 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
24.91.201.174
This is based on a novel by the late Carl Sagan and tells of a SETI radio astronomer who after years of trying receives a message from extra terrestrial intelligence in the Vegan star system. The aliens send plans the build a transport and the government builds it, only to have it destroyed by a religious fanatic. Fortunately another was also built in secret and Jodie Foster, our heroine, travels in it. Matthew Mcaonaghy also stars as her former minister love interest. Tom Skerrit is on hand as Foster's superior who hogs the limelight.I saw this theatrically and have enjoyed returning to it over the years on my laserdisc copy. Excellent use of the 2.35 Panavision
widescreen and good sound as well. It's always puzzled me at the end that even though the taspes are blank the other scientists don't believe she went anywhere. The tapes are blank but didn't they run for 15 hours?
Follow Ups:
i can't really critique it well any longer. i do remember that i liked the book more - especially the 'code breaking' chapters, which the film whizzed thru w/o much interest. that part of the book is worth reading by itself. and in hindsight, i remember enuf of the film to say that Bambi's assessment, below, is right on. you have to ignore some of the stuff she mentions to be able to tolerate the plot. read the book.for another 'earth guys meet other guys' book, i really liked 'dragon's egg' by robt forward. v. cool plot... really innovative, altho i'm not sure i can fathom the nature of the alien critters... i got the tip for this book on an airplane, sitting next to a guy who was an exec with disney. one of my favorite sci-fi's.
n
( huh? )
rico,I tried to like "Contact", which has some fine effects, and attention to detail, but I really have come to dislike almost everything in the story. Far, far, too much time is spent with the realationship between Foster and Skerritt who waltzes in for the discoverys' credit. I know a few people at NASA and JPL and the spirit in these agnecies does not have the dynamics of a nursery school recess. The tension developed over this issue is only a distraction and subtracts from the story. I suppose it was set up so that when Skerritt dies, we are so annoyed with this puffed up obnoxious berk, the audience can cheer his demise. But, what did this sub-plot contribute to the story? Only delay and irritation, as in the end Skerritt's character contributes nothing except that irritation and a little PR that may or may not have secured some funding for the transpot device.
Secondly, I hated the climatic trip that Foster makes- in which she goes a billion light years in a few seconds to meet her "daddy" on a beach on a less glamourous version of Hawaii. This few minutes of vague back story from the dead "father" is the grand message from the Universe? All that time, effort, expense, and fatalities and absolutely nothing was learned about the alien civilisation. Foster could have saved all the trouble by eating lobster one hour before bed and having a five minute dream.
The non-relationship with the ex-seminary student looking for the big answers went nowhere also and there was no chemistry between the two in any way.
In spite of the pointlessness of so much of "Contact", when I relax the analytical brain and turn off the Wal-Mart science and Hallmark sentimentality, it is kind of enjoyable. At least it propels itself along well.
But, I think this movie would put most children off ever becoming involved in space exploration. Look at the facts: Thousands of hours of dedicated study and the credit is stolen in five minutes, trillions of Bushniks and lives spent, trillons of miles travel and one person gets five minutes with a replica of her dead father with some vague sentimental thoughts on eternity? Having fun with science yet?
As I say, I actually enjoy this one more than it appears here, but "Contact" could have been much. much better with a different set of plot emphases and characters.
Cheers,
Bambi B
has anyone read Sagan's book, and how does it compare with the film?I had heard that the McConaughey character is not in the book. He always seemed to me to be a rather awkward "add-on" designed to somehow placate the evangelicals. After all, Sagan was never interested in this particular mindset, and it seems unlikely that he would have wanted to see it represented in the film, had he lived.
C.B.,Good points.
Until today I didn't know "Contact" was based on a book by Sagan. Given Sagan's temperament, the movie now seems doubly confused in it's approach. You are correct to ask for a check back to the book. I would be surprised if Sagan had pushed the academic infighting the way depicted and the McConaughey character indeed seemed an add-on for typical Hollywood "balance". I would have thought Sagan would stick to the wonderment of first alien contact, the fantasy technology, and World reaction- not melo-drama.
