Basically, Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey's characters represent the best parts of Science and Religion, and Tom Skerritt and Jake Busey represent the worst parts of them. This is such a beautiful movie. The way it explores the heavy idea of faith in both religion and science, while keeping it in the framework of an entertaining genre story. I really miss filmmaking like this. The fact that Robert Zemeckis went from Forrest Gump to this, man he was on a roll back in the '90s.
@@bad-people6510 Yeah, and it's not just movies. I recently saw a musical that had an important message, but it was so one-sided and preachy that anyone who actually needed to _hear_ that message would have walked out of the theater within 30 minutes. The writers among us who want to make a difference need to remember the subtle art of persuasion.
@@coolgareth101 There's a few videos out there with commentary explaining how they did it, but basically, they composite two shots together. One has a cameraman following her up the stairs, then there's a closeup shot of her opening the cabinet door. The door itself has a blue screen on it, where they superimpose an image of a mirror and the video of her opening the door. th-cam.com/video/Fxa3j8bK-c4/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/vEU0krH5HZI/w-d-xo.html
@@coolgareth101 I saw it on youtube a while ago. I don't remember which video it was, but searching "contact mirror scene" will give you several to check out. :)
YES. Not enough people react to this movie and I LOVE it. The weird mix of jolting shock, awe, hope and fear during the signal-received scene is absolutely perfect.
Movie is started off so good, then was so BAD.... Built a second device.... but somehow NO ONE noticed it? The people who built it no one leaked anything? Come on... and then... The Alien is her dad... sooooo stupid.
"In all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other." is one of the most beautiful lines I've ever heard in a movie.
@@hiarhu746 My neighbors just came home from a month-long vacation with their daughter and her twins, and they felt they needed a vacation after that vacation, so you have my sympathy. :D
CONTACT is the only movie where I walked out of the theater afterward, bought another ticket and walked right back into the theater. This movie made me think of what wonders humankind could accomplish if we could get our collective beliefs to align just enough that we could work as a unified planetary community and be able to become part of a galactic community on its way to being a universal community. That continues to be MY wish. Thanks for the review, guys!
If only we would stop fighting over imaginary lines on a sphere, religious beliefs and colors of skin, the wonders a joined humanity could accomplish. But we are a short sighted species who seems bent on its small minded destruction. It's so sad.
@hendrsb33 - That is the single greatest 'positive' movie review comment I've ever seen. And, 'Contact,' is a personal favorite, so this comment means even more!
It seems strange today, but EMTs/Paramedics and Emergency Rooms are a relatively new idea. Ambulances were just transportation, not treatment. Even in the 1970s "Emergency Medicine" was still pretty new, much less the 60s.
@@andrewcharles459 Yes! I loved watching "Emergency " as a kid. Our whole family enjoyed it. I remember a family member asking why they were called "paramedics" and my brother joked that it was because there were two of them: a pair of medics. 🙂
There was a whole episode of the show, "ER" devoted to Dr. Peter Benton working in a very rural part of Mississippi ("Middle of Nowhere"). He gets frustrated transitioning from working in Chicago which has modern equipment everywhere to working in a clinic with limited resources to treat patients who can't see a doctor in the city.
@@kenfreeman8888 The Pilot Episode was named after the CA State Amendment that gave Paramedics the ability to administer IV's and other Medications to patients under supervision of a qualified MD. It was the 'birth' of the EMT and the concept of Emergency Medicine.
This is far and away my favorite Jodie Foster film of all time. I cry my eyes out every time I watch this. Tnanks, Simone and George for reacting to this. This isn't covered enough by your contemporaries on TH-cam.
@LameDuck...Were you disputing the OPs statement that Contact was their FAVORITE Jody Foster film? Or are you struggling to differentiate between FAVORITE and BEST?
Carl Sagan was a remarkable human being, and we certainly need more like him. In many ways, the world evolved into his most dire projections and warnings. But Contact was one of his most optimistic works, a testament to science and human faith in something greater than ourselves.
I remember when this first came out my mom and I went yo see it in the theater multiple times and each consecutive time, we would get real quiet at the end and when she mentions the 18hrs of static, a collective gasp went up around the theater every time. It was awesome! 💗
I remember when I saw this in the theater, people laughed at that moment. But not like you would laugh at a joke, it was more of a satisfied laugh, like "haha, in your face!"
My favorite memory from seeing it in the theater was the opening shot, one of the best jobs I've seen of conveying the true scale of the cosmos. There was the usual background noises in the theater, people talking to each other, coughing, the rattling of candy wrappers, etc. Everybody jumped at the sudden blast of sound, but once the radio signals died out and the shot just kept going, everyone in the theater had gone dead silent.
Man, the opening scene... you could hear a pin drop in the Cinema. Also, weird coincidence that there are not one but two castmembers from "Alien" in this: Tom Skerrit and John Hurt.
It was a neat concept that just our normal every day transmissions would "leak" out into space, and would "announce" our presence to aliens (and that they would announce their presence by sending the earliest transmission back). Not too long ago, it was found through what we got back from the Voyager probes that this actually doesn't work. The radiation from our Sun eventually interferes with these normal everyday transmissions in space, and so they don't escape our solar system. Sagan didn't know that when this movie was made, though.
For whatever reason I just love the sound of that signal. I saw this in the theater with the powerful speakers and it just cut right into me. It's beautiful and scary at the same time. I kinda want that sound as my alarm to wake up in the morning. And if no one has mentioned it, the girl who played young Ellie is Jena Malone who became much more popular later on.
From the DVD commentary, Robert Zemeckis said that his only direction to James Woods was "Be James Woods". And Woods' first line - "Where's the girl?" - was an improv by Woods and completely sums up his character.
One of my favorite movies ever. Probably in the top 10. Just beautiful and surprisingly rewatchable. Everyone is giving an amazing g performance here and I love it. The Medicine cabinet shot is one of the most impressive visual effects ever, especially for the time when it was shot.
My mom taught philosophy at a community college. She had her students watch Contact. After seeing it in the theater she went home and cracked open her philosophy books to look up William of Occam because of the mention of Occam's razor.
I saw this in the Uptown theater in Washington, DC, on a 70x40 foot screen when it premiered. It was one of the most amazing cinematic experiences I've had. From the opening scene, the excitement of first hearing the signal, the heart in your throat moment when the first machine is destroyed, to the chills when Hadden reveals the second machine, to the tension of the trip itself and the aftermath, it was something I'll never forget. I had read the book prior to seeing the movie, and was a big fan of Carl Sagan having grew up on Cosmos and his National Geographic contributions. I was fortunate to meet him and shake his hand in person in 1985, so this movie has a lot of meaning to me.
Did anyone else really want to give Simone a hug as the credits rolled? I can only presume that George hadn't showered... ;-) I love how powerful movies like this can be, so thank you guys for reminding people about our first reactions to it.
@ 9:39 The "Encyclopedia Galactica" Ellie mentioned here is the name of a good episode in Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" science series. He talks writing Contact at the end of one of the Cosmos episodes. His book is quite good too with many more details, and a different kind of _proof_ than the "18 hours" static thing in the movie. I'm sure the book proof was changed to the 18 hours of static thing so the general public could grasp it during the movie. If you haven't seen "Cosmos" you two would enjoy the 13-part science series, to learn about science (mostly astronomy), and its history. It came out in 1980, but an update version was made in 1990 with very few changes except brief science updates at the end of most episodes done by Carl. 🖖😎
"Well, maybe not out... but certainly being handed your hat... wanna take a ride...?" SO many goosebumps. Wonderful viewing this gem with the two of you!
