A Sound of Thunder (2005)

When a scientist sent back to the prehistoric era strays off the path he causes a chain of events that alters history in disastrous ways.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (short story), Thomas Dean Donnelly (screen story)

Stars:

Edward Burns, Ben Kingsley, Catherine McCormack

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Armin Rohde	...	John Wallenbeck (as Armin Rhode)
Heike Makatsch	...	Alicia Wallenbeck
Jemima Rooper	...	Jenny Krase
David Oyelowo	...	Payne
Wilfried Hochholdinger	...	Dr. Lucas
Edward Burns	...	Travis Ryer
August Zirner	...	Clay Derris
Ben Kingsley	...	Charles Hatton (as Sir Ben Kingsley)
Catherine McCormack	...	Sonia Rand
Alvin Van Der Kuech	...	Young Technician
Andrew Blanchard	...	George the Doorman
Bill Armstrong	...	Ted Eckles (as William Armstrong)
Corey Johnson	...	Christian Middleton
Nikita Lespinasse	...	Newswoman on TV (as Nikita Le Spinasse)
Scott Bellefeville	...	Onlooker (as Scott Bellefeuille)

Storyline

2055, Charles Hatton has made a fortune by founding 'Time safari', which offers rich 'big game hunters' short time travels to kill off dinosaurs just before their natural death. When Travis notices the weather and wildlife are not behaving as usual, he consults Dr. Rand, the contractually invisible inventor of the supercomputer which controls the time travel. They soon face 'time waves', each worsening the effects in 2055 of evolutionary distortions, lower lifeforms first. They attempt to identify and rectify the past alteration, but each attempt gets harder in their distorted present.

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Plot Keywords:

time travel | hunter | alternate reality | plant | hunting | 

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Taglines:

Evolve or die.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, partial nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

Czech Republic UK Germany USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

2 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Som do Trovão

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,190,791, 4 September 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$1,891,821, 2 October 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,989,640, 13 October 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franchise Pictures, Crusader Entertainment, ApolloMedia Distribution

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min (Cinemax)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the short story "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury

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Goofs

The name on the back of Travis Ryer's helmet changes from saying "Ryer" to "Travis" and back again, through various scenes. In the short story, the protagonist's last name was Travis.

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Quotes

Ted Eckles: You sure we should be doing this?
Christian Middleton: There's a six-year waiting list. We paid double to cut to the head of the line, and you want to slink home? You gonna spend the rest of your life with balls the size of BBs?
Ted Eckles: What the hell.
Christian Middleton: They're so big I can hear them clanging.

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Alternate Versions

For the Dutch DVD release the aspect ratio was changed from 2,35:1 to 1,78:1.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #35.8 (2006)

User Reviews

Mediocre film about time travels with several terrifying animals and a lot of of C.G.I.

2055 , Chicago , Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley) an avaricious tycoon is an owner of a valuable enterprise about time machines called Tammy that is converted in a time traveler towards the Jurasik and carrying rich tourists to kill dinosaurs . Hatton receives his clients after their time safari and he likes to compare them with great explorers : Marco Polo , Christopher Columbus , Armstrong and others . Travis (Edward Burns) is a resourceful scientist at charge of the risked hunting . Scientist Sonia Rand (Catherine McCormack) as invention creator warns the dangerous experiments . Thus , the machine cannot ultimately control itself and it is created a time wave similar to Tsunami which changes the earth . Then , it appears various predator animals and colossal carnivores , humans try desperately escape of weird animals and they are chased by fanged giant creatures through a leafy vegetable city .

This thrilling sci-fi picture blends suspense , tension , bone-chilling scenes , genuine scares and amount of images have you on the edge of your seat . Abundant special effects are generally made by computer generator , as it is well reflected on an amazing array of technical bizarre creatures , such as : prehistoric Allosaurius , giant eel, mutants animals , ferocious and carnivorous plants and insects developing a bloodthirsty hunger . The film is based on a Ray Bradbury novel , a short story titled ¨A Sound of Thunder¨ but are modified some deeds , in the book the fatal accident is produced during the presidential election and the winner results to be a fascist candidate , while the movie is narrated in actioner as well as spectacular style . The picture was averagely directed by Peter Hyams (replacing Renny Harlin who was fired from the producers for disagreements with Ray Bradbury) , though production was slowed when severe floods in the summer of 2002 in the Czech Republic caused considerable damage to the set . One major reason for the film's long delay is that the original production company went bankrupt during post-production , and there simply wasn't money to finish the film . Director Peter Hyams is a nice filmmaker and usual cameraman of his films , realizing good Sci-fi titles (¨Capricorn one¨ , ¨Outland¨) and even a similar movie about time travels , but better directed , such as ¨Timecop¨(1994) with Jean Claude Van Damme . Atmospheric musical score fitting to action by Nick G. Smith . The movie failed in the box office and was exhibited in 2005 , two years later its shooting . The movie was filmed in Republic Czechoslovakia with difficulties but had a lot of floods in Praga . Rating : Average but entertaining .