Contact Movie

[Vivek]

Heavy Future: Contact

Yesterday I watched the movie Contact again after a very long time. And since it's been awhile, the movie especially many parts before the third act appeared all fresh to my memory. There are some great little character moments of Ellie played by Jodie Foster and Ellie as a kid played by a younger Jena Malone (who I recognized only yesterday as I was watching the movie).

I've always been fascinated with space since I was a kid and now even though mankind's current prospects of deep space travel aren't looking bright, my enthusiasm for space continues to grow stronger. So watching Ellie talk about space with such devotion and the moments where she roots for things in the name of science, they were all so endearing to watch and had me in tears couple of times.

It's sad that Carl Sagan who along with his wife Ann Druyan was actively involved in the development of the film but never got to see the completed film.

After the Back to the Future movies and Forrest Gump, Contact is my favourite Robert Zemeckis film. I am glad Zemeckis is back to doing live-action films and I hope someday he will consider doing another sci-fi film.

And it's quite a coincidence that Jodie Foster's new sci-fi film Elysium from director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) had a private audience screening yesterday, which I read about earlier today.

I found this beautiful poster for Contact but since I haven't seen it listed in other places online I am guessing it's probably a fan-made poster, also cause there are no movie studio credits listed on the poster. Would have still loved to have it in a poster size.

 

[Monster Dave]

Great movie. I couldn't believe it recently when I learned that the US military 'gifted' 2 telescopes to NASA that were more powerful than Hubble.

One place that's on my 'bucket list' is to visit the Arecibo observatory. I have been a huge supporter of SETI for years!


...now I think I want to watch Contact again!!

:thumbsup

 

[Leigh]

Its one of my fav's aswell :love Awesome film thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[blipper]

Yeah - a great and under-appreciated movie, and love the idea of receiving coded instructions for building a mysterious machine.

I was listening to the radio a while back where Jocelyn Bell-Burnell discusses the story behind her discovery of the Pulsar. Her supervisors initial reluctance to take her findings seriously and his later acceptance of the Nobel prize for the discovery of the pulsar whilst not recognising Burnell really reminded me of Foster in Contact and I wonder if Sagan had Burnell in mind as apparently the issue was pretty contraversial in astronomy circles.

I found a podcast of the interview if anyone's interested, pretty fascinating (right click + save)

Jim al-Khalili talks to the astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell about missing out a Nobel Prize, sexism in science and a strange smudge in the data from a radio telescope. While others dismissed this smudge as insignificant, Jocelyn revealed a series of strange flashing signals. They might have been evidence of faulty radio telescope or even messages from a little green man; but Jocelyn thought otherwise and her determination to get to the bottom of it all, led to one of the most exciting discoveries in 20th century astronomy, the discovery of pulsars, those dense cores of collapsed stars.

 

[terryr]

When it came out, I thought 'Jodie Foster in sci-fi? Tilt.' But when I saw it on TV I liked it very much. It's a good movie, and a good story, with many interesting twists.
She's down on religion but then can only say she has faith that the trip occurred.

It's also one of Fosters most normal characters. And she looks pretty hot as well.

 

[Wanderer]

Oh geez, I have not watched that movie in years. Going to have to see if I can find it on the TV sometime in the near future, and I don't mean on a channel with commercials.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Intelligent film that handled a big question well.
Of course many still hate it because they didn't get to see an alien.


Though, why not fire up the machine again and send someone else to
back up Ellie's claims?

I don't recall now if that was said it to not be possible again.
Maybe they tried and the aliens shut them down.
One trip only you hairless apes!

Seems odd.

 

[SVTStingRay]

great movie with a lot of "wtf" moments

the terrorist explosion

when the priest sets ellie up during the interview

first time watching hitler fade into view during the broadcast

"wanna go for a ride!"

seeing her dad again(made me cry but my ex cried histerical!)

love the whole science/religion aspects of the movie. seems rooted in reality about how first contact would be achieved.

never expected carl sagan to be behind what i consider it to be a very spiritual movie.

"See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other. " ------ great line

 

[micdavis]

"Why build one when you can two for half the price."

Another great role for John Hurt too.

 

[Leigh]

"Why build one when you can two for half the price."

Another great role for John Hurt too.

Actually mate thats.... "First rule in government spending, why build one when you can have two at twise the price"

Agreed, a great role by John Hurt thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[blipper]

Though, why not fire up the machine again and send someone else to
back up Ellie's claims?

I can't remember exactly but wasn't there some small detail with the cockpit video that someone spots right at the end that corroborates if not her claim then something utterly unexplainable?

 

[micdavis]

Actually mate thats.... "First rule in government spending, why build one when you can have two at twise the price"

Agreed, a great role by John Hurt thumbsup:thumbsup

Good job, you're paying attention. I can't live forever.