Really enjoyed this wrapped burrito from both of you! 😂 Contact is one of my favorite movies of all time. Such a great story and includes many moral and ethical elements that are so relevant in today's environment. Thank you so much for choosing this movie.
An underrated gem. I loved watching Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' TV show in the 1980's. This quote of his from the 1980 book that accompanied the show is getting more prescient every year now sadly "Our intelligence and our technology have given us the power to affect the climate. How will we use this power? Are we willing to tolerate ignorance and complacency in matters that affect the entire human family? Do we value short-term advantages above the welfare of the Earth? Or will we think on longer time scales, with concern for our children and our grandchildren, to understand and protect the complex life-support systems of our planet? The Earth is a tiny and fragile world. It needs to be cherished"
@Miles Doyle Sorry I got as far as Psalm and gave up, I don't find that book of Fairy Tales your'e quoting from of much use as it's certainly not based on any form of reality, stick to Harry Potter mate it's more empirical in its evidence!
I had that quote in the back of my mind. That’s why, at George’s smirk with the “is the world fundamentally a better place because of science and technology?” interview, my gut reaction is always “…you sure about it, man?”.
Watched this at the cinema in a packed theatre with Dolby Surround with my mum back when it came out in 1997. Being only a 14 yo kid at the time I still remember it to this day as the most mind-bendingly wondrous and ethereal cinema experience of my life.
I love the little special effect done so smoothly you never see it. When She runs up the stairs at 4:18 and opens the medicine cabinet, you have been looking at her reflection from all the way down stairs. It looked like Simone saw it but was confused about what her eyes told her. I'm a Carl Sagan fan before the book Contact came out. And those last two words at the end......"for Carl" makes me cry every time.
I am very happy that you chose this movie. In his day, Carl Sagan brought the majesty of astronomy to the general public. His series on public television was titled "Cosmos" and every week's episode was mesmerizing.
This movie came out prior to the International Space Station being launched and becoming operational. I just wanted to point that out because sometimes I forget it hasn’t always been up there. And also that it won’t be up there forever either.
Since I've seen this movie at least a dozen times, I basically just watched Simone's eyes the whole time and it was truly beautiful seeing her fall in love with everything about it. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it!
You guys should definitely watch “the frighteners” with Michael J Fox. The guy who blew up the first station in this movie, plays a serial killer in that movie and looks even creepier 🤣
It's fun watching you two together. You obviously have a great rapport with each other, and it seems even more heightened when you are both in the same room. It would be great if you could react to some comedies while George is visiting.
Aw, I LOVE that you guys both enjoyed the movie so much. It inspired a whole generation of astronomers and astrophysicists and even biologists like me. For Carl, indeed. He helped us see ourselves and our situation so well and is dearly missed.
I work for a State Government agency (at least for a few more months before I retire), and I can tell you first hand that the character of that bureaucrat never admitting they are wrong is an absolute truism. I have seen about 10% of our management workforce, who will never admit they are wrong (or that they are the viscous SOB's they actually are). They got ahead by bullying the weak minded and innocent members of the organization, and they see that as the path to increased success and power, so they will continue in those terrible actions to get further ahead. There are few of us who risk and usually sacrifice our careers regardless of the cost, and almost always wind up in the lower part of the command chain due to our direct resistance to their behavior. At lease we live with our honor down in the trenches.
4:32 - I feel like if the time it took her to run up a single flight of stairs meant the difference between life and death for her father, emergency services couldn’t have arrived in time to make a difference. Also: given Ellie’s apparent age, it’s unlikely 911 service was available to her, anyway (most of the United States didn’t have access to 911 until the late ’80s).
I remember watching this when it first came out and even my small sons were excited about the search for ET. Within a few days our home computers were hooked up to the S.E.T.I program. Everytime there was a blip or anomaly we were SO excited....
@@naughty.r0bot What do you know... You're a robot on Mars! Your ref to "This Planet" would be Mars.... and all life on Earth is more intelligent than that dead space rock.
I like that at the end she travels many light years to the stars and talks to her dead father, after asking at the beginning of the movie, if her radio goes far enough for her to talk to her dead mother. At the end she kinda got to spend a last moment with her dad (That was nice, even tho he wasnt real).
"I want to cry...because I'm so tiny and insignificant." I could never put into words why I liked this movie so much when I saw it as a teen, but this does it wonderfully. The movie gives makes you feel so tiny against the big questions out there, but it also makes you feel completely alright about it, like it's all part of the plan. It struck me that an atheist and scientific-minded scholar and writer like Sagan could project such a massive and confident spirituality.
The world often seems like an awful place to me. Because of my own 'mental constitution' -ahem-I have certain struggles. But whenever I watch this movie, I get this warm, almost 'being in the womb', fuzzy feeling over me. That despite everything; i'm still lucky to be alive to experience it and that I am but a small particle of a magnificent, terrible, beautiful, magnificent universe.
But here's the awe inspiring other side of that realization of how tiny and insignificant we are...BEING ABLE to realize that about ourselves MAKES US the most significant beings in the known universe. The act of realizing how insignificant you are means you're so advanced you realize how advanced you are not. SELF AWARENESS is THE most powerful achievement we've made, and as far as we currently know, we're the ONLY things in existence that have achieved that. We're simultaneously insignificant and the most significant and knowing that is why I cry looking to the night sky: There's no one else we've found to share that knowledge with.
An underrated masterpiece from Robert Zemeckis. Other films in the same vein are Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (director's cut) and James Cameron's "The Abyss" (special edition).
@@lightyagami1752 Long cuts are always better as they are the story the director wanted to portray, not the cut down version the studio wants to use to rush audiences through the theater to get more screens per day.
One of my favourite stories. I read the novel in my teenage. It was long ago and I don't remember everything but I am sure in the novel 5 people from different nation travel away to the aliens. It brings a little bit different ending but the movie is amazing as well.
There are wonderful sections at the end of the book in which Ellie meets up with each of her fellow travelers and each of them give her insights into the experience and encourage her to continue on her path of discovery. Sagan and Drury wrote an incredible novel. I enjoy the movie but I *love* the book.
I am always drawn to John Hurt in this movie. Such a international treasure. He had an alien burst out his chest in "Alien", he sold the wand to Harry Potter, he was the doctor in Doctor Who whom the other doctors didn't want to talk about (but that, without spoiling it, isn't fair once you know the whole story), as Gilliam in "Snowpiercer", the loony evil Prime Minister in "V for Vendetta", the father figure for "Hellboy", the main character in "1984", the voice of Aragorn in the animated "Lord of the Rings" (1978) and here with his iconic character, looking straight into the camera with the awesome question "Wanna take a ride?" Now that's a pretty cool fun fact, being both the actor who played one of the Doctors and also a pivotal character in the movie that the 12th doctor talked about. What a career!
The movie is a great adaptation but the novel is far more than belief vs science. The ending, in particular is one of the most amazing bits that is far too hard to explain to a casual movie audience. Highly recommend reading the book. Contact was published in 1985. I'm not sure how old she was but she had a doctorate, so let's assume she's 26. Age 9 Ellie would have been in 1968. Even if we move it ahead to the timeline of the movie release (1997), it would have been 1980. In 1979 only about 26% of the US had access to a 911 service. And that was probably more concentrated in cities instead of the rural area she was in.
The movie is good but it just loses SOOOO much from the book. Years of story. There is also the HUGE fact that 5 travelers were sent which would have canceled out several of the points they raised watching the movie and to this day out of all the changes between the book and movie that is the change I understand the least. This is one of those works that should have been made into either a high budget mini series or a full length single season TV show or possibly even 2 seasons given the time spans and events covered in the book.
