Sphere (1998): Why Did It Bomb? | Video Essay
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- Опубликовано: 11 апр 2023
- Techno-thrillers are a rarity, yet few have hit rock bottom like Sphere. This video essay examines how its science watered-down the tension; and why Sphere isn't quite as bad as people may or may not remember.
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Heyo! No you’re not alone I think about this movie all the time. It was one of my favorite books as a kid and honestly I think the movie is great. I never understood the hate for it, it’s such a unique film
Another fun fact: Dustin Hoffman being scheduled for this and BL's previous film "Wag the dog" resulted in DH being unable to play John Quincy Adams for Steven Spielberg in "Amistad"; one of the few times he likely recently has never gotten his first choice.
Loved this movie. Underrated
Its a product of its time. I think this movie could have been much stronger say 10-15 years later perhaps? Less of the 90s silly bagage. BUT its a hell of a lot less silly that its contemporaries. Its clever, well acted, good cast, special effects are ok for the time. It should not have been a bomb because its not a bad movie. Not even close.
I've probably seen sphere like 300 times I have it on DVD and on my PS Vita😊 it sits as my 2nd favorite movie after EventHorizon.
Wish we could get a true directors cut of event horizon
Need to this movie again now.
My favorite part of the book and the film is that it deals with arguably the coolest (and most difficult to explore) super power in all of fiction, and it's not time travel. It's reality manipulation
Nope! Loved it ever since it came out when i was 15 years old… connected with it immediately…
unfortunately i skipped it in theatres and only picked it up as a rental… but i think i‘ve seen it a dozen times since then and got all the releases it got which were not many…
hell it didn’t even get a blu ray release where i live (germany)
so i had to import it…
Elliot Goldenthals score is fantastic and one of the reasons why i love it so much…
I didn't see the movie when it was released as I wasn't shown where I lived but I was shown 2 years later on cable TV and I recorded it.
It was an interesting movie and it's ending made a perfect sense to me as it resolved both the dangers of reality warping powers and the time paradox.
A significant part for the bombing was the release date. January/February release is almost a guaranteed bomb.
Back in the late 90s i read the novel of which the movie is based on, and it was not bad at all. To discover a movie was made has given me an itch that I need to scratch so bad!!
I read it for the first time this month. After having seen it back when it came out. Seeing the movie first kinda ruined the book for me but I delighted in the expansion of the story; and, the technical/logical aspects of Crichton's writing. (The man accomplished a hell of a lot in his lifetime.) What sticks is that the book was really concerned with not only presenting questions but also describing fear and paranoia. The experiments discussed early in book describe exactly why this group is unlikely to fall apart. And yet they fall apart because what they encounter changes/exposes who they are. I digress. The book and movie are fascinating. Would loved to have seen it as a Sci Fi Channel mini series, back in the day, that's closer to the book. Like Dune or The Triangle.
You’re definitely not alone. Just finished reading the book again after more than 20 years; I always liked the film, probably because of my long time love towards Dustin Hoffman as an actor.
I think the movie caputred brilliantly the claustrophobic atmosphere of the book. Plus I think the main intention of the author of the book - Michael Crichton - and therefore the screenwriters was mainly drama about people under tremendous stress and not some action packed sci fi thriller.
Plus, let’s not forget the time when the movie was originally released in the US theatres - it was about the time when “Titanic” was still no. 1 movie at the box office. :)
I would also recommend the book to folks that like a slow-building sci-fi mystery/horror. It's a fine story.
Nah i just rewatched it after watching abyss and leviathan (which really was just the thing underwater) and this mivie was great. I loved it. Crichtons work is so underrated
I've always dug this flick quite a bit.
"Sphere" is one of my favorite novels by Michael Crichton (even though my 30-something self recognizes the flaws in his writing - mostly the dialogue), but this movie adaptation just didn't work for me. As a teenager, I remember my biggest annoyance being the fact that the giant squid never appears on-screen (except for synthetic aperture sonar imagery and the brief shot of its tail passing the habitat porthole), which feels like a cheap artistic trick.
I loved the sphere, the only thing is i wish we could of seen the giant squid
Maybe because the wrong aspect ratio made everyone look like they had very long faces.
Had no idea it bombed, thought it was great
You deserve more subscribers! Keep at it!
Thank you! That means the world to me.
Rewatchability podcast discussed this in 2014 because both were Michael Crichton adaptations directed by Barry Levinson.
Sphere showed the power of the mind. What you believe is what you subconsciously project into your reality. The movie watching collective was not ready for that in the late 1990’s especially from Michael Crichton. They wanted another amusement ride to safely take them on a roller coaster of emotions and a dumb ending that would not make them question everything.
The sphere didn’t just show, but showed the shortest path to this. Movie characters: “Humanity is not ready for this yet”
Really good essay/review
NO! You are not alone in your assessment of this film. It was a great movie that caused you to take an honest look at the possibilities of humanity and black holes. I loved it ;)
I loved the movie even got the book by Michael Crichton
Just watched this movie. Loved it! Keep it going dude
A review for this film inadvertently resulted in BL's next film "Liberty Heights"; Podcast like it's 1999 discussed the situation years ago.
I love sphere
From release it, and The Abyss have been some of my favorite films of all time. Sure there are plot holes but it has a great atmosphere.
I rather enjoyed Sphere, but I feel it didn't let its concepts linger. Compare it to Carpenter's The Thing and there's this clear distinction of paranoia that works and can breathe and a film that rushes from beat to beat with a few key exemptions such as the beautiful "we die down here" scene. I still love this film, but largely feel it was paced, edited, or directed in a way that wasn't compatible with its strengths.
I think it was a book adaptation and it tried to keep the books pacing maybe? I loved this movie but I can see how it's pacing wasn't for everyone
"To say that Sphere isn't everyone's cup of tea goes without saying."
Are you for real?
This is, like Korean AI, right?
Personally I thought the casting was awful, they just picked the wrong actor's for the roles. I'd already read the book & the actor's did not fit the roles, imho.
An extra scene from a tv airing on the SciFi Channel in 2000 I believe.
Isn't there a tv adaptation in the works?
Stupid ending. We saw it in theaters and hated they took an interesting movie and ruined it with oh hey btw ______.
Me and my dad still laugh about how disappointed we were by it 25+ years later.
The ending is brilliant. Humanity is not yet ready to recognize absolute freedom of creativity.
yet Ridley learned nothing, and did the same thing in Prometheus...and then in alien covenant
A bit to deep for the average Joe.
I really hated this one. Almost every role was badly mis-cast.
Because it is pretty boring, I guess
Audiences are dumb! Just look at all the remakes. Does anyone read Shakespeare anymore???