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Enemy Mine (film)
Encyclopedia
Enemy Mine is a 1985
science fiction film
based on the story of the same title by Barry B. Longyear
. It was produced by 20th Century Fox
, directed by Wolfgang Petersen
, and starred Dennis Quaid
and Louis Gossett, Jr.
Beset by production problems, including a change of director, that caused its budget to spiral out of control, it was a critical and financial disappointment.
war
between human
s (associated as the Bilateral Terran Alliance, or BTA) and Dracs
(a reptilian humanoid race) is being fought. On July 11, 2092, Human pilot Willis E. Davidge (Dennis Quaid
) and Drac pilot Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett, Jr.
) engage in a spacecraft battle which results in both crash-landing on Fyrine IV, a strange, dark alien world with two moons, a breathable atmosphere, water, and bizarre animal life.
After initial hostilities, the two eventually learn to cooperate in order to survive. They work together to build a shelter for protection against intermittent bombardment by meteorite
s, and to satisfy their needs for food, water, and warmth. Over a period of years, they learn to overcome their differences, become friends, and learn each other's languages and cultures. Each saves the other's life on at least one occasion.
Davidge, haunted by dreams of spaceships landing on the planet, leaves in search of help. He finds signs of a human presence, but learns that the planet has been periodically visited by human miners known as "Scavengers," who employ Dracs
as slave labor. He returns to warn Jeriba (whom Davidge nicknames "Jerry") only to discover that Jeriba is pregnant; (Dracs
reproduce asexually
with no control over timing of conception).
The combination of a blizzard and attack by one of the planet's predators forces Davidge and Jeriba to flee their shelter. To pass the time Jeriba teaches Davidge his full ancestry, a necessity if his child is to be accepted into Drac society. Jeriba later dies during the childbirth, but not before making Davidge swear that if he ever escapes the planet to take Jeriba's child back to Dracon (the Drac Homeworld) and recite his full ancestry so he can join Drac society.
Davidge raises the child Zammis (Bumper Robinson
) as his own. Over the years, Davidge and Zammis form a very close bond, and although the young Drac refers to Davidge as its 'uncle', its emotional range towards Davidge is as a son would look up to a father — an emotion that Davidge shares as well. Davidge discovers that that the Scavengers have returned to the planet in search of minerals and ore deposits, and he knows that they have little regard for Drac life, so he remains on guard to keep Zammis from getting captured or killed should they run into any of the miners. However, Zammis does not realize the danger and goes off to get a closer look at the Scavenger ship. He is quickly discovered by the Scavenger captain, Stubbs, and his brother Johnny. Davidge, who has been following, attacks the brothers in a bid to save Zammis, but is violently gunned down. A BTA patrol ship finds Davidge, unrecognizable and apparently dead, and it returns him to the space station where he was formerly based on September 6, 2095.
On the station, during the funeral ceremony, Davidge awakens when one of the disposal technicians tries to steal the small book (the Talman) that Jerry had given him years before when he first wished to learn the Drac language. Davidge's former patrol crew vouch for his loyalty to the BTA, even after it is discovered that he speaks the language fluently. Sometime later, Davidge is reinstated to duty, but not as a pilot. Unable to enlist assistance to rescue Zammis from the Scavengers, Davidge desperately steals a spaceship to rescue Zammis solo. He manages to find and infiltrate Stubbs' ship. Davidge contacts the Drac slaves in their own language which convinces them to help him overcome the brutality of the human overseers and eventually reunite with Zammis. Towards the end of the battle, Davidge is also assisted by a BTA crew who pursued him. They finally realize that whatever it was that he experienced while missing in action
(MIA) has made him more human; he no longer hates Dracs
.