Since Zemeckis was Spielberg's protégé, I'm pretty sure the bigger antenna reference is an homage. (The campers and protesters also remind me of The Sugarland Express, Spielberg's first non-tv feature film.) George at 14:48, tho :D
It's crazy seeing Jena Malone in this, because so many of her earliest films like Bastard Out of Carolina, Contact, and Stepmom I didn't see until way after the fact. Really awesome to see how her career has blown up since then with films like Sucker Punch, The Hunger Games franchise, BVS, Nocturnal Animals, Goliath and much more.
It's such a moving picture and stirs up emotions so fundamental to our concept of self. As humans we may be little but we are never insignificant. This is one of my favourite movies. Any time I watch it, it moves me to tears but not from sadness but the reaffirmation that in my belief we are all spiritually connected. I loved the review.
Yessss. Contact! Of all the great movies we have, Contact is one that sticks in the back of my mind. Lots of people say it lacks resolution or that the 'big event' wasnt big enough, but honestly the sense of mystery and discovery alone was enough to really make this something special, IMO.
The destruction of the machine in Florida was before 9/11 events, So it was a violent scene for 1990s - little did we know. David Morse, as Ellie’s father also gave a good performance at beginning and end.
I worked in a theater in 97 when this was out. There was an advanced screening that people won tickets to on the radio. I got to watch it and supervise the viewing to make sure everything was good. When it’s counting down and she’s about to go into the worm hole, it got to like 2 and the film literally MELTED on the screen. I had to run out and tell a supervisor. Those people were pissed 😆🤯
The only time I've seen this is when the Mark wahlberg planet of the apes came out. got about half hour into the movie and it just melted. was the first and only midnight premier I went to lol
@@stephenbryant6536 yeah most theaters are digital now so people these days probably won’t get to experience this. Sometimes they would have us ushers just sit up there and stare at the reels as they went because some reels were prone to static and we had to be Johnny on the spot to intervene the ribbon of film before catastrophe. It was nuts 😆
I had a similar experience with LOTR except the projectionist loaded the wrong film roll out-of-sequence. It took 20 minutes to correct. Needless to say, the experience scarred my LOTR memories for life.
that happened to me when I went to see The Green Mile. The film broke just as John Coffee is leaning towards the woman he healed of cancer. The most tense moment of the movie and the screen just went white. Took us about 5 to 10 seconds to realize this wasn't supposed to happen. The theatre manager said they'd get it back on but we'd miss about 1 minute of the movie. People in the theatre went nuts. They offered us all free tickets to come back and see it again. My friends and I took the ticket vouchers and went into the theatre showing the same movie that started 30 mintutes later and sat down about 10 minutes before the spot where the film broke.
This is another example of a movie in the 90's that shows how great some of the movies were back then. People were creative and displayed works of art on screen through their screenplays, scripts, characters, and even had thought provoking premises that made audiences have conversations after watching. Keep movie reacting to 90's movies guys. Awesome movie. 👍
My favorite part of this movie is the conversations it brings up. Different opinions on an issue each given respect is very admirable. One of the few times I've really enjoyed both the movie and book, even though there are differences.
You guys are even better in person than on split screen. The first 4 minutes convinced me to hit “pause” and sign up for the full length reaction on Patreon. See you there!
The Arroway (Foster) and Drumlin (Skerritt) scientific relationship draws parallels to that of Jocelyn Bell and Antony Hewish in real life. In 1967, as a postgrad student, Bell discovered the first radio pulsar stars and had to fight hard to prove to Hewish, her project leader, that her evidence was real. In 1974, Hewish and Martin Ryle received the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of pulsars, and Bell was not even mentioned. Many in the scientific community believed that Bell was robbed of the recognition she deserved although Bell, herself, has downplayed her lack of recognition. Fortunately, most in the astronomical field will readily tell you that pulsars were discovered by Jocelyn Bell. Bell, currently 79, went on to have a very distinguished career.
It was so much fun watching you experience this film for the first time. AND to see you get it. From the opening sequence to the reason THAT was the broadcast they sent back (before the movie explained it), to .... I don't want to spoil anything for anyone (although why someone would read comments without seeing the movie baffles me). It was just so rewarding to see you watch this & react the same way I did when I saw it on a huge movie screen a million years ago. (BTW the opening is downright dizzying in surround sound). So sorry Carl Sagan never lived to see the finished film, but I'm sure from what he had seen, he knew his story was in good hands and would be well told. Thanks for choosing this.
Oh... CONTACT! An all-time favorite! Simone.... we are all tiny, yet we are all so very significant! We love.... and like you, we cry. George and Simone you have given us a truly great reaction - and contrary to what you say at the end...it shouldn't be your last! One more thing... I always like to mention Alan Silvestri for contributing what in my opinion is one of the very best movie themes and soundtracks ever composed. Again, Simone and George - Thank You!
It's okay to be overwhelmed, truly. I saw this film in the theatre and remember being blown away. The arguments of faith and science and how they can work together, and the idea that not having anything else out there would be "a waste of space"... all of it really moved me.
Oh man - I'm so glad this won the vote, and I couldn't wait for this. It's one of my favourite movies and is very special to me for a number of reasons, movie wise but also outside of that. I knew the pair of you have the emotional intelligence to get this, and you did not disappoint. Also, lovely to see you both in the same room, I'm sure you had a blast!
Thank you, Simone! The egg drop! Here's how _I_ did it: a 2-liter soda bottle, cut in half. The egg was held between 2 pieces of Leggs pantyhose in the middle, with some glue around the egg to keep it near the center. The bottom was weighted so it'd flip upwards and hit squarely...and the egg would *boing* up and down without hitting the sides. Worked.
Ok, confession time. I saw this in the theater when it came out. I am male and considered myself pretty tough, at tleast back then. However, during the scene at the end when Jody Foster is seeing all the countless galaxies through the wormhole in the deep recesses of space I was bawling like a little baby.
That shot when she runs to the medicine cabinet reflected in the mirror, is absolutely legendary in filmmaking circles. It's taught and discussed in film schools.
Don't feel bad about getting emotional, Simone! I cry like a baby every time I watch Contact, and really, I think it's the kind of film that everyone should get emotional at. At its core, it deals head-on with the hardest questions humanity will ever ask, and I don't know how someone could come out of that emotionally unaffected. It's definitely up in my top five sci-fi movies ever made
Great to see you together sharing one room with George's fragrance. 😀This is of course brilliant movie, I recommend to read the original book...it has more layers and it is more complicated story.
If you ever come to NM, you can check out the Very Large Array-- the huge valley filled with radio dishes that are as big as pro baseball infields. It's an interesting place.
I love it! Your reaction was just released today and before I can finish it, more than 24,000 people have already viewed it! You two are on a roll! Thank you for watching and sharing your reaction on this amazing film.
I saw this in a packed theater when it came out. When that space zoom out gets to silent space, you could hear a pin drop. We were completely mesmerized.
For how much of a mess that this movie's production was, it's truly amazing that the final version turned out to be one of the greatest movies of all time. This and Arrival are on the short list of movies that genuinely grapple with science and philosophy and just how profoundly life-changing the quest for knowledge can be. 💙
I’ve seen this movie countless times and it’s one of my favorites. Definitely top ten of all time for me. Anytime I feel overwhelmed or ridiculously stressed out I literally come to this movie, watch it, and magically feel better just because of the opening. It gives us a sense of actual scale. All of our “problems” and petty squabbles that are just SO important to us amount to absolutely nothing when measured against the actual size of reality. It may be a bit nihilistic, but it’s extremely calming to me to know that we are less than a spec of insignificant nothing in the grand scheme of the whole of the universe.
