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Contact (1997)

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2019 5:04 pm    Post subject: Contact (1997) Reply with quote

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___________ Contact - Theatrical Trailer (1997)


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Based on a novel by Carl Sagan, this was an unusual depiction of possible alien contact.

The main character is Ellie (Jodie Foster), a young scientist who has chosen the SETI project as the main impetus for her life (not just her job). In fact, she seems almost obsessed with finding a signal from an alien intelligence from outer space. Her interest in this area was first fostered by her father (David Morse) who, unfortunately, passed away when she was a little girl. Her father figure in her adult life is Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), a more pragmatic government scientist who believes Ellie is wasting her time and on a career-killing path.

Drumlin shuts down the SETI program in Puerto Rico, where Ellie is working. However, about a year later, Ellie gets new funding from a mysterious billionaire/scientist (and yet another father figure) named Hadden (John Hurt), who sets her up with a new team and a large telescope array in New Mexico.

Four years later, Ellie finally hits the jackpot — she hears a signal.

Before this Ellie was like the lone voice crying in the wilderness. Now everyone becomes involved — though mostly it's the U.S. government. The message from space is revealed to have loads of hidden information, eventually deciphered as blueprints for a special machine.

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The National Security Advisor (James Woods) has concerns about the possible hostile intentions of the aliens. The White House Chief of Staff (Angela Bassett) coordinates what info is released to the public. President Bill Clinton holds a televised press conference.

And Drumlin, who had been skeptical of this whole enterprise, takes center stage and the public spotlight, spearheading it, to Ellie's annoyance.

The focus becomes completing this vast structure (half-a-trillion dollars worth), a possible transport mechanism, while also selecting the proper representative of humanity to take the space trip.

To Ellie's further consternation, Drumlin becomes the front runner for the trip.


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___________________________ The machine


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The dramatic impact of the story involves Ellie's struggle with faith — she doesn't believe in God, which puts her at odds with the majority (mostly represented by Matthew McConaughey and a small role by Rob Lowe). Also involved are the more visceral elements of the whacko fringe, one of whom is a fanatic (Jake Busey) who may pose a real danger. And there's the standard government interference, bureaucracy, and suspicion.

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_______________ Contact - Machine Explosion


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There's too much emphasis on the religious aspect. It becomes all about how a believer must be the passenger, not actually a qualified scientist, and Ellie becomes the victim of politics and political correctness.

But there's also some rare reality to these scenes. For example, Drumlin does not become a caricature but rather the most realistic human character. That's the drama and suspense.

However, what actually dominates this film are the themes of wonder and scientific knowledge. The first scene in the film is a pull out from Earth that tries to capture the entire known universe in a couple of minutes screen time. It points out the vastness of it all — and at the same time, the smallness of Earth.



Since we watch this film mostly from the perspective of Ellie, her obsessions and ambitions are what informs most scenes: the need to know, the pursuit of hidden knowledge, the possibilities of what is out there, the mysteries of deep space and, most obviously, the suggested existence of some alien races and technology. Ellie, in a sense, represents all of us and how we seek answers to almost mystical questions, but where most of us put this trippy stuff on the back burner for most of our lives, she makes it the central focus of her life. The conclusion is kept somewhat vague and this may have alienated (no pun intended) many of the audience, but the trip there is more than interesting.



NOTE: Real footage of Clinton was used for his scenes (director Zemeckis was fond of this technique, used a lot in his previous Forrest Gump). Though it came across as clever at first, it also points out the vacuousness of most political speeches; Clinton was obviously speaking about some other real world event, but his words fit the story here just as well.


BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus


Last edited by Bogmeister on Sun May 19, 2019 11:26 am; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2019 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I've only seen this movie once, but I enjoyed it, and I think Miss Foster is a fine actress. I just put it on my Neflix list, and I'll get it in a week or so.

I'm looking forward to watching it again, thanks to BoG's review.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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IMDB has 134 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text. Very Happy
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~ The remark made throughout the movie by different characters, that if humans were the only life in the universe, it would "be a terrible waste of space", is a famous quote by author Carl Sagan. It references a statement by the Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), considering the potential worlds of other stars; "A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. If they be not inhabited, what a waste of space."

Note from me: When I watched this movie today from a Netflix DVD, I thought that the tag phrase used in this movie needed updating, bases on the recent discovery of the many planets we've located. Here's what the new tagline should say.

"We can't state with authority yet that if the universe does NOT contain billions of intelligent beings . . . what a waste of planets!"

In other words, we now know the universe is not filled with wasted SPACE which contains no life. But we haven't found evidence yet that any of those planets we've found are the homes of sentient beings like us.

~ Dr. Arroway (Jodie Foster) hypothesizes that the message could be an "Encyclopaedia Galactica", a concept envisioned by Carl Sagan and meant to be a database for all the worlds within the Milky Way Galaxy, which Sagan had shown in his television series Cosmos (1980). The term originates from Isaac Asimov's science fiction novel "Foundation".

Note from me: My unpublished novel, Sail the Sea of Stars (which was first written in 1982), includes a gigantic multi-species "library" created millions of years ago by a coalition of civilizations who had to destroy themselves to eradicate the Demon-Gods who created life in the universe . . . but who bore absolutely no resemble to the Judaeo-Christian God of the Bible.

In other words . . . they were cruel bastards. Sad

I'm working on finishing a revised version of that novel, and I hope to publish it this year. Here's the illustration I created to show the "library" when it was found by the characters in the story on a planet in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Very Happy



Pretty cool, eh? Wink

~ In 2011, Jodie Foster was part of a group of private donors that saved S.E.T.I.'s telescope array in California.

Note from me: I admire Miss Foster's comment to this project.

~ Producer and Director Robert Zemeckis had asked Jodie Foster to repeat the pod scene six times, each time with a different expression (intense joy, fear, sadness, and so on) and then the visual effects crew quickly morphed her face from one take to the next. For a moment, they also used the face of Dr. Arroway as a child.

Note from me: Well my goodness, there's moment we can all use the pause button for, eh? Shocked

_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Nov 28, 2020 4:17 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that illustration! Any chance of super-sizing it?
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 18, 2019 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Thanks, Eadie!

I'm afraid I don't have a larger version, but here's the image I started with before modifying one of the buildings and changing the sky.





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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat May 18, 2019 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Contact"is the type of science fiction film that offers an intelligent take on the subject of first contact.

Sadly, it remains in the minority of sci~fi films that truly wish to offer profound insights.

The majority of sf movies seem to be a mash up of action, adventure, and horror that may be entertaining but are the equivalent of fast food for the mind.
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