Impostor (2001)

In the future, an alien race uses androids as bombs to attack Earth. A government weapons specialist is accused of being one such android and sets out to prove his innocence.

Director:

Gary Fleder

Writers:

Philip K. Dick (short story "The Impostor"), Scott Rosenberg (adaptation)

Stars:

Shane Brolly, Vincent D'Onofrio, Gary Sinise

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Sinise	...	Spencer Olham
Madeleine Stowe	...	Maya Olham
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Hathaway
Tony Shalhoub	...	Nelson Gittes
Tim Guinee	...	Dr. Carone
Mekhi Phifer	...	Cale
Gary Dourdan	...	Captain Burke
Lindsay Crouse	...	Chancellor
Elizabeth Peña	...	Midwife (as Elizabeth Pena)
Jason Beck	...	Gang Boy #2
Judy Jean Berns	...	Disgruntled Woman
Veena Bidasha	...	Frowning Nurse
Ellen Bradley	...	Nursing Mother
Shane Brolly	...	Lt. Burrows
Golden Brooks	...	Cale's Sister

Storyline

Originally a 30 minute portion for an anthology film, Impostor was retooled into a full length feature film. Based on the Philip K. Dick short story of the same name, it follows the lead character Spencer Olham's quest to regain his identity after being suspected as an alien android, in an future Earth at war with aliens that use the androids as bombs to destroy their enemies homeworlds.

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Plot Keywords:

watching tv | android | alien | bomb | future | 

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Taglines:

In the Future, not everyone is who they seem to be.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uljez

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,022,523, 6 January 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,114,237, 20 January 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films,Marty Katz Productions,Mojo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 102 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spencer Olham is said to be "very good at integral and differential calculus." This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Gilbert and Sullivan's musical "Pirates of Penzance" from the famously silly patter-song "Modern Major General." (The line from the song is, "I am very good at integral and differential calculus, I know the scientific names of being animalculus...")

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Goofs

After Spencer fires the Glock at the guards, though the gun is out of focus in the foreground, you can see that it has a round "stovepiped" (jammed sideways in the firing chamber and preventing the slide from closing). The gun is useless in this condition, yet Spencer continues to point it as if he were ready to fire.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Spencer Olham: There wasn't always a war with the Centauri, but in my lifetime it's all I've ever known. By the year 2050, six years after the first attack, we'd lost so many things. We'd lost the sky to electromagnetic domes, to shield the Earth from frequent air raids increasing in intensity. We'd lost the uncovered cities that the government forgot. We'd lost democracy to global leadership. We didn't expect peace anymore with the Centauri, because we came to see that peace wasn't their goal. ...

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Connections

References Blade Runner (1982)

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Soundtracks

Boom Boom
Written and Performed by John Lee Hooker
Published by Conrad Music, A Division of Arc Music Corporation
Courtesy of Vee-Jay Limited Partnership/ Rhino Entertainment

User Reviews

Quite superb... captures PKD's visions well.

I have no idea why this movie is such underrated. Yes, Gary Fleder is no Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott. He doesn't have the excellent imagery or visual wonders of the other directors' films. But at the same time, he has been more faithful to the original short story than Scott or Spielberg could have been. He has added only one major twist which made the film rather more interesting. And one major credit of the film is that it could capture quite obviously the feel of paranoia that's been the mainstay of Philip Dick's most stories.

Gary Sinise is always pleasure to watch on screen. And in this case his performance is flawless. D'Onofrio plays the tough security officer with enough passion. Madeline Stowe is rather frigid in her role.

In short, 'Impostor' is a gripping tale with solid plot and enough substance. A must see for every genre fan, regardless of the fact that one of the greatest sci-fi writer has penned the story.