OMG GEORGE YOUR SHIRT!!!! It took me the whole video to catch it! 😍 I'm JUST going through Oathbringer haha! What an awsome quote! Aaaaand now I'm just gonna have to call you Rock in my head... Great reaction guys, as always! Contact is quite a subtle movie, it didn't have the repercussions it could've whan it came out because of that. Glad you picked up on much of the themes and arcs. Had a great time watching you, and now I just want to hug Simone in a corner and cry as well. Lots of love from Belgium.
Simone's reactions to things always make me smile "Holy fuck, HOLY FUCK!" is so good lol This movie is such an amazing experience. As someone who grew up loving Carl Sagan (and got to see him speak one time live) his books and everything he did for science education - this was about as good a version of his book as we could ever have hoped for. From the sabotage point on the movie is hitting on all cylinders and before that point it's damn good also. Incredible performances from everyone in the cast (yes including creepy Jake Busey lol) AMAZING music and one of the best ending "twist" moments that I still remember hearing people gasp at in the theaters the multiple times I saw this :)
I’ve been waiting for you guys to see this! Stoked! I may edit this comment lol One of the most poignant things about the movie is how much like a religious person Ellie sounds at the end. She’s describing something that is not spiritual but sounds exactly like that. She doesn’t know about the evidence, which makes it even more poignant.
@@conureron3792 I wonder how people’s perception of her would change if they knew about the evidence on tape. For some, she wouldn’t sound so religious in her conviction and I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that.
@Ender7j - Ellie's comments do ring of a genuine 'spirituality' based on her rationalized experiential observation. However, the same characters' earlier questions: "What's more likely - An all powerful God created the universe and decided to not to give any proof of his existence? - or - That he doesn't exist at all... and humans created him to ease their uneasiness with their unknowns?" both galactic and skeptic experiences hold a consistent rational reasoning toward her observations. Ender7j, perhaps 'spiritually' is not rooted within an omnipotent being called: 'God.' and certainly is NOT even remotely derived from within any man-made foolishness called: 'religion,' but may more purely stem from simply... being more deeply human, more in touch with one's own humanity. That humanity itself, is the root of spirituality. It's one thought that I hope might be considered. What say you?
I think it even works better in the movie than in the book. In the novel, there were five people in the machine. although their experiences after arrival differed, they at least could confirm each other they made th trip. In the movie Ellie can't even confirm with another if what she saw really happened … unless she learns about the 18h recording.
@@TerryYelmene I’d say that spirituality is based on emotions and the search for desirable ones. There isn’t any evidence that spirituality exists beyond anything like that. Put someone in a functional MRI and you can see the brain react to stimulus…I’d wager that meditation would count as stimulus. I’ve spent years working on a Zen state of mind, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about Stoicism and Existentialism. I’ve come to understand a truth about the universe that works for me. One could say it gives me a sense of spiritual well-being, even though my paradigm is the exact opposite of that.
LOVE the opening because you immediately understood the A/V connection between the visibly increasing distance from Earth and the audible backtrack of audio signal (which ties nicely into the A/V connecting that needs to be done to fully understand the signal from Vega later in the film). Also this movie catches ish from some for portraying the alien intelligence as her dad, but I think that's a wonderful touch and it makes complete sense to me. Great job Carl Sagan and Jodie Foster, the duo we all anticipated would help us understand the cosmos at large!
So glad you picked up on that brilliant shot at 4:27. For years I wracked my brain trying to figure out how the hell they did that. I won't give it away, because like a good magic trick it's disappointingly obvious once it's explained to you.
Basically, Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey's characters represent the best parts of Science and Religion, and Tom Skerritt and Jake Busey represent the worst parts of them.
This is such a beautiful movie. The way it explores the heavy idea of faith in both religion and science, while keeping it in the framework of an entertaining genre story. I really miss filmmaking like this. The fact that Robert Zemeckis went from Forrest Gump to this, man he was on a roll back in the '90s.
@@bad-people6510 Right? Imagine respecting your audience rather than treating us like children.
If McConaughey's character is the best part of Religion, I'm so happy I'm staying as far away as possible (from any of them).
@@jculver1674 Have you seen the planet lately? We are children.
@@Cotsos88 Sounds like you're not alright, alright, alright.
@@bad-people6510 Yeah, and it's not just movies. I recently saw a musical that had an important message, but it was so one-sided and preachy that anyone who actually needed to _hear_ that message would have walked out of the theater within 30 minutes. The writers among us who want to make a difference need to remember the subtle art of persuasion.
That mirror shot when she's a kid running through the hall is so cool.
The behind the scenes explanation of how they did it is also really cool!
@@korganrocks3995 Where is that explanation? I've been worrying about that scene since the movie came out.
@@coolgareth101 There's a few videos out there with commentary explaining how they did it, but basically, they composite two shots together. One has a cameraman following her up the stairs, then there's a closeup shot of her opening the cabinet door. The door itself has a blue screen on it, where they superimpose an image of a mirror and the video of her opening the door.
th-cam.com/video/Fxa3j8bK-c4/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/vEU0krH5HZI/w-d-xo.html
@@coolgareth101 I saw it on youtube a while ago. I don't remember which video it was, but searching "contact mirror scene" will give you several to check out. :)
@@korganrocks3995 Thanks!
YES. Not enough people react to this movie and I LOVE it. The weird mix of jolting shock, awe, hope and fear during the signal-received scene is absolutely perfect.
So true!
This movie is incredible!
Agree 100%. Fantastic adaption of the book. The 'Machine' was visually great.
You'd be surprised at how many reactors miss the 18 hours of static line.
Even now, again, watching them watching it...as that signal is heard. Freaking. Chills.
Movie is started off so good, then was so BAD.... Built a second device.... but somehow NO ONE noticed it? The people who built it no one leaked anything? Come on... and then... The Alien is her dad... sooooo stupid.
"In all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other." is one of the most beautiful lines I've ever heard in a movie.
"We thought This would make things Easier for you..." Awesome.
"WE didn't build it; We don't know who DID..." DEEPer Awesome.
“Why build one when you can have two at twice the price!” - One of my favorite quotes about gov’t spending.
As a father to twins I relate to this line so much it might as well be the family motto.
@@hiarhu746 My neighbors just came home from a month-long vacation with their daughter and her twins, and they felt they needed a vacation after that vacation, so you have my sympathy. :D
From an actor who just loved Aliens bursting out of his chest. (Alien, Spaceballs).
"...but keep one secret."
@@TheJerbol The movie or the original comment?
CONTACT is the only movie where I walked out of the theater afterward, bought another ticket and walked right back into the theater. This movie made me think of what wonders humankind could accomplish if we could get our collective beliefs to align just enough that we could work as a unified planetary community and be able to become part of a galactic community on its way to being a universal community. That continues to be MY wish. Thanks for the review, guys!
If only we would stop fighting over imaginary lines on a sphere, religious beliefs and colors of skin, the wonders a joined humanity could accomplish. But we are a short sighted species who seems bent on its small minded destruction. It's so sad.
@hendrsb33 - That is the single greatest 'positive' movie review comment I've ever seen. And, 'Contact,' is a personal favorite, so this comment means even more!
💙
Nice, I did that Battlefield Earth /s
@@-M0LE Because they kick everybody out at the end of the show.
911 wasn’t wide spread at the time Jodi’s character was a child, covering only around 25% of the population, mostly larger cities
And there's no way an ambulance is going to get there in less time than it takes her to run upstairs and back.
