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Contact

Actor(s): Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt
Director(s): Robert Zemeckis
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Details

MPAA Rating: PG
Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Profanity, Watch With Your Teen
Movie Release: 1997
DVD Release: 12/30/1997
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
Audio Tracks: English, French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Studio: Warner Home Video
Members Wishing: 6
Genres: Science Fiction, Psychological Sci-Fi

Synopsis

The search for life outside our solar system becomes a personal and spiritual quest for a young researcher. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) is a scientist who lost her faith in God after her parents died when she was a child. However, Ellie has learned to develop a different sort of faith in the seemingly unknowable: working with a group that monitors radio waves from space, Ellie hopes that some day she will receive a coherent message from another world that will prove that there is a world beyond our own. Ellie's hard work is rewarded when her team picks up a signal that does not appear to be of earthly origin. Ellie decodes the message, which turns out to be plans for a space craft, which she takes as an invitation for a meeting with the aliens. Ellie and her fellow researchers soon run into interference from a White House scientific advisor, David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), who cuts off their funding and tries to take credit for their achievements. However, Ellie receives moral support from Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a spiritual teacher who advises President Clinton and tries to persuade her to accept the existence of a higher power, and financial backing from S.R. Hadden (John Hurt), a multi-millionaire willing to fund her attempts to contact the source of the message. Contact was based on a novel by Carl Sagan, who advised director Robert Zemeckis during the film's production until his death in 1996. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast

Jodie Foster - Ellie Arroway
Matthew McConaughey - Palmer Joss
James Woods - Michael Kitz
John Hurt - S.R. Hadden
Tom Skerritt - David Drumlin

Awards

1997	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (nominee)	Golden Globe	Jodie Foster
1997	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Randy Thom
1997	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Tom Johnson
1997	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Dennis S. Sands
1997	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	William B. Kaplan

Editorial Review

Robert Zemeckis followed up his smash hit Forrest Gump with this sci-fi-tone poem, raking in even more box-office dollars. This DVD from Warner Bros. does the film justice and then some. The picture is presented in a glorious 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that must be seen to be believed. The film's now-famous opening shot (a slow pull-back through the entire universe) is even more stunning here than it was on the big screen. The sound is a crisp, thundering Dolby 5.1 that brings the music of the spheres to life. Extra features are just as impressive. There are three separate commentary tracks: one from star Jodie Foster, one from Zemeckis and producer Steve Starkey, and one from special effects supervisors Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosenbaum. Viewers also get a first-hand look at how some of the film's more complicated effects (like that opening shot) were done, through short featurettes with commentary by Ralston and Rosenbaum. Also included are the obligatory production notes and trailers. As always with a Zemeckis film, it's best not to watch the trailer before the movie, as every single plot detail is revealed. Overall, this is a film worth owning in any format, but its excellent treatment on DVD makes =Contact a must-buy. ~ Jeremy Brown, All Movie Guide