In the epilogue
, Davidge and Zammis return to the Drac homeworld for Zammis's introduction ceremony with the Drac Holy Council so that he may be accepted into Drac society. As required and as he promised Jerry, Davidge recounts the complete Jeriba ancestry before the Holy Council in the traditional ritual, as he was taught by Jerry. A narrator explains that years later, when Zammis also has a child and brings it to the Holy Council for the same ritual, the name of "Willis Davidge" was added to the line of Jeriba.
as director. However, after weeks of shooting in Iceland
and Budapest
, producers became concerned about a mixture of budget overruns, creative differences and poor quality dailies
. Filming was stopped. The studio had already spent $9 million in production costs and had "pay or play" contracts committing an additional $18 million, so executives needed to decide whether to cut losses or go with a new director.
At the same time, Fox changed its upper management and new Chairman, Barry Diller
, and head of production, Lawrence Gordon, decided to move ahead with a new director. The studio had faith in the story and actors involved, and hired Wolfgang Petersen to take over as director. Petersen did not like any of Loncraine's work and opted to start anew, scouting locations along the African coast. Stars Quaid and Gossett remained on during the duration of the film's delays and were paid "holding" money. He moved the production from Budapest to Munich
and the studio he used for Das Boot
.
Large sets were constructed, including a man-made lake, and Gossett's Drac makeup was redesigned, taking several months on its own. The film finished shooting seven months after its delay. The film's budget, originally planned at about $17 million rose to $29 million, and ended up costing more than $40 million with marketing costs.
: "Enemies because they were taught to be, allies because they had to be, brothers because they dared to be."
The studio pushed the film with a full marketing blitz
: On the Sunday before Thanksgiving
, full-page advertisements ran in 43 of the largest newspapers in the United States. Meanwhile, Fox arranged for a "network roadblock": three 30-second television commercials ran at virtually the same prime time
moment on what were then the three television networks. Still that same day, 3,500 theatrical trailers
were shipped to theaters across America and 164 of the nation's biggest shopping malls were covered with posters for the film.
The campaign received some critical scorn from those in the industry. The poster, with the two leads staring at each other, was singled out for failing to convey the warmth of the story. A marketing head at another studio called it "one of the worst of the year, really terrible. There was a way to make the movie much more palatable."
. Roger Ebert
gave the film a 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, saying it "made no compromises in its art direction, its special effects and its performances - and then compromised everything else in sight." Janet Maslin
of The New York Times
referred to it as "This season's Dune
", referring to the critically panned science fiction epic from the previous year. Variety
magazine called it "an anthropomorphic view of life but touching nonetheless." Seventeen years later, another New York Times reviewer gave the film a better assessment, noting that if it were "taken in the intended spirit it's often moving, suggesting what might happen if two of earth's perpetually warring peoples were stranded together." The Los Angeles Times
praised the film, calling it "surprisingly coherent, surprisingly enjoyable." The movie received similar praise from critics Gary Franklin
, Gene Siskel
, and Leonard Maltin
.
day, the film had taken in $2.3 million at the box office. When asked exactly how much the movie would have to take in during its theatrical run to make its money back, an executive with Fox replied "It doesn't really matter, because it's not going to do it."
, and performed by the Studioorchester in Munich
and a synthesiser ensemble. The soundtrack album was released by Varese Sarabande
.
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
based on the story of the same title by Barry B. Longyear
Barry B. Longyear
Barry B. Longyear born 1942 is a US writer and novelist who resides in Maine.-Career:He is best known for the Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella Enemy Mine, which was subsequently made into an identically titled movie and a novelization in collaboration with David Gerrold. The story tells of an...
. It was produced by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen is a German film director and screenwriter. His films include The NeverEnding Story, Enemy Mine, Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, Troy, and Poseidon...
, and starred Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
and Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
Beset by production problems, including a change of director, that caused its budget to spiral out of control, it was a critical and financial disappointment.
Plot summary
In the late 21st century, an interstellarInterstellar medium
In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, dust, and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the surrounding intergalactic space...
war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
between human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s (associated as the Bilateral Terran Alliance, or BTA) and Dracs
Dracs
Dracs are a fictional extraterrestrial reptilian humanoid species from the works of author Barry B. Longyear, most notably Enemy Mine. Their homeworld is called Dracon. They have claws and their bodies and heads are covered with plates of various sizes, and they can swim...
