Deep Impact (1998)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers (WGA):

Bruce Joel Rubin (written by) and
Michael Tolkin (written by)

Release Date:

8 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Heaven and Earth are about to collide.

Plot:

Unless a comet can be destroyed before colliding with Earth, only those allowed into shelters will survive. Which people will survive?

Plot Keywords:

Comet | Lottery Of Fate | Astronaut | Space Shuttle | Statue Of Liberty New York City

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Robert Duvall	...	Spurgeon Tanner
Téa Leoni	...	Jenny Lerner
Elijah Wood	...	Leo Biederman
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Robin Lerner
Morgan Freeman	...	President Beck
Maximilian Schell	...	Jason Lerner
James Cromwell	...	Alan Rittenhouse
Ron Eldard	...	Oren Monash
Jon Favreau	...	Gus Partenza
Laura Innes	...	Beth Stanley
Mary McCormack	...	Andrea Baker
Richard Schiff	...	Don Biederman
Leelee Sobieski	...	Sarah Hotchner
Blair Underwood	...	Mark Simon
Dougray Scott	...	Eric Vennekor

Also Known As:

Impact (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense disaster related elements and brief language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35964) | Iceland:12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:A | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Hidden among the cars and trucks in the traffic jam on the freeway near the end of the movie is a truck that had water and food for all of the extras used in the scene.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jenny gives up her seat on the helicopter, the shot pans out and shows 20 or more helicopters in the air. A few seconds later the camera does a 360 around Jenny, there are no helicopters in the air.

Quotes:

President Beck: Life will go on, we will prevail.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Armageddon (1998/I)

Soundtrack:

Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)

One of my favorite Sci-Fi films of all time!

It truly saddens me to see that this film has such a low rating on IMDB! I've seen this film several times and EVERY TIME it gets me a little misty-eyed at certain points in the film.

Since the release of this film and Armageddon, I've been unsure which of the two I liked better. I have always been leaning towards Deep Impact, so today I watched the film again to be sure. I definitely believe that Deep Impact is a better film. Although, Armageddon is a fantastic movie in it's own right.

I like Deep Impact better because I feel the story is much more realistic and slightly more interesting. Also, the acting in this film is just fantastic (but again, Armageddon was well-acted as well). After viewing the film again today, I thought "ya know, there is virtually nothing in the film that I really disliked", whereas there are a number of things in Armageddon that I really disliked!

The cast in this film is absolutely superb! You've got Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Maximilian Schell, James Cromwell, Ron Eldard, Jon Faverau, Laura Innes, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Leelee Sobieski, Blair Underwood, Dougray Scott and Kurtwood Smith. They all did a superb job in this film and I think they all deserve a great deal of credit. I really liked that all the characters in the film were likeable. There wasn't a single one that "rubbed me the wrong way", they were all very well done characters.

I have to mention the special effects as well. They are just mind-blowing! All of the scenes with the astronauts on the comet are just superb! ...And the ship that they fly looks so cool! Also, the scene where the smaller comet hits the earth is just great! The level of detail is unbelievable in some of the scenes. You should see this film for the special effects alone.

If you like science fiction films with a great story that is quite touching at times, then by all means go see it. This film is honestly one of the better movies I've seen in quite some time. I truly hope that you enjoy the film. Thanks for reading.

-Chris