It seems strange today, but EMTs/Paramedics and Emergency Rooms are a relatively new idea. Ambulances were just transportation, not treatment. Even in the 1970s "Emergency Medicine" was still pretty new, much less the 60s.
@@andrewcharles459 Yes! I loved watching "Emergency " as a kid. Our whole family enjoyed it. I remember a family member asking why they were called "paramedics" and my brother joked that it was because there were two of them: a pair of medics. 🙂
There was a whole episode of the show, "ER" devoted to Dr. Peter Benton working in a very rural part of Mississippi ("Middle of Nowhere"). He gets frustrated transitioning from working in Chicago which has modern equipment everywhere to working in a clinic with limited resources to treat patients who can't see a doctor in the city.
@@kenfreeman8888 The Pilot Episode was named after the CA State Amendment that gave Paramedics the ability to administer IV's and other Medications to patients under supervision of a qualified MD. It was the 'birth' of the EMT and the concept of Emergency Medicine.
"And the world is beautiful."
That's a tearjerker in itself. Great reaction, guys.
Except it's filled w/ terrorists like Jake Busey's character.
This is far and away my favorite Jodie Foster film of all time. I cry my eyes out every time I watch this. Tnanks, Simone and George for reacting to this. This isn't covered enough by your contemporaries on TH-cam.
I'm not saying this movie isn't great but the best Jodie Foster movie of all time has to be Silence of the Lambs as detective Clarice Starling.
@LameDuck...Were you disputing the OPs statement that Contact was their FAVORITE Jody Foster film?
Or are you struggling to differentiate between FAVORITE and BEST?
Jodie’s scene in the last congressional hearing show’s why she has two academy awards. Brilliantly moving.
During a stroke or heartattack, taking an emergency dose of aspirin is more important than 911.
Seconds can make all the difference.
Love this movie. Carl Sagan was a gift. We need more like him
Now we got Neil deGrasse Tyson...who is Bill Nye of astronomy....clown with an arrogant attitude .....
who’s to say there isn’t more like him?…
Carl Sagan was a remarkable human being, and we certainly need more like him. In many ways, the world evolved into his most dire projections and warnings. But Contact was one of his most optimistic works, a testament to science and human faith in something greater than ourselves.
@@demiGodHFL There may be. Not as visible to the public yet, but hopefully soon.
We need BILLIONS and BILLIONS more like him.
One of the more important movies of our time, and the single message in the end "for Carl" gets me every time
My mom and sisters were extras in this movie! They were part of the crowd during the launch scene.
Awesome.
Very cool! 😊
I remember when this first came out my mom and I went yo see it in the theater multiple times and each consecutive time, we would get real quiet at the end and when she mentions the 18hrs of static, a collective gasp went up around the theater every time. It was awesome! 💗
I remember when I saw this in the theater, people laughed at that moment. But not like you would laugh at a joke, it was more of a satisfied laugh, like "haha, in your face!"
My favorite memory from seeing it in the theater was the opening shot, one of the best jobs I've seen of conveying the true scale of the cosmos. There was the usual background noises in the theater, people talking to each other, coughing, the rattling of candy wrappers, etc. Everybody jumped at the sudden blast of sound, but once the radio signals died out and the shot just kept going, everyone in the theater had gone dead silent.
I remember being so tense and full of anxietyon the scene when she was flying through the wormholes
Man, the opening scene... you could hear a pin drop in the Cinema.
Also, weird coincidence that there are not one but two castmembers from "Alien" in this: Tom Skerrit and John Hurt.
And once again, neither of them survive. Poor guys just had a bad track record with meeting aliens.
It's probably not a coincidence.
@Miles Doyle What is wrong with you?
It was a neat concept that just our normal every day transmissions would "leak" out into space, and would "announce" our presence to aliens (and that they would announce their presence by sending the earliest transmission back). Not too long ago, it was found through what we got back from the Voyager probes that this actually doesn't work. The radiation from our Sun eventually interferes with these normal everyday transmissions in space, and so they don't escape our solar system. Sagan didn't know that when this movie was made, though.
For whatever reason I just love the sound of that signal. I saw this in the theater with the powerful speakers and it just cut right into me. It's beautiful and scary at the same time. I kinda want that sound as my alarm to wake up in the morning.
And if no one has mentioned it, the girl who played young Ellie is Jena Malone who became much more popular later on.
From the DVD commentary, Robert Zemeckis said that his only direction to James Woods was "Be James Woods". And Woods' first line - "Where's the girl?" - was an improv by Woods and completely sums up his character.
One of my favorite movies ever. Probably in the top 10. Just beautiful and surprisingly rewatchable. Everyone is giving an amazing g performance here and I love it. The Medicine cabinet shot is one of the most impressive visual effects ever, especially for the time when it was shot.
My mom taught philosophy at a community college. She had her students watch Contact. After seeing it in the theater she went home and cracked open her philosophy books to look up William of Occam because of the mention of Occam's razor.
I saw this in the Uptown theater in Washington, DC, on a 70x40 foot screen when it premiered. It was one of the most amazing cinematic experiences I've had. From the opening scene, the excitement of first hearing the signal, the heart in your throat moment when the first machine is destroyed, to the chills when Hadden reveals the second machine, to the tension of the trip itself and the aftermath, it was something I'll never forget.
I had read the book prior to seeing the movie, and was a big fan of Carl Sagan having grew up on Cosmos and his National Geographic contributions. I was fortunate to meet him and shake his hand in person in 1985, so this movie has a lot of meaning to me.
Ah the Uptown, home of some of my best movie memories. I hope it gets. Reopened some day
I went to the theater to see this when it came out. I was tearing up at the end but when I saw For Carl I just started bawling.
I'm glad you guys noticed the mirror shot. That one tends to fly over peoples heads and it's one of the most impressive vfx I've ever seen.
Did anyone else really want to give Simone a hug as the credits rolled? I can only presume that George hadn't showered... ;-) I love how powerful movies like this can be, so thank you guys for reminding people about our first reactions to it.
@ 9:39 The "Encyclopedia Galactica" Ellie mentioned here is the name of a good episode in Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" science series. He talks writing Contact at the end of one of the Cosmos episodes. His book is quite good too with many more details, and a different kind of _proof_ than the "18 hours" static thing in the movie. I'm sure the book proof was changed to the 18 hours of static thing so the general public could grasp it during the movie. If you haven't seen "Cosmos" you two would enjoy the 13-part science series, to learn about science (mostly astronomy), and its history. It came out in 1980, but an update version was made in 1990 with very few changes except brief science updates at the end of most episodes done by Carl. 🖖😎
I'd rather have the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy than an Encyclopedia Galactica ;)
Earth: Mostly harmless
"Well, maybe not out... but certainly being handed your hat... wanna take a ride...?"
SO many goosebumps. Wonderful viewing this gem with the two of you!
Really enjoyed this wrapped burrito from both of you! 😂 Contact is one of my favorite movies of all time. Such a great story and includes many moral and ethical elements that are so relevant in today's environment. Thank you so much for choosing this movie.
An underrated gem. I loved watching Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' TV show in the 1980's. This quote of his from the 1980 book that accompanied the show is getting more prescient every year now sadly "Our intelligence and our technology have given us the power to affect the climate. How will we use this power? Are we willing to tolerate ignorance and complacency in matters that affect the entire human family? Do we value short-term advantages above the welfare of the Earth? Or will we think on longer time scales, with concern for our children and our grandchildren, to understand and protect the complex life-support systems of our planet? The Earth is a tiny and fragile world. It needs to be cherished"
@Miles Doyle Sorry I got as far as Psalm and gave up, I don't find that book of Fairy Tales your'e quoting from of much use as it's certainly not based on any form of reality, stick to Harry Potter mate it's more empirical in its evidence!