(a reptilian humanoid race) is being fought. On July 11, 2092, Human pilot Willis E. Davidge (Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
) and Drac pilot Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
) engage in a spacecraft battle which results in both crash-landing on Fyrine IV, a strange, dark alien world with two moons, a breathable atmosphere, water, and bizarre animal life.
After initial hostilities, the two eventually learn to cooperate in order to survive. They work together to build a shelter for protection against intermittent bombardment by meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
s, and to satisfy their needs for food, water, and warmth. Over a period of years, they learn to overcome their differences, become friends, and learn each other's languages and cultures. Each saves the other's life on at least one occasion.
Davidge, haunted by dreams of spaceships landing on the planet, leaves in search of help. He finds signs of a human presence, but learns that the planet has been periodically visited by human miners known as "Scavengers," who employ Dracs
Dracs
Dracs are a fictional extraterrestrial reptilian humanoid species from the works of author Barry B. Longyear, most notably Enemy Mine. Their homeworld is called Dracon. They have claws and their bodies and heads are covered with plates of various sizes, and they can swim...
as slave labor. He returns to warn Jeriba (whom Davidge nicknames "Jerry") only to discover that Jeriba is pregnant; (Dracs
Dracs
Dracs are a fictional extraterrestrial reptilian humanoid species from the works of author Barry B. Longyear, most notably Enemy Mine. Their homeworld is called Dracon. They have claws and their bodies and heads are covered with plates of various sizes, and they can swim...
reproduce asexually
Asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction is a mode of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single parent, and inherit the genes of that parent only, it is reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. A more stringent definition is agamogenesis which is reproduction without...
with no control over timing of conception).
The combination of a blizzard and attack by one of the planet's predators forces Davidge and Jeriba to flee their shelter. To pass the time Jeriba teaches Davidge his full ancestry, a necessity if his child is to be accepted into Drac society. Jeriba later dies during the childbirth, but not before making Davidge swear that if he ever escapes the planet to take Jeriba's child back to Dracon (the Drac Homeworld) and recite his full ancestry so he can join Drac society.
Davidge raises the child Zammis (Bumper Robinson
Bumper Robinson
Bumper Robinson is an American actor and voice artist. Robinson got his nickname because he repeatedly bumped into things while running through his home as a young child.- Life and career :...
) as his own. Over the years, Davidge and Zammis form a very close bond, and although the young Drac refers to Davidge as its 'uncle', its emotional range towards Davidge is as a son would look up to a father — an emotion that Davidge shares as well. Davidge discovers that that the Scavengers have returned to the planet in search of minerals and ore deposits, and he knows that they have little regard for Drac life, so he remains on guard to keep Zammis from getting captured or killed should they run into any of the miners. However, Zammis does not realize the danger and goes off to get a closer look at the Scavenger ship. He is quickly discovered by the Scavenger captain, Stubbs, and his brother Johnny. Davidge, who has been following, attacks the brothers in a bid to save Zammis, but is violently gunned down. A BTA patrol ship finds Davidge, unrecognizable and apparently dead, and it returns him to the space station where he was formerly based on September 6, 2095.
On the station, during the funeral ceremony, Davidge awakens when one of the disposal technicians tries to steal the small book (the Talman) that Jerry had given him years before when he first wished to learn the Drac language. Davidge's former patrol crew vouch for his loyalty to the BTA, even after it is discovered that he speaks the language fluently. Sometime later, Davidge is reinstated to duty, but not as a pilot. Unable to enlist assistance to rescue Zammis from the Scavengers, Davidge desperately steals a spaceship to rescue Zammis solo. He manages to find and infiltrate Stubbs' ship. Davidge contacts the Drac slaves in their own language which convinces them to help him overcome the brutality of the human overseers and eventually reunite with Zammis. Towards the end of the battle, Davidge is also assisted by a BTA crew who pursued him. They finally realize that whatever it was that he experienced while missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
(MIA) has made him more human; he no longer hates Dracs
Dracs
Dracs are a fictional extraterrestrial reptilian humanoid species from the works of author Barry B. Longyear, most notably Enemy Mine. Their homeworld is called Dracon. They have claws and their bodies and heads are covered with plates of various sizes, and they can swim...
