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Contact - Patreon Version (Patreon)

Published:
2022-08-13 12:01:02
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

No Sync Required Version: https://cinebingers.ca/VQB9riClR2 - For Patreon tier "Bingers on The Wall" or higher.

Movie runtime: 2:29:40

Files

Previews only

Contact - Patreon Version

Comments

punterjoe

Contact the book (and inspiration for the screenplay) was co-written by Carl Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan (who has a small cameo in the film). I suspect a LOT of aspects of the story - especially the way the Tom Skerrit & James Woods characters keep cutting Ellie off and then explaining the obvious to a roomfull of smart people etc was Druyan - not Sagan. Not that Carl wasn't onboard with that, but I suspect those kinds of interactions never occurred to him. I think Ann Druyan was eclipsed by Carl's shadow, but it would not have been the same story without her contributions.

Odd Thomas

The other Jake Busey film from 1997 you'd love is Peter Jackson's 'The Frighteners'

Terry Yelmene

THE BEST OPEN MOUTHS and STARES and TEARS of DISBELIEF EVER! ...a wonderful Cinebinge reaction. For Carl Contact is... my absolute favorite sci-fi story. It's a story that uniquely redefines 'faith' as knowing our 'meaning' exists within 'each other' as we learn... whether we learn or not... or, even if we never find evidence... we remain each other's meaning. (just an aside: IMHO, Alan Silvestri composed one of the greatest film soundtracks ever, for this film.)

Angela D. Mitchell

Such a lovely reaction, you guys, to one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw it in the theatre and went back again five or six times. Just an amazing experience in the theatre. My favorite thing about the movie beyond Ellie as a wonderful, flawed, brilliant heroine and scientist is her relationship with Palmer, and how the film shows a genuinely romantic, respectful, charming and intense relationship between a person of faith and an atheist. They test each other about it, but intellectually, and they enjoy that. I love when she challenges Palmer at the party about one of his quotes and he just grins and goes, "Here we go!" because it is such a great character note that he isn't threatened by her intellect, he's delighted by it. I also love the Palmer is flawed and even hypocritical at times, but he always ends up owning it and being honest -- they are one of my favorite movie couples ever (and so pretty!). A little bit of trivia: The Very Large Array (VLA) was actually LESS powerful than Arecibo (RIP, darn it), but it was prettier on film, which is why Ellie starts at Arecibo then moves to the VLA. I visited Arecibo in the 80s as a kid, and it was in the rain forest (El Yunque) and the leaves that fell were so big they were larger than dinner plates. In 2011, Jodie Foster made a private donation that helped to save SETI's telescope array in California. In the book, Ellie wears unfinished rubies as earrings and pendants, and I love that this is an unspoken detail in the movie. Her father also wears a beautiful blue ring that represents the "pale blue dot" of Earth, and after his death, Ellie wears it on her right hand. In the book, Ellie is part of a group of 3 scientists that goes, but I thought the movie did the right thing by having Ellie go alone. Ellie's tan turtleneck and suit during her presentation to the Hadden people was a direct shoutout to Carl Sagan (who dressed similarly during his show COSMOS etc). There is also a picture of Carl in the lower left side of her mirror when she goes into her hotel room to see Haddon's message. There is a repeating "crescent" shape (strongly echoing the Corona Borealis, or "Northern Crown") -- we see it as the popcorn on the floor when her father dies, we see it in the four stars above the alien galaxy, then we see it sparkling in the hand of the alien in her father's form, then, for the final time, sparkling on the palm of Ellie's hand as she picks up a handful of gravel. There are a lot of meanings to this, but one of them is simply that the Corona borealis was Carl's favorite constellation because it resembled a satellite dish. I also think it echoes Sagan's frequent refrain that we are all "starstuff" (which we are, made of the remnants of stars). Carl Sagan gave the cast and crew a lecture on the universe before filming and was on set frequently despite his failing health. He was supposed to appear on the committee to choose a traveler but he passed away before they could film it. (sniffle) Last but not least, Jodie Foster's commentary on the DVD of this movie was incredibly smart, humble, charming, and funny (she loves pointing out all the times she was standing on a box). She also speaks very movingly about Carl Sagan and the final message of the film.