I had that quote in the back of my mind. That’s why, at George’s smirk with the “is the world fundamentally a better place because of science and technology?” interview, my gut reaction is always “…you sure about it, man?”.
Watched this at the cinema in a packed theatre with Dolby Surround with my mum back when it came out in 1997. Being only a 14 yo kid at the time I still remember it to this day as the most mind-bendingly wondrous and ethereal cinema experience of my life.
I love the little special effect done so smoothly you never see it. When She runs up the stairs at 4:18 and opens the medicine cabinet, you have been looking at her reflection from all the way down stairs. It looked like Simone saw it but was confused about what her eyes told her. I'm a Carl Sagan fan before the book Contact came out. And those last two words at the end......"for Carl" makes me cry every time.
This is one of my all time favourite films. The cast did an amazing job to bring the characters to life. It has so many great moments.
I am very happy that you chose this movie. In his day, Carl Sagan brought the majesty of astronomy to the general public. His series on public television was titled "Cosmos" and every week's episode was mesmerizing.
And there is ofcourse the remake with Neil Degrasse Tyson. I was introduced to the works of Carl Sagan through that remake.
This movie came out prior to the International Space Station being launched and becoming operational. I just wanted to point that out because sometimes I forget it hasn’t always been up there. And also that it won’t be up there forever either.
Mir had been there for a decade.
James Woods is such a method actor he never stopped playing the prick in this movie
Since I've seen this movie at least a dozen times, I basically just watched Simone's eyes the whole time and it was truly beautiful seeing her fall in love with everything about it. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it!
Yes! One of my favourite films ever. Remember seeing it on opening weekend, absolutely love it. Carl Sagan, the man who stoked my love of science.
"I wanna curl up and just cry for hours, and me just like I am so tiny and insignificant... and the world is beautiful." Simone 2022. :)
After watching four times, realized the beach she lands on is the picture she drew as a little girl. Same 3 palm trees.
You guys should definitely watch “the frighteners” with Michael J Fox. The guy who blew up the first station in this movie, plays a serial killer in that movie and looks even creepier 🤣
it's directed by Peter Jackson. I'd be amazed if George hasn't already seen it.
It's fun watching you two together. You obviously have a great rapport with each other, and it seems even more heightened when you are both in the same room. It would be great if you could react to some comedies while George is visiting.
There's at least one coming.
Aw, I LOVE that you guys both enjoyed the movie so much. It inspired a whole generation of astronomers and astrophysicists and even biologists like me. For Carl, indeed. He helped us see ourselves and our situation so well and is dearly missed.
I work for a State Government agency (at least for a few more months before I retire), and I can tell you first hand that the character of that bureaucrat never admitting they are wrong is an absolute truism. I have seen about 10% of our management workforce, who will never admit they are wrong (or that they are the viscous SOB's they actually are). They got ahead by bullying the weak minded and innocent members of the organization, and they see that as the path to increased success and power, so they will continue in those terrible actions to get further ahead. There are few of us who risk and usually sacrifice our careers regardless of the cost, and almost always wind up in the lower part of the command chain due to our direct resistance to their behavior. At lease we live with our honor down in the trenches.
4:32 - I feel like if the time it took her to run up a single flight of stairs meant the difference between life and death for her father, emergency services couldn’t have arrived in time to make a difference.
Also: given Ellie’s apparent age, it’s unlikely 911 service was available to her, anyway (most of the United States didn’t have access to 911 until the late ’80s).
🥺😢 that’s sad.
Yep. I remember the PSA ads about the "new 9-1-1" system.
"Use it. Dont abuse it".
I love this movie for many reasons. The biggest was that my late father was in this movie as an extra in the courtroom scene in the end.
@Miles Doyle I stopped reading after "Psalm"
John Hurt gave an outstanding performance in Contact.
The movie has a quiet message, Faith (and Hope).
You can't wrap this burrito Simone
I remember watching this when it first came out and even my small sons were excited about the search for ET. Within a few days our home computers were hooked up to the S.E.T.I program. Everytime there was a blip or anomaly we were SO excited....
SETI at Home was an amazing screensaver. :-) I had it on all of my PCs.
As much as I love SETI, I also think we need to launch an STI program. I don't see any evidence of intelligent life on this planet yet. :P
@@naughty.r0bot Hahahaha
@@naughty.r0bot What do you know... You're a robot on Mars! Your ref to "This Planet" would be Mars.... and all life on Earth is more intelligent than that dead space rock.
I like that at the end she travels many light years to the stars and talks to her dead father, after asking at the beginning of the movie, if her radio goes far enough for her to talk to her dead mother. At the end she kinda got to spend a last moment with her dad (That was nice, even tho he wasnt real).
"I want to cry...because I'm so tiny and insignificant." I could never put into words why I liked this movie so much when I saw it as a teen, but this does it wonderfully.
The movie gives makes you feel so tiny against the big questions out there, but it also makes you feel completely alright about it, like it's all part of the plan.
It struck me that an atheist and scientific-minded scholar and writer like Sagan could project such a massive and confident spirituality.
The world often seems like an awful place to me. Because of my own 'mental constitution' -ahem-I have certain struggles. But whenever I watch this movie, I get this warm, almost 'being in the womb', fuzzy feeling over me. That despite everything; i'm still lucky to be alive to experience it and that I am but a small particle of a magnificent, terrible, beautiful, magnificent universe.
But here's the awe inspiring other side of that realization of how tiny and insignificant we are...BEING ABLE to realize that about ourselves MAKES US the most significant beings in the known universe.
The act of realizing how insignificant you are means you're so advanced you realize how advanced you are not. SELF AWARENESS is THE most powerful achievement we've made, and as far as we currently know, we're the ONLY things in existence that have achieved that.
We're simultaneously insignificant and the most significant and knowing that is why I cry looking to the night sky: There's no one else we've found to share that knowledge with.
An underrated masterpiece from Robert Zemeckis. Other films in the same vein are Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (director's cut) and James Cameron's "The Abyss" (special edition).
I adore The Abyss. I can watch it over and over and still grit my teeth on the tense parts.
Close Encounters is my absolute favourite movie of all time.
Agree “The Abyss” needs to be another reaction
@@TheFalconerNZ But only the long cut. With the really good ending (no spoilers) not the weak ass theatrical cut.
@@lightyagami1752 Long cuts are always better as they are the story the director wanted to portray, not the cut down version the studio wants to use to rush audiences through the theater to get more screens per day.
One of my favourite stories. I read the novel in my teenage. It was long ago and I don't remember everything but I am sure in the novel 5 people from different nation travel away to the aliens. It brings a little bit different ending but the movie is amazing as well.
There are wonderful sections at the end of the book in which Ellie meets up with each of her fellow travelers and each of them give her insights into the experience and encourage her to continue on her path of discovery. Sagan and Drury wrote an incredible novel. I enjoy the movie but I *love* the book.
I am always drawn to John Hurt in this movie. Such a international treasure. He had an alien burst out his chest in "Alien", he sold the wand to Harry Potter, he was the doctor in Doctor Who whom the other doctors didn't want to talk about (but that, without spoiling it, isn't fair once you know the whole story), as Gilliam in "Snowpiercer", the loony evil Prime Minister in "V for Vendetta", the father figure for "Hellboy", the main character in "1984", the voice of Aragorn in the animated "Lord of the Rings" (1978) and here with his iconic character, looking straight into the camera with the awesome question "Wanna take a ride?" Now that's a pretty cool fun fact, being both the actor who played one of the Doctors and also a pivotal character in the movie that the 12th doctor talked about. What a career!
