...and the atmosphere is rightly captured, with nice music.

Overall, I think the movie is worth watching and is definitely of a much higher caliber than 'The Lost World'. It follows a psychological-cum-sci-fi thriller theme and i feel is better than the similar flick 'Abyss'. As from the novel's point-of-view...it could have been done better though. 8/10 stars!