The Terminal (2004)

An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Andrew Niccol (story), Sacha Gervasi (story)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride

7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Viktor Navorski
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Amelia Warren
Stanley Tucci	...	Frank Dixon
Chi McBride	...	Mulroy
Diego Luna	...	Enrique Cruz
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Thurman
Kumar Pallana	...	Gupta Rajan
Zoe Saldana	...	Dolores Torres (as Zoë Saldana)
Eddie Jones	...	Salchak
Jude Ciccolella	...	Karl Iverson
Corey Reynolds	...	Waylin
Guillermo Díaz	...	Bobby Alima (as Guillermo Diaz)
Rini Bell	...	Nadia
Stephen Mendel	...	First Class Steward
Valeriy Nikolaev	...	Milodragovich (as Valera Nikolaev)

Storyline

Victor Navorski reaches JFK airport from a politically unstable country. Due to collapse of his government, his papers are no longer valid in the airport, and hence he is forced to stay in the airport until the war cools down. He makes the airport his home and develops a friendship with the people who work there until he can leave.

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Plot Keywords:

airport | flight attendant | man without a country | fish out of water | construction site | 

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Taglines:

Life is waiting.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief language and drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Viktor is avoiding the security camera near the exit, the camera is of the Espree line manufactured by Pelco in Clovis, California. The motor noises had to be added to the film, because the Espree PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) features operate virtually silently.

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Goofs

Dixon mentions that Viktor's visa that would allow him to enter the US has been canceled. Visas issued by the US do not allow the visa holder to enter the country. The visa only allows the holder to go to the border. CBP makes the decision on allowing admission to the US. Dixon, as a senior CBP officer, should know this.

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Quotes

[first lines]
PA announcer: United Airlines announcing the arrival of Flight 9435 from Beijing. Customer service representative, please report to gate C42.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are spelled out on the tumblers of the flight schedule boards. In addition, the opening credits are unusually short, with just the studio name and the title of the film.

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Connections

References The Outer Limits: The Zanti Misfits (1963)

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Soundtracks

For All We Know
Written by J. Fred Coots (as Fred Coots) & Sam Lewis (as Samuel Lewis)

User Reviews

fun film

Although I should not have been surprised, Spielberg and Hanks, had greatness written all over it. But I got suckered into a lot of the bad press around the film and suppose I judged it before I had watched it. Anyway, I have now watched it and I liked it.

I thought the first half of the film was absolutely fantastic, the humor, the acting, the character development - they were all good. I thought the second half of the film suffered a little from becoming a bit over emotional, the love story seemed out of sorts and the way the entire airport staff seemed to know every thing about everyone else was a bit far fetched, I worked in an airport for many years and knew virtually no-one from outside the people I worked with on a daily basis, but maybe that's just me! But I forgave the film these slight nuances and allowed myself to enjoy it. I don't think Hanks or Spielberg will win any more Oscars, but it was a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday night!!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Bulgarian Spanish Russian Mandarin German French

Release Date:

18 June 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terminal

Filming Locations:

Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,053,199, 20 June 2004

Gross USA:

$77,872,883

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$219,100,084

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamworks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1