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Baltimore Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Terror can fill any space.
A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart.
Wuchak
Nov 9, 2024 · via TMDB
**_The power to actualize your thoughts and fears_** A huge spacecraft at the bottom of the Pacific ocean with a strange, humming sphere found inside. A team of scientists are sent down to investigate – a psychologist (Dustin Hoffman), a mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), a biochemist (Sharon Stone) and an astrophysicist (Liev Schreiber). Two notable characters at the station on the ocean floor are played by Peter Coyote and Queen Latifah. Mystery and (some) horror ensue. Based on Michael Crichton's 1987 novel, "Sphere" (1998) intermixes elements of other scif-fi flicks, like "Forbidden Planet," "Solaris," "Alien," "Galaxy of Terror" and "The Abyss." Like those movies, the plot involves a small group of people who are isolated from society and encounter the unknown. The theme is the actualization of one's thoughts and fears and the potential for good or, more likely, bad that comes with it. Are we mature enough as a species to handle such power? Of course, we already have this power, just not to the degree depicted in the story (seemingly). Anything important that we do, whether productive or destructive, is formulated within first and then manifests without, like a song or a book or a loving relationship. If we truly knew the power at our disposal we'd hardly be able to sleep at night we'd be so excited! The first hour or so is quite good because the film definitely makes you feel like you're at the bottom of the ocean. The mystery is engaging and the actors formidable. Unfortunately, some parts of the second half don't work so well, which destroys the illusion of the movie. As far as the ending goes, it features tricky material that's not easy to pull off. The fact that it's somewhat successful is largely due to having great actors. Despite the murkiness of parts of the second half, the theme is great. This isn't a slasher film in space, like "Alien," and refuses exploitive thrills, like "Galaxy of Terror." Rather, it shoots for well-acted drama and thought-provoking ideas. However, there are some harrowing aspects, like the jelly fish sequence. While many lambaste "Sphere," it wasn't the box office dog you might think in light of the bad press. It made $37 million (in 1998 dollars) in the USA alone, which is hardly a clunker. The problem was that it cost over twice that to make. It runs 2 hours, 14 minutes. GRADE: B- QUESTIONS ON THE THEME (***Don't read further unless you've seen the film***) Why is it that the dark side of the human subconscious is empowered by the alien technology/entity? Why not the positive side? The four scientists (and the others) strike me as quality souls who pretty much have it together. While not perfect human specimens, they're strong people who have their phobias and destructive emotions under control. So why aren't their GOOD, PRODUCTIVE thoughts/desires manifested rather than the bad? I could see if the story took place in a prison and the characters were pieces of sheet, but that's not the case. Also, who or what does the sphere represent? The Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9)?
Kamurai
Jun 30, 2021 · via TMDB
Great watch, would watch again, and do recommend. I feel like I have a thing for the isolationism of deep sea bases. "Bioshock", "Deep Blue Sea", "The Meg", "Underwater", "The Abyss": just the idea of being far away from any help in the most dangerous living conditions possible on the planet. Add in a mysteriously time traveling alien sphere and let bake in the survival situation where people are losing their minds and things keep manifesting into existence. It's a little insane, but it has a quality cast, plot, and some great action for all the characters being a bunch of nerds.
JPV852
Jul 20, 2020 · via TMDB
Interesting idea but poorly executed and overly long. Acting was okay but nobody really stood out. At least some of the effects weren't too bad for 1998. I actually back in the day read the novel but don't remember anything from it, just know this adaptation was pretty different. **2.5/5**
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Dustin Hoffman
Dr. Norman Goodman
Sharon Stone
Dr. Elizabeth 'Beth' Halperin
Samuel L. Jackson
Dr. Harry Adams
Peter Coyote
Captain Harold C. Barnes
Liev Schreiber
Dr. Ted Fielding
Queen Latifah
Alice 'Teeny' Fletcher
Marga Gómez
Jane Edmunds
Huey Lewis
Helicopter Pilot
Bernard Hocke
Seaman
James Pickens Jr.
O.S.S.A. Instructor
Michael Keys Hall
O.S.S.A. Official
Ralph Tabakin
O.S.S.A. Official
Adam Greenberg
Director of Photography
P. Scott Sakamoto
Steadicam Operator
Brian Hamill
Still Photographer
Allan A. Apone
Key Makeup Artist
Tory Belleci
Carpenter
Alex Daniels
Stunt Coordinator
Ronnie Rondell Jr.