The movie is a great adaptation but the novel is far more than belief vs science. The ending, in particular is one of the most amazing bits that is far too hard to explain to a casual movie audience. Highly recommend reading the book.
Contact was published in 1985. I'm not sure how old she was but she had a doctorate, so let's assume she's 26. Age 9 Ellie would have been in 1968. Even if we move it ahead to the timeline of the movie release (1997), it would have been 1980. In 1979 only about 26% of the US had access to a 911 service. And that was probably more concentrated in cities instead of the rural area she was in.
The movie is good but it just loses SOOOO much from the book. Years of story. There is also the HUGE fact that 5 travelers were sent which would have canceled out several of the points they raised watching the movie and to this day out of all the changes between the book and movie that is the change I understand the least.
This is one of those works that should have been made into either a high budget mini series or a full length single season TV show or possibly even 2 seasons given the time spans and events covered in the book.
Since Zemeckis was Spielberg's protégé, I'm pretty sure the bigger antenna reference is an homage. (The campers and protesters also remind me of The Sugarland Express, Spielberg's first non-tv feature film.)
George at 14:48, tho :D
Really great movie, Sugarland.
Specially the ending is similar to Indy and lost ark , you have something significant found and you gonna just archive it , with huge pile of junk .
@@pete_lind Don’t worry. They have their top men working on it.
@@VilleHalonen Top. Men.
It's crazy seeing Jena Malone in this, because so many of her earliest films like Bastard Out of Carolina, Contact, and Stepmom I didn't see until way after the fact.
Really awesome to see how her career has blown up since then with films like Sucker Punch, The Hunger Games franchise, BVS, Nocturnal Animals, Goliath and much more.
And Donnie Darko!
Never heard of her. Does she have a starring role in those movies?
she was still hot back then, now shes aged out man
Wow, that's the name that popped into my head, but I only remembered her from Donnie Darko, so I didn't think I was actually correct!
I liked her in The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys. She's going to be in Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon coming out next year.
It's such a moving picture and stirs up emotions so fundamental to our concept of self. As humans we may be little but we are never insignificant. This is one of my favourite movies. Any time I watch it, it moves me to tears but not from sadness but the reaffirmation that in my belief we are all spiritually connected. I loved the review.
Love this movie, Jodie fosters emotions make it so real like it's she's really been through it. She's a fantastic actor.
I love Simone and George friendship it’s absolutely amazing especially during watching this film
Yessss. Contact! Of all the great movies we have, Contact is one that sticks in the back of my mind.
Lots of people say it lacks resolution or that the 'big event' wasnt big enough, but honestly the sense of mystery and discovery alone was enough to really make this something special, IMO.
The destruction of the machine in Florida was before 9/11 events,
So it was a violent scene for 1990s - little did we know.
David Morse, as Ellie’s father also gave a good performance at beginning and end.
I worked in a theater in 97 when this was out. There was an advanced screening that people won tickets to on the radio. I got to watch it and supervise the viewing to make sure everything was good. When it’s counting down and she’s about to go into the worm hole, it got to like 2 and the film literally MELTED on the screen. I had to run out and tell a supervisor. Those people were pissed 😆🤯
The only time I've seen this is when the Mark wahlberg planet of the apes came out. got about half hour into the movie and it just melted. was the first and only midnight premier I went to lol
@@stephenbryant6536 yeah most theaters are digital now so people these days probably won’t get to experience this. Sometimes they would have us ushers just sit up there and stare at the reels as they went because some reels were prone to static and we had to be Johnny on the spot to intervene the ribbon of film before catastrophe. It was nuts 😆
I had a similar experience with LOTR except the projectionist loaded the wrong film roll out-of-sequence. It took 20 minutes to correct. Needless to say, the experience scarred my LOTR memories for life.
that happened to me when I went to see The Green Mile. The film broke just as John Coffee is leaning towards the woman he healed of cancer. The most tense moment of the movie and the screen just went white. Took us about 5 to 10 seconds to realize this wasn't supposed to happen. The theatre manager said they'd get it back on but we'd miss about 1 minute of the movie. People in the theatre went nuts. They offered us all free tickets to come back and see it again. My friends and I took the ticket vouchers and went into the theatre showing the same movie that started 30 mintutes later and sat down about 10 minutes before the spot where the film broke.
@@williamirwin4154 crazy. It’s like the film reels succumb to the intensity of the moment 😆🤯
This is another example of a movie in the 90's that shows how great some of the movies were back then. People were creative and displayed works of art on screen through their screenplays, scripts, characters, and even had thought provoking premises that made audiences have conversations after watching. Keep movie reacting to 90's movies guys. Awesome movie. 👍
My favorite part of this movie is the conversations it brings up. Different opinions on an issue each given respect is very admirable. One of the few times I've really enjoyed both the movie and book, even though there are differences.
You guys are even better in person than on split screen. The first 4 minutes convinced me to hit “pause” and sign up for the full length reaction on Patreon. See you there!
The Arroway (Foster) and Drumlin (Skerritt) scientific relationship draws parallels to that of Jocelyn Bell and Antony Hewish in real life. In 1967, as a postgrad student, Bell discovered the first radio pulsar stars and had to fight hard to prove to Hewish, her project leader, that her evidence was real. In 1974, Hewish and Martin Ryle received the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of pulsars, and Bell was not even mentioned. Many in the scientific community believed that Bell was robbed of the recognition she deserved although Bell, herself, has downplayed her lack of recognition. Fortunately, most in the astronomical field will readily tell you that pulsars were discovered by Jocelyn Bell. Bell, currently 79, went on to have a very distinguished career.
It was so much fun watching you experience this film for the first time. AND to see you get it. From the opening sequence to the reason THAT was the broadcast they sent back (before the movie explained it), to .... I don't want to spoil anything for anyone (although why someone would read comments without seeing the movie baffles me). It was just so rewarding to see you watch this & react the same way I did when I saw it on a huge movie screen a million years ago. (BTW the opening is downright dizzying in surround sound). So sorry Carl Sagan never lived to see the finished film, but I'm sure from what he had seen, he knew his story was in good hands and would be well told.
Thanks for choosing this.
Oh... CONTACT! An all-time favorite! Simone.... we are all tiny, yet we are all so very significant! We love.... and like you, we cry. George and Simone you have given us a truly great reaction - and contrary to what you say at the end...it shouldn't be your last! One more thing... I always like to mention Alan Silvestri for contributing what in my opinion is one of the very best movie themes and soundtracks ever composed. Again, Simone and George - Thank You!
It's okay to be overwhelmed, truly. I saw this film in the theatre and remember being blown away. The arguments of faith and science and how they can work together, and the idea that not having anything else out there would be "a waste of space"... all of it really moved me.
Oh man - I'm so glad this won the vote, and I couldn't wait for this. It's one of my favourite movies and is very special to me for a number of reasons, movie wise but also outside of that. I knew the pair of you have the emotional intelligence to get this, and you did not disappoint. Also, lovely to see you both in the same room, I'm sure you had a blast!
Thank you, Simone! The egg drop!
Here's how _I_ did it: a 2-liter soda bottle, cut in half. The egg was held between 2 pieces of Leggs pantyhose in the middle, with some glue around the egg to keep it near the center. The bottom was weighted so it'd flip upwards and hit squarely...and the egg would *boing* up and down without hitting the sides. Worked.
