July 11th somehow marks the 25th anniversary (!!!) of one of my favorite movies of all time, Contact. To celebrate, Vulture just released an amazingly in-depth oral history with every major player from the cast, crew, and creators, one that makes me want to stop everything and rewatch this movie again, right now, for the umpteenth time. Really, for fans, this is so insightful, and full of so many gems that I wasn't previously aware of. It's absolutely worth the read for those interested, and absolutely worth the watch for those who have never seen the movie itself...

"No aliens, no spaceships, no invasion of Earth" — here is the oral history of 1997's Contact, the sci-fi movie that defied Hollywood norms and made it big anyway. @rachel_handler reports https://t.co/42SxpgonoV

— Vulture (@vulture) June 29, 2022

Absolutely amazing movie!

They mention the South Park scene with Mr Garrison, classic. Also shows how old South Park and Contact are. And I saw it in theaters. Dang.

Great movie though. I've always appreciated how they brought the relationship and religion and science together. Also isn't the terrorist a Busey?

A top 5 all time science fiction movie.

James Woods' performance in this movie.

The OP embed is the official account encode, but here's a proper, 2.35:1 widescreen, 35MM film scan version. There's a little more static in the audio, but the picture is a lot better...

Wow. 25 years. Still remember seeing it in the theater with friends and the hours we spent at Taco Cabana afterwards talking about it.

I loved this movie when it came out. I saw it at least twice at the theater. Each time I went with various friends, and after I would say "Wasn't that great?!?" Their answer was always "Ehh, it was ok". It was then that I realized I was either smarter or nerdier than my high school friends.

can't begin to guess how many times I have answered the question of "how you doing?" with "I'm OK to go! I'm OK to go!"

one of my all time favorite movies. time for another re-watch.

I remember not caring very much for this film when I saw it in theaters but I was 11 years old at the time.

Oddly enough now I remember EVERYTHING about this movie and one thing that sticks out was this crazy camera shot they pulled off during a flashback sequence of young Ellie running to a medicine cabinet to try and save her dad.

double aught said:

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I loved this movie when it came out. I saw it at least twice at the theater. Each time I went with various friends, and after I would say "Wasn't that great?!?" Their answer was always "Ehh, it was ok". It was then that I realized I was either smarter or nerdier than my high school friends.

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That's a really good take, I think I was 23 when I saw it, and my normal fare back there was more along the lines of The Rock and Independence Day at the time. There are a lot of "quiet beauty" scenes in that movie, like when she's out at the SETI place in New Mexico among those behemoths. I remember my dad laughing loudly and saying "ain't that the truth" when the billionaire recluse says "Why build one when you can build two at twice the price."

helloimustbegoing said:

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double aught said:

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I loved this movie when it came out. I saw it at least twice at the theater. Each time I went with various friends, and after I would say "Wasn't that great?!?" Their answer was always "Ehh, it was ok". It was then that I realized I was either smarter or nerdier than my high school friends.

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That's a really good take, I think I was 23 when I saw it, and my normal fare back there was more along the lines of The Rock and Independence Day at the time. There are a lot of "quiet beauty" scenes in that movie, like when she's out at the SETI place in New Mexico among those behemoths. I remember my dad laughing loudly and saying "ain't that the truth" when the billionaire recluse says "Why build one when you can build two at twice the price."

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I've always loved that. Great line about government.

A lot more of us Contact fans out there than I knew!

Also I take offense to how hard they **** on ID4.

You want to see actual bad cinema, go look at its sequel. But a dumb movie with a lot of heart is still decent filmmaking.

We can like both damnit!

In to 1) agree this is a great movie, and 2) sit in stunned silence at the realization that it is 25 years old.

I think the movie has more of a special connection for me due to the setting at the VLA (Very Large Array in NM). The progressive metal band Queensryche had a special radio broadcast concert from the VLA around the same time the movie came out and I was fortunate to be one of the around 200 people who were there (mostly radio station contest winners, etc.)

They literally built a stage in the desert on the property there at the VLA so these massive dishes were the backdrop for the concert. One of the most interesting things I have had the opportunity to do.







Found one decent video of a song from that show in case you're curious. There are a few good shots where you can see the satellite dishes more clearly than in my photos.