Stunt Coordinator
Lisa McCullough
Stunts
Tim Rigby
Stunts
Barry Levinson
Director
Katterli Frauenfelder
First Assistant Director
David R. Ellis
Second Unit Director
Ellen Chenoweth
Casting
Barry Levinson
Producer
Michael Crichton
Producer
Elliot Goldenthal
Original Music Composer
Lora Hirschberg
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Tom Johnson
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Michael Silvers
Supervising Dialogue Editor
Daryl Tucker
VFX Artist
Aaron Dem
Visual Effects Producer
Kurt Wimmer
Adaptation
Michael Crichton
Novel
Paul Attanasio
Screenplay
Against All Odds
AEON
Repair of Memory
Back to the Future
The Prestige
The Shining
The Handmaiden
Doctor Who: Earthshock
Doctor Who: The Mind Robber
Metropolis
Stalker
2001: A Space Odyssey
Whispers in the Gloom
Blade Runner
La Jetée
Anatomy of a Murder
Donnie Darko
Jaws
Twelve Monkeys
Predator
Treasure Planet
Suspect X
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The Bourne Identity
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Experiment
Murder She Said
The Bourne Supremacy
Kings Row
Star Trek Into Darkness
They Live
Night Train to Munich
Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer
Men in Black
The Busy Body
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Doraemon: Nobita's New Great Adventure Into the Underworld - The Seven Magic Users
C(r)ook
Starship Troopers
The Thirteenth Floor
Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis
From Russia with Love
Arlington Road
Save the Green Planet!
The Dead Zone
Who Can Kill a Child?
Momo
The Trouble with Harry
U.F.O.
Nagai Nagai Satsujin
Sunshine
Die Hard 2
Meet the Robinsons
Runaway Jury
KKN: Curse of the Dancing Village - Luwih Dowo, Luwih Medeni
Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery
Hellraiser
Armageddon
23
Payback
The War of the Worlds
Death Sentence
Images
Amphibian Man
The Girl From Hong Kong
The Da Vinci Code
Repo Man
The Physician II
Exam
Spuk am Tor der Zeit
The Last Starfighter
The Man from Majorca
War of the Worlds
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Secret Window
Blindness
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Dédalo
UFOTOG
Devil in a Blue Dress
Mars Attacks!
Press Play
Elevation
Alien Xmas
Men in Black II
Derailed
Meg 2: The Trench
The Molly Maguires
Monkey Shines
Hannibal Rising
Buffalo Soldiers
Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle
A Kiss Before Dying
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Just Cause
Phoenix Forgotten
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Crossing
Moonraker
Monsters
The Omega Man
The Accused
The Kennel Murder Case
Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space
Topaz
Macabre
Sons of Steel
The Night of the Undead
Solaris
A Beautiful Star
Handling the Undead
Race to Witch Mountain
One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing
The Skeleton's Compass
Dark Water
The Rhythm Section
Danur: I Can See Ghosts
Speed Kills
Mother's Boys
Godkiller: Walk Among Us
The Visitor
Meet Dave
Top of the Food Chain
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Doctor Who: The Dominators
Dimension 5
The Mediator
The Falling
Hellraiser: Hellseeker
Murder in the Cassava Patch
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Journey to the Seventh Planet
Wide Sargasso Sea
Night Surf
Very Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind
Dead Babies
Solar Crisis
My Alien Girlfriend
Area 51: The Alien Interview
The Brother from Space
D.N.E.: Do Not Erase
Horror of the Blood Monsters
Someone Dies!
Alien Domicile
Muž v osidlech
Three
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Nurture of the Beast
Alien Chronicles: USOs and Under Water Alien Bases
Bellingham’s Belief
Time Leap
It Had to Be You
The Strange
Caves of Steel
The Traveler
Take me back
Going Bananas
Untitled
The Thing
A Quiet Place Part II
Predestination
The Abyss
Dark City
Starship Troopers
The Mist
The X-Files
Iron Lung
2073
The Quiet Earth
Prometheus
Event Horizon
Pandorum
Signal One
The Mandela Effect
The Thing
Parallel
Lifeforce
57 Seconds
Sea Fever
The Deep
Below
Black Box
Containment
Zoe
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Project Ithaca
The Time Shifters
Feb 13, 1998
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The Reckoning
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
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2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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