Carl Sagan's COSMOS and CONTACT
Hello there fellow cineastes! My life was enhanced by Carl Sagan when he popularized science to me and the masses during his brilliant career. As a 'youngling' I already had discovered the Astronomy books at the library and grew up with the Apollo program already having gone to the moon six times.
When I was ten years old 'Star Wars' blew me out of the theater and into other worlds, as did as any other science fiction I could see or read. So I was primed when COSMOS first aired at the beginning of the 1980s.
I waited in anticipation of each new episode like other kids would wait for their favorite sports team to play each week. I got the COSMOS compantion book and devoured it over and over again, as well as reading everything I could get my hands on dealing with space. Then when Carl Sagan wrote his only novel 'Contact' I was enthralled! I loved it and Sagan became a huge hero of mine.
When a film of 'Contact' was made 12 years later, I was lucky enough to see it at an advanced screening. It is the last time that I remember the audience applauding when the film ended, and I remember lamenting the fact that Sagan hadn't survived long enough to see the film completed.
Since then I've seen the film many times. I took friends and family to it in the original theatrical run. I bought it on DVD (one of the first major DVD releases at the time, when the format was new.) And now I have re-screened it on Blu-ray.
Even if you have seen the movie before, you owe it to yourself and anyone you can share it with, to watch it again. From the opening cosmic zoom shot to the last melancholy scene that fades out to the simple dedication of 'For Carl', it is sheer mind-blowing greatness! Even though the narrative has been slightly altered for cinema and so for a broad movie-going audience, you don't get films like this very often to enjoy on so many levels.
Yes, it is based on the real SETI program. Yes, it is a loss of family drama, and yes it is an adventure with special effects (both obvious and invisible) that are still some of the wildest and most beautiful ever to grace the screen. But mostly it is a fun, mind-expanding trip - the best since Kubrick's 2001 - and if you aren't fascinated by the ideas and possibilities of science and our place in the universe after watching it, well then... go watch another episode of American Idol.
This is true science fiction of the highest order, at least that will come out of the black hole of Hollywood. The blu-ray disc version looks absolutely incredible! The sound design is top notch, and the acting and direction are some of the best ever. Robert Zemekis and his cast featuring Jodie Foster (never looking more beautiful, by the way) make it look easy, but re-watching it again made me realize how truly difficult it must be to make a great movie. It is a miracle to me every time I see a really good film and know that so many factors can derail it.
Rent or buy 'Contact' today, add it to your collection and get the kids to check it out with you and then discuss it when it is over. Unlike so many other movies you could watch together, you won't soon forget this masterpiece. - Article by XIM
When I was ten years old 'Star Wars' blew me out of the theater and into other worlds, as did as any other science fiction I could see or read. So I was primed when COSMOS first aired at the beginning of the 1980s.
I waited in anticipation of each new episode like other kids would wait for their favorite sports team to play each week. I got the COSMOS compantion book and devoured it over and over again, as well as reading everything I could get my hands on dealing with space. Then when Carl Sagan wrote his only novel 'Contact' I was enthralled! I loved it and Sagan became a huge hero of mine.
When a film of 'Contact' was made 12 years later, I was lucky enough to see it at an advanced screening. It is the last time that I remember the audience applauding when the film ended, and I remember lamenting the fact that Sagan hadn't survived long enough to see the film completed.
Since then I've seen the film many times. I took friends and family to it in the original theatrical run. I bought it on DVD (one of the first major DVD releases at the time, when the format was new.) And now I have re-screened it on Blu-ray.
Even if you have seen the movie before, you owe it to yourself and anyone you can share it with, to watch it again. From the opening cosmic zoom shot to the last melancholy scene that fades out to the simple dedication of 'For Carl', it is sheer mind-blowing greatness! Even though the narrative has been slightly altered for cinema and so for a broad movie-going audience, you don't get films like this very often to enjoy on so many levels.
Yes, it is based on the real SETI program. Yes, it is a loss of family drama, and yes it is an adventure with special effects (both obvious and invisible) that are still some of the wildest and most beautiful ever to grace the screen. But mostly it is a fun, mind-expanding trip - the best since Kubrick's 2001 - and if you aren't fascinated by the ideas and possibilities of science and our place in the universe after watching it, well then... go watch another episode of American Idol.
This is true science fiction of the highest order, at least that will come out of the black hole of Hollywood. The blu-ray disc version looks absolutely incredible! The sound design is top notch, and the acting and direction are some of the best ever. Robert Zemekis and his cast featuring Jodie Foster (never looking more beautiful, by the way) make it look easy, but re-watching it again made me realize how truly difficult it must be to make a great movie. It is a miracle to me every time I see a really good film and know that so many factors can derail it.
Rent or buy 'Contact' today, add it to your collection and get the kids to check it out with you and then discuss it when it is over. Unlike so many other movies you could watch together, you won't soon forget this masterpiece. - Article by XIM