.
In the epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
, Davidge and Zammis return to the Drac homeworld for Zammis's introduction ceremony with the Drac Holy Council so that he may be accepted into Drac society. As required and as he promised Jerry, Davidge recounts the complete Jeriba ancestry before the Holy Council in the traditional ritual, as he was taught by Jerry. A narrator explains that years later, when Zammis also has a child and brings it to the Holy Council for the same ritual, the name of "Willis Davidge" was added to the line of Jeriba.
Cast
- Dennis QuaidDennis QuaidDennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
as Willis "Will" Davidge (called "Dawwidge" by Jeriba) - Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
as Jeriba Shigan (called "Jerry" by Davidge) - Brion JamesBrion JamesBrion Howard James was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, Silverado, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element...
as Stubbs - Richard MarcusRichard MarcusRichard Marcus is an actor best known for his roles in St. Elsewhere, Tremors, and The Pretender.-Actor:Richard Marcus' first role was on the television show The White Shadow, guest starring in two episodes. He worked steadily throughout the 1980s, and landed a recurring role on the acclaimed NBC...
as Arnold - Carolyn McCormickCarolyn McCormickCarolyn Inez McCormick is an American actress best known for her role as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet on Law & Order franchise.-Life and career:McCormick was born in Midland, Texas to a father who owned an oil drilling company...
as Morse - Bumper RobinsonBumper RobinsonBumper Robinson is an American actor and voice artist. Robinson got his nickname because he repeatedly bumped into things while running through his home as a young child.- Life and career :...
as Zammis - Jim Mapp as Old Drac
- Lance KerwinLance KerwinLance Kerwin is an American actor, perhaps best remembered for his starring role in the TV series James at 15. Since the mid-1990s, however, Kerwin has not acted, instead focusing on his Christian religious beliefs, having become a pastor...
as Joey Wooster - Scott Kraft as Jonathan
- Lou MichaelsLou MichaelsLou Michaels is a former American football player who was a standout defensive lineman for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, 1955-57. After Kentucky's victory over archrival Tennessee in 1957, Michaels was quoted as saying, "Nothing sucks like a Big Orange." Michaels later played pro football...
as Wilson - Andy Geer as Bates
- Henry StolowHenry StolowHenry Stolow was a stamp dealer in Berlin, New York, and Munich who was behind the issue of numerous stamps of doubtful vailidity.-Early life:...
as Cates - Herb AndressHerb AndressHerb Andress was an Austrian film and television actor, known particularly for his roles in the Rainer Werner Fassbinder film Lili Marleen and the same director's TV series Acht Stunden sind kein Tag .Herb Andress later played in the television...
as Hopper - Danmar as Wise Guy
- Mandy Hausenberger as 1st Medic
Production
The film began shooting in April 1984 with Richard LoncraineRichard Loncraine
Richard Loncraine is a British film and television director.Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing items for Tomorrow's World...
as director. However, after weeks of shooting in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, producers became concerned about a mixture of budget overruns, creative differences and poor quality dailies
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
. Filming was stopped. The studio had already spent $9 million in production costs and had "pay or play" contracts committing an additional $18 million, so executives needed to decide whether to cut losses or go with a new director.
At the same time, Fox changed its upper management and new Chairman, Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
, and head of production, Lawrence Gordon, decided to move ahead with a new director. The studio had faith in the story and actors involved, and hired Wolfgang Petersen to take over as director. Petersen did not like any of Loncraine's work and opted to start anew, scouting locations along the African coast. Stars Quaid and Gossett remained on during the duration of the film's delays and were paid "holding" money. He moved the production from Budapest to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and the studio he used for Das Boot
Das Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
.
Large sets were constructed, including a man-made lake, and Gossett's Drac makeup was redesigned, taking several months on its own. The film finished shooting seven months after its delay. The film's budget, originally planned at about $17 million rose to $29 million, and ended up costing more than $40 million with marketing costs.