Angela D. Mitchell
>>89525776

Drumlin actually saves Ellie's life in the book by throwing himself in front of her. It would have been kind of a cool character note if that had happened in the film.

Angela D. Mitchell
>>107965604

As a woman, I absolutely agree that some of that would have come from Ann -- disrespect for women is frequently worse in hard science and women have to fight harder for respect. But I think it's unfair to say she was "eclipsed" by Carl's shadow, when Ann was not ever a writer or entertainer on her own who was "outshone" by him. The case could equally be made that Carl Sagan encouraged Ann Druyan to write for popular culture. She had honestly not sought the limelight at all before her involvement with him, but once she and Carl became romantically involved, she became his writing partner on Contact, as well as on several of their wonderful nonfiction books together. This was all because of Carl. I would call that a win-win. It has been very touching to see her carry forward his legacy in the years since his loss, as well -- while also remaining an important voice for women in science. I loved seeing her cameo here.

Amelie W

When people ask about my religion, I tell them I'm a Humanist. I believe in humanity, I choose to believe in us because I think people need someone to believe in us. Of the 95% of people the movie claims are religious, I would qualify because I do believe in something bigger than myself. So does Ellie, if you think about it. But the mistake the movie makes is setting science and spirituality against each other as though they represented competing, opposing, mutually exclusive forces. They are not competing any more than the force of gravity competes with the concept of love. Science is a tool for understanding the world we live in, faith is a tool for giving it meaning. Once one acknowledges those are two completely different tasks with practically no overlap, there's very little conflict to be had. In conclusion I never realized this movie was directed by Robert Zmemeckis before. It does have a lot of the Forrest Gump magic in it.

Erica Jones

Suuupppper late but if you liked this, you guys should watch Phenomenon

Elvenwitch

This is one of my favorite movies. Mostly because I need to believe that one day we may pull our heads from our collective asses and figure out how to get along. Plus, you know Carl Sagan. Edit: I believe that the music at the end is from the Carl Sagan show Cosmos.

Odd Thomas

Thanks for watching this! The next sci-fi I would recommend is Sunshine (2007). Great cast including Cillian Murphy and one of my favourite movie scores too. I'd rank it alongside Contact, Arrival & Interstellar

Lannisen

My dad used to put me in front of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series when I was home sick as a kid in the 80s, so we watched this as a family when it came out, and I always loved it.

William

i love this film, so glad you guys are reacting to it. Great to see you both live together

redddfer44

Awww, you made my day. What a wonderfully fitting film to watch with you guys in the same room. Probably one of my fave reactions from you guys, both for George's reactions to stupidity and Simone's genuine feels at the end. Maybe it's my post-9/11 brain, but did anyone else think that the security was *really* lax for the biggest, most significant project ever built by mankind? (Apparently it's explained better in the novel.) Also, I now kinda wanna see you tackle 2001: A Space Odyssey.

John Bresnahan

If you read books, you should read the novel this movie is based on. The movie is good, but the book is astounding. In particular, the movie actually excluded the dramatic climax of the book, which wonderfully completes the story.

David Martin

James Woods plays slimy a a$$h01e in nearly every movie he's in. A great villain. You want to slap him in the face, even if you're non-violent.

The Maestro

imagine meeting aliens but it's just your dead parents

Thomas Yanez

I absolutely love this movie, except for the part between when she "arrives" and when she "returns". That part is 100% meh for me.

Joe

Another thing they don't cover at the end, that would also be in the confidential report, along with the 18hrs of static, is that the chair in the pod was ripped out of place and crushed, and she was on the floor of the pod when recovered. All of that couldn't happen in 1/4 of a second that the pod was out of contact. If the chair ripped out in that time and was crushed, she would have also been crushed. So that is more proof that more time passed for her, and inside the pod, then on the outside.