Cheers,
Bambi B
A definitely eye-catching movie, and better than most big-budget fare. Matthew McConaghey (sp?) was rather a dissapointment in his role.
In Vino Veritas
or encrypted with otherworldly code. *A gift* for the next step?
The disparity of several hours running time vs very short journey witnessed.
Freezing her out with disbelief a convenient road that many bureaucracies travel.
Subtle ending...for a sequel?
Dragged a bit for me. I liked the line..."why buy one,when you can have two, for twice the price?"
Sincerely,Beanz
"Jeopardy Champ 4 Prez","He knows when to push the button and has all the right answers".
I enjoyed the film as well. From what I remember, the tapes actually recorded a linear length of time. Although blank, the seconds (?) of the event as experienced from the earth station was shown as a potential journey in hours of time. Was this fact the evidence of time and space travel?
but the powers that be seemed to feel that it was best to play along with the 'conspiracy' and not open up the 'alien' aspect with only 'blank tape' of an longer duration than the mission itself, as the only evidence that the mission went as planned.Chris
Agree, but the dream sequence with the father introduces questionable issues. Not only does Foster travel dimensionally, but possibly across states of existence or being. I hope that makes some sense as it is difficult to describe what the movie inferred. Did Carl Sagan touch upon these complexities in his writings?Regards
the 'dream sequence' wasn't a dream. The aliens could read thoughts and memories and felt it best to take the form of her father, to be less frightening and more comforting. They felt that we weren't ready for any prolonged first contact.That's what I got out of a few viewings over a bunch of years.
Chris
There you go! Too many years since my single viewing and a twisted memory of the details. For me, it's a good movie worth watching again. Thanks for the insight.
i think the travel to Virgo sequence was demonstrating time contraction as theorized by Lorentz, etc. for objects traveling near lightspeed. So she "aged' much less rapidly than people on earth. The difference in "clock times" is evidenced by hours of blank tape. Note: Sagan originally was going to use a black hole as mechanism for Dr. Arroway's time travel until Kip Thorne at CalTech convinced him that wouldn't work, so "wormhole" was substituted.
Does the Lorentz theory state that as one travels near lightspeed there exists a proportional contraction of time, which can be calculated in relation to the proximity to the finite measure? In other words, does time slow down at a specified rate based on travel speed?Wormhole has become a familiar vehicle. I think without a “Stargate” concept, wormholes are a bit incomprehensible.
What did you make of the Father on the beach sequence?
There was an experiment in 1971 testing the time dilation theory in which (very accurate) atomic clocks were flown around the world to see if time "slowed down" on the clocks in the aircraft relative to identical ones on Earth. They found out the clocks aboard the aircraft when it finally landed were about 50ns behind the stationary clocks on Earth.
Fascinating... But, I assume the results are considered meaningless relative to the small increment in time at applicable speeds.Since this is the films asylum, when the speed of light is reached has anyone theorized the potential for standardized “Altered States”?
Interesting parallel between contact and altered states, now that you mention it...
Lorentz "transformations" are equations showing how relative velocity of two "reference frames" - one moving, the other stationary affect time, mass and dimension (length) when measurements of those quantities are compared. No "large" effects show up until speed of the moving frame is very close to speed of light, relative to stationary frame. At slower speeds, the equations are still valid, differences just too small to measure.Father on beach sequence was a bit dramatic but not bad, made sense considering the rest of the movie, like young Arroway contacting the beach in Florida on ham radio at beginning of movie.
Except for the "dream scene". It just wasn't up to par with the rest to me. As for the missing hours of tape; I think only a few people knew about the blank hours. (?)
I enjoyed it's theological implications. None of which were in the very dry and technical book. Should we send an athiest to talk to god if we find *it* exists? I loved her "moment of truth".The fact that the tape ran so long was the final scene payoff. The only proof that her trip DID happen when to the naked eye on earth it was only an instant. It was left up to the audience as to whether the world eventually learns the truth.
Fascinating film, a personal favorite.
Big J.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
