Search - Sphere

Barry Levinson directed this $100+ million adaptation of Michael Crichton's science fiction novel about the investigation of a half-mile-long spacecraft sitting on the South Pacific ocean floor. Government functionary Barnes (Peter Coyote) assembles a crack scientific team -- psychologist Dr. Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman), who wrote a presidential report on alien contact; biochemist Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), once involved romantically with Goodman; mathematician Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson); and astrophysicist Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber). After descending a thousand feet, they set up housekeeping at their underwater Habitat base, suit up, and enter the craft, finding evidence that it's a U.S. ship from the future. However, the craft's cargo of a shimmering, golden sphere is definitely alien. After Harry contrives to enter the sphere, Norman notes his odd behavior. When the Habitat computer system receives an email message from the sphere ("I am happy"), it's not long before the messages from this entity take a threatening turn ("I will kill you all"), triggering fears to surface along with violent attacks to the Habitat. The film is divided into chapters, such as "The Ride Down," "The First Exchange," and "The Monster." Shot on soundstages at the abandoned Mare Island Naval Shipyard (Vallejo, California), the effects combine animation, miniatures, prosthetics, animatronics, and digital images. Ed Asner reads the Sphere audiobook. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Dustin Hoffman - Dr. Norman Goodman
Sharon Stone - Beth Halperin
Samuel L. Jackson - Harry Adams
Peter Coyote - Barnes
Liev Schreiber - Ted Fielding

One of Michael Crichton's worst screen adaptations, the DVD makes up for the film's shortcomings by focusing more on science fiction than on the film itself. The best thing about this disc is a 14-minute "making of" featurette entitled "Shaping the Sphere." It's a study on the art of the visual effects supervisor. He explains more than the effects he created in the film; he explains his craft. It's filled with lots of production design drawings and storyboards that show exactly what his job entails. The disc also has an informative textual history of sci-fi films, starting with 1902's A Trip to the Moon and going up through Sphere, touching on every important science fiction film in between. The audio commentary on the track would seem like a home run, with actors Samuel L. Jackson and Dustin Hoffman doing the play-by-play, but it couldn't be more boring. The old adage that actors need a script is proven here because these actors have nothing interesting to say, except to comment on how good they look in their close-ups. The scope transfer is excellent. Director of photography Adam Greenberg supplies the perfect eerie brilliance and deserves a special mention. Other extras include three TV spots, the theatrical trailer, production notes, cast and crew bios, and French and Spanish subtitles. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide

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