 

[Laspector]

This is one of those movies that I can watch over and over everytime it's on tv. It's a great movie. The only thing that is a little bit of a letdown is the "wind-surfing with dear old Dad". I really wanted to know more about the machine and the Vegans.

 

[Leigh]

I can't remember exactly but wasn't there some small detail with the cockpit video that someone spots right at the end that corroborates if not her claim then something utterly unexplainable?

The video recorded nothing but static, but its the fact that it recorded hours of static! which proved her right.

 

[Alan Castillo]

Amongst the Mrs' and my top 10 movies of all time. We have watched it dozens and dozens of times over the years. This thread just 'reminded' me that we haven't given it a twirl in well over a year now. Nice memory jog and will watch again very shortly

 

[SmilingOtter]

Great movie, but I wish they'd kept the original ending, where - at the suggestion from her "father" - she discovers that pi is not only not irrational, but has code hidden in it. Pretty big implications.

 

[iycis]

Intelligent film that handled a big question well.
Of course many still hate it because they didn't get to see an alien.

But this is why I think this movie is perfect! I love that they didn't have to create some lame looking alien. The fact that they used her father's likeness....amazing! Also god it makes me cry every time. :cry

 

[DrMcoy]

wonderful story/movie.

that poster up top is awesome.

 

[GotWookiee]

I saw this flick in the theater and really, really loved it when it first came out. I've seen it a number of times since then. In fact, inspired by this thread, I watched it today on Amazon Instant Video.

I really think Jodie Foster was the only choice for the lead of this film. It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role.

I also think Tom Skerritt did a fantastic job as always. He's an ******* without seeming like a movie character who is written that way. The final conversation he has with Ellie before the failed test of the Machine really adds a nice touch of humanity to his character.

The entire countdown to launch and the trip through the wormhole network is incredible.

I don't particularly care for either Angela Bassett's or James Woods characters. They don't seem to have any depth to them and come off as over the top movie characters played well by great actors.

John Hurt really seems to have fun in the movie, but he always delivers. He again dies on a space ship and is presumably jettisoned from the space station.

Over time I've liked the film less and less. Perhaps it is my changing tastes, but I increasingly find the film to be bombastic and heavy handed with its "message" and find its ideas to be boring to say the least.

Matthew McConaughey does not belong in this movie. For one thing, he is too young to be well respected national quasi spiritual leader. I had the same problem with Cillian Murphy in Batman Begins. I also think McConaughey is simply not in the same league as the rest of the cast. This really shows when he has his "I don't want to lose you" scene just before Ellie boards the Machine. His performance in that scene is just flat and boring.

The bits where Jodie Foster's face morphs into her child face is just stupid.

The whole conspiracy bit at the end is moronic and it really dates the film to the X-Files era when paranoia and conspiracy theories were all the rage. It is utterly impossible to fake a signal from Vega (the possibility of it not being local is eliminated when Australia confirms the signal).
The energy vortex created by the Machine, causing the mission control ship to heel towards it for no reason, cannot be explained by the hoax. The door merging with the rest of the pod upon closure and the hull turning transparent is also unexplained phenomena.
Of course, the biggest plot hole of all is, why not send someone else to check out Arroway's story? The Machine is obviously re-usable, since they were going to test it first with the crash dummy.

The entire faith vs. science debate is handled with the subtly of a punch in the face. It's so trite and over the top that it's nauseating at times. The bit where the politician says "Do you really expect us to take this all on FAITH" was the breaking point for me. It's so over the top it really makes you feel like the director thinks the audience is stupid and won't get it unless you beat them over the head with it.

The walk on the beach with dad at the end of the trip is rather dull. All we really get is some nauseating sentimentality about how "the only thing that makes the emptiness bearable is each other." Groan.

It also uses the news media too much as a vehicle for storytelling and exposition.

I think the film is really interesting and engaging up until she arrives on the planet at the center of the galaxy. After that I can't stop rolling my eyes. As far as ideas all it really offers up are some vague new age spiritualist hooey from Palmer Joss (man I bet he got beat up in school with a name like that), a really silly and heavy handed plot about the atheist scientist having to defend her "faith" and some trite sentimentality about how none of us are alone.

It really makes me want to read the book, though. I'm curious how it handles the "why do we send someone else to check her story" plot hole. As I understand it the Machine in the book is far more modest and five scientists were sent rather than just two, and the aliens on the beach are far more forthcoming about galactic society they are a part of.

 

[Vivek]

The Last Sci-fi Blog: Why 'Contact' Is the Best Science Fiction Movie No One Talks About | Movie News | Movies.com
A good look back at the film and how some of its technical aspects were ahead of its time.