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Contact
1997
Devoted astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway undertakes an emotional and spiritual journey after receiving the message she's waited for all her life--a mysterious signal beamed in from alien beings, who pass along instructions for building and piloting a craft that will presumably survive the passage from Earth to their home. While .. Read more
| Starring | Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt |
|---|---|
| Director | Robert Zemeckis |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
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Contact
Devoted astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway undertakes an emotional and spiritual journey after receiving the message she's waited for all her life--a mysterious signal beamed in from alien beings, who pass along instructions for building and piloting a craft that will presumably survive the passage from Earth to their home. While struggling to fund her mission, Arroway also struggles with her feelings about the nature of things, particularly after meeting a charismatic New Age believer who questions her disbelief in God. A deliberately-paced, meditative adaptation of the eponymous novel by Ann Druyan and "pop" astronomer Carl Sagan, who died during production. Academy Award Nomination: Best Sound.
| Starring | Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Larry King, Rob Lowe, Tom Skerritt, Geoffrey Blake, Angela Bassett, William Fichtner, Jena Malone, Thomas Garner, Michael Chaban, Sami Chester, Conroy Chino, Dan Gifford, Max Marti |
|---|---|
| Director | Robert Zemeckis |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 24 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 30 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
| Language | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | Arabic, English |
| Released | DVD: 25 Sep 1998 Blu-ray: 12 Oct 2009 Production year: 1997 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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A rather over-zealous take on New Age spirituality mars this otherwise impressive adaptation of Carl Sagan's bestselling novel. Jodie Foster stars as the dedicated astronomer who receives a message from extraterrestrials explaining how humble humans can build a spacecraft and go to meet them. Matthew McConaughey plays the religious adviser battling for her soul, while Tom Skerritt and James Woods portray sceptical presidential aides. The digital effects are stunning, and director Robert Zemeckis is at home with the action sequences; if only he'd stuck to the sci-fi. However, the climactic scene of Foster's pod journey features one of the transcendent performances in all of cinema.
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After a brilliant beginning, an awe-inspiring journey through space, the film soon settles for sentimentality and psychobabble, being less interested in the consequences of the possibilities of alien contact than in self-help and exploring one's inner bei
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Most helpful member's review
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20 out of 22 people found this review helpful
I Agree - some spoilers below
Chances are that if you are here, you have already have seen this film. If you have, it is definitely worth revisiting, and if you haven't where have you been?
Works on many levels, as a great drama and as a thought prevoking take on faith in our lives.
For me, who as a teenager read the Carl Sagan book I was very pleased with how well it was handled. From the script through to the casting and on to the performances - superb. If there is a better cast in a movie I havent seen. Foster, McConaughay and Skerritt are the leads I suppose but it is the glue of John Hurt, Davis Morse and James Woods that hold it together for me.
Stand out moments for me are the opening galactic pullback, Little Ellies slo mo run up to the bathroom to get daddies medecine (how did they do the mirror reflexion?), the steadicam jodie foster chase into the lab which finishes with an antenna aligning and of course her ironic opening gasp of awe at the wonder of it all, 'Oh God'.
Rent it and watch it in the light of the world we now live in, rather than those simpler times of the late 90s.
How we could use a little bit of Contact now. -
Most recent members' review
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7 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Real-life contact?
Interesting story about what might one day happen should we be able to make contact with life form on other planets. If like me, you tend to avoid sci-fi or alien related films, then don't do the same with this one.
This film boasts a good script, excellent performances (McConaughey's accent is a lot less 'Texan' than it is normally, which I personally feel is a shame, and got me wondering as to whether or not this was done to make him appear more 'scholarly'), and one particular scene that takes the viewer on a journey that like all the best rollercoaster’s is about a series of stomach-flipping, heart-racing jerks and drops.
Basically, this is a good 'blockbuster' that leaves you with the feeling that the universe with humans alone is a major waste of space. -
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Contact - BLU-RAY Version
Devoted astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway undertakes an emotional and spiritual journey after receiving the message she's waited for all her life--a mysterious signal beamed in from alien beings, who pass along instructions for building and piloting a craft that will presumably survive the passage from ...
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