Monica Alarcon

The Arecibo obsevatory was in Puerto Rico, they didn't film in Mexico, come on George... sorry that's one pet peeve of mine, people (usually in the US) thinking everything south of their border is "Mexico"

WastedPo

I've always liked this movie, but one thing in retrospect that I wish had been done differently was the ending. I understand the appeal Zemeckis has of pushing special effects - so the ending on the beach looking so surreal was probably pretty cool at the time. But thinking back, it would've been great if after she'd gone on her wormhole journey and managed to step out of the pod (or perceived herself doing so)... if she instead ended up back in her childhood home, depicted exactly in the same way that we saw in the flashbacks. And maybe she could encounter her father in THAT setting, the very night of the meteor shower, the night he collapsed. But in this case, he would be fine, and she would be an adult. I think such an ending would've made things even more open to interpretation for the audience as to whether Ellie was experiencing something real, or if it was wishful thinking.

mpd

Rewatching the end of this, I just had a thought ...what if the alien appeared as Hitler instead of her dad, because the transmissions from Earth were not understood. That would have been super awkward.

Opti_Frog

A great sci-fi with a couple of really awkward and awful moments. Especially the "prove that you loved your dad" moment, which is not the gotcha that the screenwriters like to think. The fact that Ellie has no answer makes her look like a really poor skeptic.

ChickensAreRacist

Opti_Frog, personally disagree. I think it was a good point from his perspective. ‘Prove that you love your dad’. Cuz, it’s about an intangible, a feeling. And one can’t prove a feeling, and Faith is a feeling. Also I think the scene was necessary for his character’s arc to the end. And hers to a degree as well.

Chase Schleich
>>89547667

Have Ellie freak out seeing Hitler standing before her so she shoves the cyanide pill into Hitlers mouth and says "I got you, you son of a bitch!"

Chase Schleich
>>89524122

One day, when religion and paranoid governments no longer exist. Then we'll finally have that "heads pulling out of asses" moment. Until then, we're all fucked lol.

Chase Schleich
>>89524426

Are you an alien from out in the universe somewhere so watching Cosmos made you feel more at home?

Jim Frykman

Oh man Simone's rom-com synopsis at the end was the perfect ice-breaker for post movie discussion :D

Gary Fixler
>>89546346

I saw it in the theater back in the day, and we noticed things at the beach looked weird, and that her face was weird in the pod just before that.

Opti_Frog
>>89550632

Feelings, emotions and moods are not intangible. They are caused by chemical reactions in your brain and body. Even without going into biology, there are plenty of ways Ellie could provide evidence that she loved her dad. Memorabilia, photos and testimony from extended family are just a few examples. Ellie, as a scientist, should also point out to Palmer that proof is mostly a mathematical term and that he's using it colloquially. Science deals with evidence, not proof. Proof is a fact that demonstrates something to be real or true. Evidence is information that might lead one to believe something to be real or true. Proof is final and conclusive. Evidence is tentative. Faith is the reason people give when they don't have evidence.

ChickensAreRacist
>>89550632

Yeah she could provide evidence as you said here, but you initially said (as did the movie) ‘proof’. Intangible means ‘Not having physical presence’. So feelings, such as love for anything, is intangible. One can describe it, but not show it in their case given they weren’t around tech/systems that could monitor what may show as certain feelings. So no, in no way could she ‘prove’ she loved her dad right then in any sense of the word. Unless you know something Carl Jung didn’t know.

Opti_Frog
>>89550632

I used the word "proof" because that's the word that was used in the movie. I also said Palmer was using it colloquially. It would be quite outrageous of him to suggest that she should actually provide final and conclusive proof of her love of her father. It would be reasonable of him to request evidence, which is probably what he was asking for since he used the word "proof" in an everyday manner. In discussions about belief, knowledge, evidence and truth it is important to be clear about what words mean in a scientific context. Otherwise we get the "it's just a theory" shtick. That's where the film falls a bit short. Palmers request is a bad one, and easily refuted. The movie treats it like he said something profound. Chemicals in your body are not a physical presence? It seems to me that you think that feelings are some magical thing that is somehow divorced from our biology. Anyway, i was not suggesting they hook Ellie up to machines to measure her chemical composition to "prove" her love for her father. I was just saying that having feelings isn't a magical, intangible phenomenon. My main point was: any reasonable person wouldn't ask her for proof. They would ask her for evidence.

