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Contact

Year:

1997

Duration:

150 min

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

IMDB rate:

7.4

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 14 wins & 25 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1997-07-11

Filming Locations: Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Earnings

Budget: $90,000,000

Opening Weekend: $20,584,908 (USA) (13 July 1997)

Gross: $100,853,835 (USA) (2 November 1997)

Cast

Actor

Character

Maria Celeste Arraras

Jennifer Balgobin

Jena Malone

Young Ellie

David Morse

Ted Arroway

Jodie Foster

Eleanor Arroway

Geoffrey Blake

Fisher

William Fichtner

Kent

Sami Chester

Vernon (as SaMi Chester)

Timothy McNeil

Davio

Laura Elena Surillo

Cantina Woman

Matthew McConaughey

Palmer Joss

Tom Skerritt

David Drumlin

Henry Strozier

Minister

Michael Chaban

Hadden Suit

Max Martini

Willie

Larry King

Thomas Garner

Ian Broderick

Conroy Chino

KOB-TV Reporter

Dan Gifford

Jeremy Roth

James Woods

Michael Kitz

Vance Valencia

Senator Valencia

Angela Bassett

Rachel Constantine

Donna Kelley

Donna Kelley (as Donna J. Kelley)

Leon Harris

Claire Shipman

Behrooz Afrakhan

Middle Eastern Anchor

Saemi Nakamura

Japanese Anchor

Tabitha Soren

Geraldo Rivera

Ian Whitcomb

British Anchor

Jay Leno

Natalie Allen

Robert D. Novak

Geraldine A. Ferraro

Ann Druyan

Rob Lowe

Richard Rank

Jake Busey

Joseph

Kathleen Kennedy

Michael Albala

Decryption Hacker

Ned Netterville

Decryption Expert

Leo Lee

Major Domo

John Hurt

S.R. Hadden

William Jordan

Chairman of Joint Chiefs

David St. James

Joint Chief

Jill Dougherty

Haynes Brooke

Drumlin Aide

John Holliman

Bobbie Battista

Dee Dee Myers

Bryant Gumbel

Linden Soles

Steven Ford

Major Russell

Alexander Zemeckis

Major Russell's Son (as Alex Zemeckis)

Janie Peterson

Major Russell's Daughter

Philippe Bergeron

French Committee Member (as Phillip Bergeron)

Anthony Hamilton

British Committee Member (as Anthony Fife Hamilton)

Rebecca T. Beucler

NASA Public Relations

Marc Macaulay

NASA Technician

Pamela Wilsey

Voice of NASA

Tucker Smallwood

Mission Director

Jeffery Thomas Johnson

Mechnical (as Jeff Johnson)

Yuji Okumoto

Electrical

Gerry Griffin

Dynamics

Brian Alston

Communications

Rob Elk

Pad Leader

Mark Thomason

Security

José Rey

Controller #8

Todd Patrick Breaugh

New VLA Technician

Alex Veadov

Russian Cosmonaut

Alice Kushida

Scientist

Robin Gammell

Project Official

Richardson Morse

Mission Doctor

Seiji Okamura

Japanese Ensign

Bernard Shaw

Mak Takano

Japanese Tech #1

Hiroshi Tom Tanaka

Japanese Tech #2 (as Tom Tanaka)

Catherine Dao

Life Support

Kristoffer Ryan Winters

Dynamics #2

Valorie Armstrong

Woman Senator

Jim Hild

Reporter #5

William L. Thomas

Reporter #6

Diego Montoya

School Boy

Jonathan Adler

White House Official (uncredited)

Robert Aguilar Jr.

NASA Controller #2 (uncredited)

Neil Armstrong

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Mark Bailey

Four-Star General (uncredited)

Matt Bennett

Senate Observer (uncredited)

Tony Boldi

Robert Hand (uncredited)

Christopher Boyer

Scientist (uncredited)

Aixa Clemente

President's Secretary (uncredited)

Bill Clinton

Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Candice Cook

Supporter (uncredited)

Derrick Damions

Ailing Believer (uncredited)

Russell Darling

Protestor (uncredited)

Elaina Erika Davis

Philanthropy Bureaucrat (uncredited)

Joey Dente

Factory Worker (uncredited)

Michael Egan

IMC Police Officer (uncredited)

Jeff Elmore

Monk (uncredited)

Pamela Fischer

Pedestrian (uncredited)

