Sphere
Sphere Movie Poster
Directed by	Barry Levinson
Produced by	Barry Levinson
Written by	Michael Crichton (novel) Kurt Wimmer (adaptation) Stephen Hauser & Paul Attanasio (screenplay)
Starring	Dustin Hoffman Sharon Stone Samuel L. Jackson Liev Schreiber Peter Coyote
Music by	Elliot Goldenthal
Cinematography	Adam Greenberg
Editing by	Stu Linder
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	February 13, 1998
Running time	129 min.
Language	English
Budget	$80,000,000
Gross revenue	$37,020,277[1]
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Sphere is a 1998 science fiction / thriller film, starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson. Sphere was based on the 1987 novel Sphere by Michael Crichton. The film was released in the United States on February 13, 1998. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (507x755, 60 KB) Source: http://www. ... Barry Levinson Barry Levinson (born April 6, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a Jewish-American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. ... Michael Crichton, pronounced [1], (born October 23, 1942) is an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. ... Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director. ... Paul Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House. ... Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning, BAFTA-winning, and five-time Golden Globe-winning American method actor. ... Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and former fashion model. ... “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. ... Liev Schreiber (born October 4, 1967) is a Tony Award-winning American actor. ... Peter Coyote (born October 10, 1941) is an American actor and author, and has narrated many documentaries and audio books. ... Elliot Goldenthal, born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York City, is an American composer of contemporary music and has written works for concert hall, theater, dance and film. ... Adam Greenberg might refer to: Adam Greenberg, an outfielder Adam Greenberg, a cinematographer noted for his work in Israel and The United States Adam Greenberg, a music critic Category: ... “WB” redirects here. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience. ... Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning, BAFTA-winning, and five-time Golden Globe-winning American method actor. ... Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and former fashion model. ... “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Sphere is a science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1987. ... Michael Crichton, pronounced [1], (born October 23, 1942) is an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

Plot

In the middle of the South Pacific in the near future, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, an alien spacecraft is discovered by the U.S. Navy. The thickness of coral growth on it suggests that it has been there for several hundred years. A team made up of a marine biologist, a mathematician, an astrophysicist, a psychologist and a member of the U.S. Navy is tasked with making contact with any alien life inside the spaceship. The team are housed in a state-of-the-art underwater living environment (the Habitat) during their stay on the ocean floor. Extant Subclasses and Orders Alcyonaria    Alcyonacea    Helioporacea Zoantharia    Antipatharia    Corallimorpharia    Scleractinia    Zoanthidea [1][2]  See Anthozoa for details For other uses, see Coral (disambiguation). ...

Upon entering the spaceship, two startling discoveries are made. The first is that the ship is American, and was in service in the future, gathering objects from around the galaxy to bring back to Earth, until an "Unknown (Entry) Event" takes place. However the exact year from when the apparently American spaceship came from cannot be verified. This is due to the date format which only indicates the last two digits of the year. 06/21/43 could indicate an infinite possible time from the future, e.g June 21, 2043, 2143 or 3143. Although during the conversation between Harry (Jackson) and Norman (Hoffman) after getting back to the habitat where Harry postulated that they are all going to die, he also concluded that it came 50 years from their future: 2043.

The second is a large near-perfect sphere held inside the ship which has very unusual properties.

Ted (Liev Schreiber) hypothesises that the unknown event in the ship's log was the ship inadvertently crashing into a black hole, which propelled it several hundred years backwards through time. Liev Schreiber (born October 4, 1967) is a Tony Award-winning American actor. ...

Harry (Samuel L. Jackson) then comes to the conclusion that they will all die on the ocean floor, because if the trip through the hole that happened in the future was called an "Unknown Event", then the team never made it back to the surface to tell anyone about it. This becomes the premise of the film. “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. ...

After this discovery, a massive surface storm drives them to cover on the sea floor for one week. The group then faces a series of crises, including a giant squid, electrical fires and water snakes, which are all believed to be the work of an alien intelligence (the sphere) called Jerry.

Over the course of the film various members of the team are killed off until only Harry (Samuel L. Jackson), Norman (Dustin Hoffman) and Beth (Sharon Stone) remain. At this point, they realize that the three of them all entered the sphere, which gave them the power to manifest their thoughts into reality, and that all the disasters that had been plaguing them were the result of manifestations of the worst parts of their own minds. The entity 'Jerry' turns out to be Harry's subconscious communicating with them through their computer system while Harry is asleep. “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. ... Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning, BAFTA-winning, and five-time Golden Globe-winning American method actor. ... Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and former fashion model. ...

It is then that they must leave the Habitat because of Beth's premonition of wanting to kill herself, thus setting off an underwater explosive and obliterating the ship, the Habitat, and the surrounding environment.

The film ends with the three deciding to give up their "powers" to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. This done, the "power" of "forgetting" everything may just be the right recipe of redemption from the Sphere.

Reception

It is noteworthy that the film was considered a disappointment to many fans of Michael Crichton's novel. The film drifts away from the book in several places. In an interview, Dustin Hoffman stated that they were not ready to release that film and that there was so much more that they wanted to do with it, but simply had no ability to do so due to a time constraint.^{[citation needed]}

Soundtrack

The score for Sphere was composed by Elliot Goldenthal. It is a very dramatic, dark and ethereal piece. It is one of his more straight forward soundtracks, although it is still considered original and inventive. Although the overall mood is atmospheric and pensive, there are dramatic, anthemic and shattering pieces, usually for the action parts such as "Event Entry 6-21-43" and "Manifest Fire". It was believed by some to be better than the movie itself.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Varèse Sarabande is a record label, which specialises in soundtrack record releases, and reissues of hard-to-find (sometimes long- or previously-unavailable) albums, and singles collections. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Elliot Goldenthal, born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York City, is an American composer of contemporary music and has written works for concert hall, theater, dance and film. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... The score to the movie In Dreams by Elliot Goldenthal is an almost complete change from his usual sound; almost because his trade-mark dissonance and variances are there in all their epic, moody and anthemic glory; with this soundtrack however Goldenthal embraces electronic elements far more completely than he... Titus is the original soundtrack to the 1999 motion picture Titus. ... Sphere is a science fiction movie, released on February 13, 1998, starring Dustin Hoffman as Dr. Norman Johnson, Sharon Stone as Dr. Elizabeth Beth Halperin, Liev Schreiber as Dr. Ted Fielding and Samuel L. Jackson as Dr. Harry Adams. ... Elliot Goldenthal, born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York City, is an American composer of contemporary music and has written works for concert hall, theater, dance and film. ...

Track listing

1. Pandora's Fanfare (1:17)
2. Main Titles (2:49)
3. Event Entry 6-21-43 (0:53)
4. The Gift (1:42)
5. Sphere Discovery (2:08)
6. Visit to a Wreckage (1:58)
7. Water Snake (2:36)
8. Terror Adagio (3:24)
9. Wave (3:18)
10. Fear Retrieval (3:48)
11. Andante (2:20)
12. Manifest Fire (3:48)
13. Manifest3 (3:47)
14. Their Beast Within (1:44)

References

External links

• Sphere at the Internet Movie Database
• Sphere at All Music Guide