gobmob2000
>>89541112

And the massive light show nobody could explain, the vibrations that kept coming up that nobody could explain, the deadly radiation but the core had "good weather" that nobody could explain. But we are supposed to believe that an eccentric billionaire, who is known for his cut throat and no nonsense investments, invented entirely new physics and engineering just for the lols. Plus the whole "He used a satellite" excuse would be really easy to check by just by comparing the timestamps that different observatories recorded when receiving the signal. Using this info you can estimate the direction a signal would have to come from, which would be really hard for a satellite to make look like Vega. There are other methods one can possibly use to eliminate the satellite excuse such as simply having a look if there was a satellite. Satellites are very bright and really easy to detect, they shine like a lighthouse in the night sky (ironically it can actually be a problem for astronomers), its basically impossibly to hide a satellite, so much so that many amateurs track them, even military spy satellites, you can look up their exact position online.

gobmob2000
>>89549037

Exactly, its false equivalence. The equivalent question would be "prove that your dad existed". Nobody actually doubts that people really do belive in God and even love him. We are not asking for proof of peoples love for God but of God himself You can love a being that does not exist, as a child, i loved Santa, but nobody thinks he is real.

gobmob2000
>>89550632

Its also not a equivalent question and bit of a strawman. There are plenty of people who obviously love God and devote their entire lives to him. Her doubt is not in his love of God, but rather in God himself. She, after all, can definitivly prove that her Dad existed, but he can not do so for God.

Who Are These People

The Bill Clinton footage was in relation to the discovery of organic molecules on extraterrestrial rocks; the far implication is there's life in space, the more mundane is simply that common elements formed into primitive organic compounds. The book was written long before Clinton was President, so that footage was a clever idea by Zemeckis (also, don't forget, he made Castaway, Roger Rabbit, and Back to the Future- is there anything he can't do?)

Who Are These People

"Who lives in a pineapple up in the sky? Jo-Dee Fos-Ter" is possibly the most disrespectful thing I've ever heard in context of a scene depicting the most awe inspiring moment in human history. Typical of you two :D The story used symbols to describe Purpose and Father- both Ellie and Palmer were motivated to their Purpose by their Father. Sagan was a genius scientist; scientists look for patterns, and geniuses find them. He was describing the parallel trunks of science and religion both growing from the same seed; the human spirit of discovery. It's supposed to make you think about why you believe at all, what is the point of believing anything? Searching for purpose.

Paul Hess

Thank you for an honest reaction to one of the most amazing movies ever. Carl Sagan, of course!

William

The signal broadcasting at the 1936 Berlin Olpmpics barely reached the other side of Berlin. It was an attemp to show NAZI supremacy. The fiirst strongest signal was around late 50's or early 60's, probably the ED Sullivan Show. Sorry Aliens :) Great reaction guys

Anonymous

This film has its silly moments but at its core is the fundamental question of where faith takes you even when you can't prove why you believe in what you believe. Ellie comes to that moment when she's put in the spotlight about proving her experience when she has no proof yet she believes it happened which is contrasted with her earlier conversation about loving her dad without proof. People may say that was meant to be a "gotcha" moment to trick Ellie but in reality it can be used against Palmer as well; if she can no more prove she loved her dad he can no more prove that God existed, the argument works both ways.

Opti_Frog
>>90335464

Er... Palmer is not trying to prove god. His point with the "prove you loved your dad" is this: "You can't prove that you loved your father. Since neither can be proven, i have to take both god and your love for your dad on faith." Which is totally one of the silly moments you referred to, of course. 😊 If someone CAN give credible evidence for what they believe, they never talk about taking it on faith. You don't need faith when you have evidence. That is why faith is useless as a tool to find truth.

Paul Hess
>>89546346

@Wasted you should check out the book, it's excellent. As far as the ending, the book gives a plausible context of why her father-figure comes out to the beach to meet her, but in the movie they just sort of made it happen to simplify things.

Kinokind

I always thought this was a false dichotomy. Whether Ellie loves her father is completely subjective. She decides if she does or not. It is up to her. Objective facts are dependent on evidence.

James Cain

I’m really surprised you didn’t mention how much Matthew McConaughey’s character sucked. Every time Jodie Foster’s character gets ahead, there is McConaughey knocking her down. It’s easy to focus on Tom Skerritt’s character because he’s so overtly terrible, but McConaughey really isn’t much better.