Frequency (2000)

An accidental cross-time radio link connects father and son across 30 years. The son tries to save his father's life, but then must fix the consequences.

Director:

Gregory Hoblit

Writer:

Toby Emmerich

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Shawn Doyle

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Frank Sullivan
Jim Caviezel	...	John Sullivan
Shawn Doyle	...	Jack Shepard
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Julia Sullivan
Andre Braugher	...	Satch DeLeon
Noah Emmerich	...	Gordo Hersch
Melissa Errico	...	Samantha Thomas
Daniel Henson	...	Johnny Sullivan (6 Years)
Jordan Bridges	...	Graham Gibson
Stephen Joffe	...	Gordo Hersch (8 Years)
Jack McCormack	...	Commander O'Connell
Peter MacNeill	...	Butch Foster
Michael Cera	...	Gordy Jr. (10 Years)
Marin Hinkle	...	Sissy Clark
Richard Sali	...	Chuck Hayes

Storyline

A rare atmospheric phenomenon allows a New York City firefighter to communicate with his son 30 years in the future via HAM radio. The son uses this opportunity to warn the father of his impending death in a warehouse fire, and manages to save his life. However, what he does not realize is that changing history has triggered a new set of tragic events, including the murder of his mother. The two men must now work together, 30 years apart, to find the murderer before he strikes so that they can change history--again.

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Plot Keywords:

altering history | vigilantism | ham radio | criminal | criminal investigation | 

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Taglines:

What would you do if you could change the past?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense violence and disturbing images

Did You Know?

Trivia

W2QYV, Frank Sullivan's Ham Radio call-sign, actually belongs to the Niagara Radio Club in Lewiston, NY.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 30 mins) When Frank is at the police station and uses the aerosol can and lighter to start the fire sprinklers, he directs the flame at the smoke detector which would have only set off the audible alarm, not the sprinklers. Additionally, only the fire sprinkler head(s) that reach a certain temperature due to fire/heat in the area will activate and begin spraying water... not the entire system.

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Quotes

Julia Sullivan: What's going on here, Satch?
Satch: Frank says that he talks to Johnny, little Johnny on the radio in the future, and this guy claims to be your son!
Julia Sullivan: Well, I talked to him too, once. He's a cop.
Satch: You talked to the guy on the radio?

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Connections

Referenced in 'Secondhand Lions': One Screenplay's Wild Ride in Hollywood (2004)

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Soundtracks

Sea of Love
Written by Phil Phillips (as Philip Baptiste) and George Khoury
Performed by Phil Phillips and the Twilights
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A real treat from an unknown director.

An atmospheric phenomenon over New York City allows a firefighter to communicate with his son 30 years in the future via a short-wave radio. Once they establish who they are, they have little time for small talk since lives are about to be altered as they seek to influence the past. Not only that, but a serial killer known for what became known as the Nightingale Murders is now back on the scene. What have they done? What can they do? And more importantly now, who will get hurt? I personally have been delighted to find on line reviewers of this film to have been as pleasantly surprised as I was. Many have focused on the fact that they didn't know what to expect, and thus got rewarded for being in the dark as it were. So with that in mind, I'm not about to start delving into the film too much, because if you are a potential first time viewer then you really are better off going in with no expectation level. What can safely be said is that Frequency achieves a rare feat of successfully blending genres and thematics. Sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, thriller, crime and drama all come into play in unknown director Gregory Hoblit's film. Nicely written by Toby Emmerich, the film also benefits from its fine cast of actors. Leading man is Dennis Quaid, who might just be one of the most safest go to guys in his generation, and support comes from a pre-Jesus James Caviezel, Andre Braugher, Shawn Doyle and Elizabeth Mitchell.

Frequency is heartily recommended to those who don't need head twisting cinema before they can proclaim a film to be worthy of their time. Yes some things of course defy logic here, this is after all a fantasy led film. But with so many interesting themes going on amongst the cross time molded core, Frequency rises above any charge of being merely popcorn fodder. Smart, warm and exciting, see this one if you can. 7.5/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook WarnerBros.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frequency

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,025,584, 30 April 2000

Gross USA:

$45,010,278

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,106,245

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1