Science Fiction for grown-ups (Contact (DVD))

Member Name: Moominpapa

Product:	Contact (DVD)
Date:	14/04/01 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Jodie Foster gives an engaging performance

Disadvantages: can be a bit slow in parts, but not for long

Intelligently adapted from Carl Sagan’s Pulitzer Prise winning novel, Contact is science fiction for grown-ups. The antitheses of films such as Independence and Mars Attacks, the film highlights the obsession of those involved in the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) Project as they trawl the skies in search of conclusive proof that we truly are not alone. Sagan was actually one of the founding member’s of the SETI Project and so the move from book to film maintains all of the facts concerning its operation.

Contact really comes into its own when proof is discovered and a worldwide selection process is initiated to pick one representative of mankind to try and make… well, contact.

The weighty performances of the cast add a gravity and a humility to the film without getting too bogged down in American Sensibility – which would have been so easy to do in the hands of a less mature film-maker. Jodie Foster gives an engaging performance as visionary Ellie Arroway By cleverly pitching science against religion, the audience is left to question whether Foster’s motives are right or wrong – and a debate is guaranteed when the credits roll. Robert Zemeckis has always demonstrated mastery of the subtle CGI, yet nowhere has it been as effective as in Contact.

Whereas special effects are usually obvious, it is only by accessing the film’s three commentary soundtracks that the care and painstaking attention put into the making of this extraordinary film are revealed. Little tricks, like cleaning up the real-life telescopes or changing the colour of Jodie Foster’s eyes in order to ensure continuity, are invisible when watching the movie; yet these commentaries are of such interest that there is real reason to watch it three times back to back…if you’ve got a lot of free time that is. Other, more ambitious special effects are more obvious, such as the appearance of Bill Clinton.


For such a long film told at such a slow pace, it’s surprising that Contact never becomes dull. Alan Silvestri’s score is as powerful as they come, and can be played on its own through an option on the disc.

Additional features such as animation concepts, special effects tests and biographies complete this glorious DVD package. Contact demonstrates how effective the format can be if a little time and effort is applied to the disc. As it isn’t an obvious choice for the die-hard DVD owner, it’s clear this labour is necessary – but DVD makers who leave ‘scene access’ and ‘subtitles’ as the only ‘special features’ should hang their lazy heads in shame.

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