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 thousand feet beneath the sea, the blackest holes are in the mind...

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Genres:

Action | 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:

$14,433,957, 15 February 1998

Gross USA:

$37,020,277

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,020,277

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

When Jerry first makes contact, he transmits in code : "MY NAME IS JERRY". Later, the code is revealed to have been mistranslated and the message reads: "MY NAME IS HARRY" If the letters H, E, J, and A in the simple letter/number substitution code were wrong, the first message would have read: "MY NEMA IS JERRY". Also, the entire series of conversations they had would have exhibited the same error, yet none did so. (HAPPY would have been JEPPY, ALL = ELL, etc.)

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Quotes

Dr. Ted Fielding: Harry!
Norman Goodman: Harry.
Dr. Ted Fielding: 19! Wunderkind!

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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

The best underwater action film!

This is the rarest of action films - one that engages your intellect not just your senses.

On the seabed in mid-ocean a huge vessel is discovered. A team is dispatched to investigate - and what they find is beyond belief.

Admittedly there were a couple of scenes which I felt missed the intended realism of the film, and occasionally it seemed far too obvious what was going on, but the ending resolved everything beautifully.

I suspect that fans of action films will feel let down by the thought necessary to follow this film, and fans of science fiction may well feel that after the first half hour there is a lack of a traditional sci-fi element. Many people I'm sure will feel that too little is explained, but the point of the film is that it doesn't need to be - the message of the ending is strong enough that we don't need explanation.

I'd particularly recommend this film to anyone who likes psychological thrillers. I was fairly impressed by the action integrated in The Abyss, but Sphere far surpasses it in terms of plot. Most of all, if you like films that simply entertain, this is not for you. It's more about the reactions it causes in you when you follow the story. If you come away from this film unchanged, you've missed the point.