Carl Gilliard

Controller (uncredited)

Adolf Hitler

Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

William B. Kaplan

TV Interviewer (uncredited)

Martin Luther King

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Ming Lo

Pod Systems Control (uncredited)

Sunshine Logroño

Puerto Rican Taxi Driver (uncredited)

Douglas MacArthur

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Neal Matarazzo

Kitz's Aide (uncredited)

Joseph McCarthy

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Cassidy McMillan

Student Reporter at NASA (uncredited)

Molly Mueller

Family Exchange (uncredited)

Richard Nixon

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Paul L. Nolan

Ellie's Attorney (uncredited)

Marisa Petroro

Oval Office Secretary (uncredited)

Errica Poindexter

Police Officer (uncredited)

J.A. Preston

Senator (uncredited)

Frank Principe

Ailing Believer (uncredited)

Thomas Reid

Senate Hearing (uncredited)

Leo Rogstad

Ailing Believer (uncredited)

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Russell Sanderlin Sr.

Photographer (uncredited)

Frank Silva

Army Officer (uncredited)

John A. Taylor

Senate Hearing Attendee (uncredited)

Todd Thompson

News Reporter (uncredited)

Richard Allen Waite

Extra (uncredited)

Delaney Williams

Believer #1 (uncredited)

Gregory L. Williams

Extra (uncredited)

Walter Winchell

Himself - Voice Through Space (archive sound) (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

The character of Dr. Arroway was modeled after two of the pioneering radio astronomers of the 1930s and 1940s, Grote Reber and John Kraus; both men were ham radio operators at an early age. Another model for the character's work was real-life SETI researcher Jill Cornell Tarter.

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During the filming of the few exterior scenes at the Very Large Array, the array was actually collecting data. Most of the scenes shot at the VLA were actually done at a full scale reproduction set of the control facility in Culver City, CA.

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In Ellie's cabin, there is a poster of a planet with four suns; a quadruple solar system. When she travels in The Machine across the galaxy, she observes a quadruple solar system from the planet of the alien race.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, it is revealed that Ellie's video recorder recorded 18 hours of static, suggesting she really did go somewhere. It is peculiar that scientists in the movie neglected to include a simple clock in Ellie's equipment. Surely they would have wanted to see if time inside the pod would slow down since that is what the theory of relativity says would happen when you travel very fast (relatively close to the speed of light). Although in the movie the opposite occurs (time moves faster for Ellie) that clock would nevertheless have shown that 18 hours had passed inside the pod, while from the outside it seemed to pass straight through the machine, adding credibility to Ellie's story.

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In the first scene when Ellie is sitting outside near the VLA, the license plates on her car show a New Mexico tag on the front bumper. The state of New Mexico does not provide front license plates for vehicles registered in that state.

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When the pods drop through the machine commences, the ship containing the control staff rocks severely (causing some of the control staff members to shout in panic as they lose their balance), and the machine itself is releasing brilliant light and a thunderous roar as the rings whirl like helicopter blades. Three or four seconds later, when the pod splashes into the catch net, there is little ambient noise. In the ship, staff members are suddenly sure-footed and tranquil.

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Quotes

Ellie Arroway: [sticking a thumbtack into a start chart] One down, couple of billion to go.

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Jay Leno: So it turns out there's life on other planets. Boy, this is really going to change the Miss Universe contest, you know what I mean?

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David Drumlin: Ellie, still waiting for E.T. to call?

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Faq

Where is Vega?

Vega, about 25 light years away from the earth, is the principle star in the constellation Lyra, visible overhead in the northern hemisphere from spring through autumn. In temperate latitudes, it is visible during the summer months. In the southern hemisphere, it is visible low in the northern sky during the winter months.

A Note Regarding Spoilers

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

What is 'Contact' about?

Fascinated by science, astronomy, and making radio contact to people far away since she was a young girl, Doctor Eleanor 'Ellie' Arroway (Jodie Foster) works as a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) researcher at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. When her National Science Foundation (NSF) funding is pulled from her by her boss David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), she obtains private funding from secretive billionaire industrialist S. R. Hadden (John Hurt) and moves to the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico. Just when it looks like her access to the VLA's radio telescopes is going to be cut, Ellie receives a transmission of prime numbers emanating from the star Vega. When the transmission is confirmed by other scientists around the world, Ellie becomes involved in making humanity's first contact with extra-terrestrial life.

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