Enemy Mine
original movie poster
Directed by	Wolfgang Peterson
Produced by	Steven J. Friedman Stanley O'Toole
Written by	Barry Longyear
Starring	Dennis Quaid Louis Gossett, Jr.
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Cinematography	Tony Imi
Editing by	Hannes Nikel
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 20, 1985
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Enemy Mine is a 1985 science fiction film based on the story of the same title by Barry B. Longyear. It was produced by Twentieth Century Fox, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and starred Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr.. The original music score is composed by Maurice Jarre. The film was marketed with the tagline Enemies because they were taught to be. Allies because they had to be. Brothers because they dared to be. Enemy Mine is a science fiction story by Barry B. Longyear. ... Image File history File links Enemy_mine. ... Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (born March 14, 1941 in Emden, Lower Saxony, Germany) is a German film director. ... Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. ... Louis Gossett Jr. ... Maurice Jarre (born in Lyon, France, September 13, 1924) is a French composer of film scores, noted for his use of the Ondes Martenot, and for the scores of many films including a series of David Lean films, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryans Daughter (1970) and A... Fox Plaza, the company headquarters. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson Rambo: First Blood Part II, starring Sylvester Stallone Rocky IV, starring Sylvester Stallone The Color Purple, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Adolph Caesar Out of Africa, starring Meryl Streep and... Poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction film is a film genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. ... Enemy Mine is a science fiction story by Barry B. Longyear. ... Barry B. Longyear (born 1942) is an award-winning US science fiction author and screenwriter. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (born March 14, 1941 in Emden, Lower Saxony, Germany) is a German film director. ... Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. ... Louis Gossett Jr. ... Maurice Jarre (born in Lyon, France, September 13, 1924) is a French composer of film scores, noted for his use of the Ondes Martenot, and for the scores of many films including a series of David Lean films, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryans Daughter (1970) and A...

Plot summary

It is the late 21st century. In the midst of an interstellar war between humans and Dracs (reptilian-like aliens), human pilot Willis Davidge (Quaid) and Drac pilot Jeriba "Jerry" Shigan (Gossett), engage in a spacecraft battle resulting in both crashlanding on Fyrine IV, an alien world with oxygen atmosphere, water, and dangerous but nutritious animal life. The 21st century is the present century of the Gregorian calendar. ... The interstellar medium (or ISM) is a term used in astronomy to describe the rarefied gas and dust that exists between the stars (or their immediate circumstellar environment) within a galaxy. ... War is an excellent way of political leaders to let off some steam. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal apes belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (known as the great apes). ... Orders Procolophonia (extinct) Testudines Araeoscelidia (extinct) Avicephala (extinct) Younginiformes (extinct) Sauropterygia Ichthyosauria (extinct) Placodontia (extinct) Nothosauria (extinct) Plesiosauria (extinct) Sphenodontia Squamata Prolacertiformes (extinct) Archosauria Crurotarsi Order Aetosauria Order Phytosauria Order Rauisuchia Order Crocodilia Ornithodira Pterosauria (extinct) Marasuchus (extinct) Dinosauria (extinct) Order Saurischia Order Ornithischia Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals... The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, currently used by the SETI project in the search for extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth, the only place in the universe currently known by humans to support life. ...

After initial hostilities, the two eventually learn to cooperate in order to survive. They work together to build a shelter, a carapace house, against the near-constant bombardment by meteorites, and to satisfy their needs for food, water, and warmth. They learn to overcome their differences, become friends, and learn each other's languages and cultures. Willamette Meteorite A meteorite is an extraterrestrial body that survives its impact with the Earths surface without being destroyed. ...

There is also, in the film but not the original novella, a subplot involving an abandoned mine. According to Longyear, this was added at the insistence of the studio, which was afraid that the audience would not understand that the Mine of the title was a possessive pronoun.

Later, facing expected death and with child, Jeriba teaches Davidge his full ancestry, a necessity if his child is to be accepted into Drac society. Davidge raises the child Zammis as his own. When Zammis is enslaved by criminal humans, he is rescued by Davidge, other enslaved Dracs, and Davidge's fellow military personnel in an emotional climax wherein the two races are confronted with their shared positive traits.

"This war, as all wars, ends."

In the epilogue, Davidge and Zammis return to the Drac homeworld. Davidge recounts the ancestry before the Holy Council in the traditional ritual, and the audience learns that Davidge's family name is added to the lineage. An epilogue, or rarely epilog, is a piece of writing at the end of a work of drama, usually used to bring closure to the work. ...

Parodies

The Lonely Island created a short skit which parodied the characters in Enemy Mine and their situation. The sketch was later recreated on the show Saturday Night Live and featured Jack Black. The Lonely Island. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late night 90-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. ... Jack Black (born Thomas J. Black, Jr. ...

External links

• Enemy Mine at the Internet Movie Database
• Enemy Mine review at Old Movies
• Parody by The Lonely Island
• Parody re-adapted for Saturday Night Live