Release
The president of Fox's marketing department felt the film was an "extremely difficult movie to market", that its story of two species evolving from enemies to friends made the science fiction picture less about the technology used to film it and more "along the lines of brotherhood." This was epitomized by the film's taglineTagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
: "Enemies because they were taught to be, allies because they had to be, brothers because they dared to be."
The studio pushed the film with a full marketing blitz
Blitz Campaign
A blitz is defined as an intensive campaign or attack. It originates from the German noun Blitz which means lightning. In the world of marketing, blitz campaign defines the proprietary methodology developed by German speaking Marlene Dewitte. It is a very fast, intensive, and focused marketing...
: On the Sunday before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
, full-page advertisements ran in 43 of the largest newspapers in the United States. Meanwhile, Fox arranged for a "network roadblock": three 30-second television commercials ran at virtually the same prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
moment on what were then the three television networks. Still that same day, 3,500 theatrical trailers
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
were shipped to theaters across America and 164 of the nation's biggest shopping malls were covered with posters for the film.
The campaign received some critical scorn from those in the industry. The poster, with the two leads staring at each other, was singled out for failing to convey the warmth of the story. A marketing head at another studio called it "one of the worst of the year, really terrible. There was a way to make the movie much more palatable."
Critical response
Enemy Mine was met with mixed reviews, scoring 59% positive on review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film a 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, saying it "made no compromises in its art direction, its special effects and its performances - and then compromised everything else in sight." Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
referred to it as "This season's Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
", referring to the critically panned science fiction epic from the previous year. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine called it "an anthropomorphic view of life but touching nonetheless." Seventeen years later, another New York Times reviewer gave the film a better assessment, noting that if it were "taken in the intended spirit it's often moving, suggesting what might happen if two of earth's perpetually warring peoples were stranded together." The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
praised the film, calling it "surprisingly coherent, surprisingly enjoyable." The movie received similar praise from critics Gary Franklin
Gary Franklin
Gary Franklin was a well-known German American broadcast film critic based in Los Angeles, California. Gary Franklin was born to a Jewish family in Leipzig, Germany on September 22, 1928. His family moved to the United States in 1938 to escape persecution by the Nazis. Franklin earned a...
, Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
, and Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
.
Box office
With Enemy Mine costing over $40 million, the studio hoped for a large first weekend opening. That did not occur, with the film pulling in only $1.6 million at 703 theaters nationwide. As of ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day, the film had taken in $2.3 million at the box office. When asked exactly how much the movie would have to take in during its theatrical run to make its money back, an executive with Fox replied "It doesn't really matter, because it's not going to do it."
Music
The score was composed and conducted by Maurice JarreMaurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...
, and performed by the Studioorchester in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and a synthesiser ensemble. The soundtrack album was released by Varese Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
.
- Fyrine IV (5:03)
- The Relationship (3:55)
- The Small Drac (2:45)
- The Crater (2:15)
- The Birth of Zammis (6:14)
- Spring (1:27)
- The Scavengers (4:48)
- Davidge's Lineage (3:33)
- Football Game (:44)
- Before the Drac Holy Council (9:54)
See Also
- None But the BraveNone But the BraveNone But the Brave, also known as in Japan, is a 1965 war film starring Frank Sinatra, Clint Walker, Tatsuya Mihashi, Tommy Sands and Brad Dexter. This is the only film directed by Frank Sinatra, and the first Japanese-American co-production, produced by Sinatra for Warner Bros...
(1965) and Hell in the PacificHell in the PacificHell in the Pacific is a 1968 World War II film starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune, the only two actors in the entire film. It was directed by John Boorman....
(1968) two earlier films with a similar premise
- In 1980, "The Return of StarbuckThe Return of Starbuck"The Return of Starbuck" is the tenth and final episode of the television series Galactica 1980, a spin-off of the earlier ABC science fiction series Battlestar Galactica....
," an episode of Galactica 1980Galactica 1980Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
, the short-lived spin-off of the original Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
TV series also has a similar premise.
External links
- Yahoo Movies
- Parodies by The Lonely Island and re-adapted for Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...