Ok, confession time. I saw this in the theater when it came out. I am male and considered myself pretty tough, at tleast back then. However, during the scene at the end when Jody Foster is seeing all the countless galaxies through the wormhole in the deep recesses of space I was bawling like a little baby.
It's ok, dude, sci-fi tears don't count. ;)
@@korganrocks3995 I was curious so I looked this up. Actually, they do count.
@@tristramcoffin926 Well shit, looks like I gotta re-calibrate some numbers!
That shot when she runs to the medicine cabinet reflected in the mirror, is absolutely legendary in filmmaking circles. It's taught and discussed in film schools.
oh man, if you wanna see Jake Busey doing his serious psycho smile thing, you gotta watch "The Frighteners"!
Now that's a movie I haven't heard of in a while. Soo good.
Watched this at the cinema when it first came out... brilliant film. You should watch the dvd commentary on the special effects. Good work guys
Contact was my favorite SF movie for decades, until Arrival. Just such a wonderful film.
Don't feel bad about getting emotional, Simone! I cry like a baby every time I watch Contact, and really, I think it's the kind of film that everyone should get emotional at. At its core, it deals head-on with the hardest questions humanity will ever ask, and I don't know how someone could come out of that emotionally unaffected. It's definitely up in my top five sci-fi movies ever made
Great to see you together sharing one room with George's fragrance. 😀This is of course brilliant movie, I recommend to read the original book...it has more layers and it is more complicated story.
If you ever come to NM, you can check out the Very Large Array-- the huge valley filled with radio dishes that are as big as pro baseball infields. It's an interesting place.
'Enjoy my strong fragrance'
The peak of my new top ten creepiest phrases EVER...
Seeing the opening audio montage reminds me of just reading (in SciAm) that Voyager 2 is only 21 light-HOURS away.
Thanks for this followup after ARRIVAL. Great reaction as always you guys!
You two have such a fun goofiness about you that I've always found to be very endearing! Keep up the great work!
@Text me+①②①⑥②⑥⓪⑥⑥⑥⑦ I am not a robot
Of course Tom Skerritt should have been the one to go. He's had previous experience with space travel and aliens.
Thought he got killed, though.
I love it! Your reaction was just released today and before I can finish it, more than 24,000 people have already viewed it! You two are on a roll!
Thank you for watching and sharing your reaction on this amazing film.
2:44 that's the name of the movie!
Love this movie. Has two of the most memorable shots in cinema......that opening sequence and the running towards the mirror.
I love how Simone doesn't know how to react to George in the opening 🤣
I saw this in a packed theater when it came out. When that space zoom out gets to silent space, you could hear a pin drop. We were completely mesmerized.
For how much of a mess that this movie's production was, it's truly amazing that the final version turned out to be one of the greatest movies of all time. This and Arrival are on the short list of movies that genuinely grapple with science and philosophy and just how profoundly life-changing the quest for knowledge can be. 💙
I’ve seen this movie countless times and it’s one of my favorites. Definitely top ten of all time for me. Anytime I feel overwhelmed or ridiculously stressed out I literally come to this movie, watch it, and magically feel better just because of the opening. It gives us a sense of actual scale. All of our “problems” and petty squabbles that are just SO important to us amount to absolutely nothing when measured against the actual size of reality. It may be a bit nihilistic, but it’s extremely calming to me to know that we are less than a spec of insignificant nothing in the grand scheme of the whole of the universe.
Same, my favourite film to feel planted back to reality along with 'pale blue dot' by Carl Sagan. ❤️🇬🇧
When you yelled, "Fuck you, James Woods!" ... I loved that hahaha
For real, I love you guys. You are by far the most genuinely nice and honest people I watch on the internet.
Much love from France ❤
One of my favorite scifi movies, but the book is way better than the movie..
RiP Carl Sagan🌎
OMG GEORGE YOUR SHIRT!!!! It took me the whole video to catch it! 😍 I'm JUST going through Oathbringer haha! What an awsome quote! Aaaaand now I'm just gonna have to call you Rock in my head...
Great reaction guys, as always! Contact is quite a subtle movie, it didn't have the repercussions it could've whan it came out because of that. Glad you picked up on much of the themes and arcs. Had a great time watching you, and now I just want to hug Simone in a corner and cry as well.
Lots of love from Belgium.
Simone's reactions to things always make me smile "Holy fuck, HOLY FUCK!" is so good lol
This movie is such an amazing experience. As someone who grew up loving Carl Sagan (and got to see him speak one time live) his books and everything he did for science education - this was about as good a version of his book as we could ever have hoped for. From the sabotage point on the movie is hitting on all cylinders and before that point it's damn good also. Incredible performances from everyone in the cast (yes including creepy Jake Busey lol) AMAZING music and one of the best ending "twist" moments that I still remember hearing people gasp at in the theaters the multiple times I saw this :)
The wormhole effects in this movie always reminded me of Stargate travel
I’ve been waiting for you guys to see this! Stoked! I may edit this comment lol
One of the most poignant things about the movie is how much like a religious person Ellie sounds at the end. She’s describing something that is not spiritual but sounds exactly like that. She doesn’t know about the evidence, which makes it even more poignant.
Yes, love the parallels of faith and science
@@conureron3792 I wonder how people’s perception of her would change if they knew about the evidence on tape. For some, she wouldn’t sound so religious in her conviction and I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that.
@Ender7j - Ellie's comments do ring of a genuine 'spirituality' based on her rationalized experiential observation. However, the same characters' earlier questions: "What's more likely - An all powerful God created the universe and decided to not to give any proof of his existence? - or - That he doesn't exist at all... and humans created him to ease their uneasiness with their unknowns?" both galactic and skeptic experiences hold a consistent rational reasoning toward her observations. Ender7j, perhaps 'spiritually' is not rooted within an omnipotent being called: 'God.' and certainly is NOT even remotely derived from within any man-made foolishness called: 'religion,' but may more purely stem from simply... being more deeply human, more in touch with one's own humanity. That humanity itself, is the root of spirituality. It's one thought that I hope might be considered. What say you?
I think it even works better in the movie than in the book.
In the novel, there were five people in the machine. although their experiences after arrival differed, they at least could confirm each other they made th trip.
In the movie Ellie can't even confirm with another if what she saw really happened … unless she learns about the 18h recording.
@@TerryYelmene I’d say that spirituality is based on emotions and the search for desirable ones. There isn’t any evidence that spirituality exists beyond anything like that. Put someone in a functional MRI and you can see the brain react to stimulus…I’d wager that meditation would count as stimulus.
I’ve spent years working on a Zen state of mind, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about Stoicism and Existentialism. I’ve come to understand a truth about the universe that works for me. One could say it gives me a sense of spiritual well-being, even though my paradigm is the exact opposite of that.
LOVE the opening because you immediately understood the A/V connection between the visibly increasing distance from Earth and the audible backtrack of audio signal (which ties nicely into the A/V connecting that needs to be done to fully understand the signal from Vega later in the film). Also this movie catches ish from some for portraying the alien intelligence as her dad, but I think that's a wonderful touch and it makes complete sense to me. Great job Carl Sagan and Jodie Foster, the duo we all anticipated would help us understand the cosmos at large!
"Surface-level sci-fi rom-com..." This description of CONTACT has fundamentally changed my life. LOL! Awesome.
So glad you picked up on that brilliant shot at 4:27. For years I wracked my brain trying to figure out how the hell they did that. I won't give it away, because like a good magic trick it's disappointingly obvious once it's explained to you.
I had the same thing with the mirror scene in Terminator 2, until I found out that the actress had a twin who played the mirrored version!