Enemy Mine [Blu-ray]

Director: Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen

Overview

Love means never having to say that you're ugly in the extravagant fantasy film Enemy Mine. Earthling Dennis Quaid is Davidge, one of many space warriors engaged in a bloody extraterrestrial battle against the Draconians. Crash-landing on a faraway planet, Davidge is forced into an "up close and personal" with the Drac (Lou Gossett Jr.), a repellant, reptilian creature. Evidently a bivalve, the Drac gives birth to a baby Drac just before expiring. Now a reluctant foster father, Davidge tries to keep himself and the baby alive while the war continues to rage all around them. The special effects (courtesy Industrial Light and Magic) are serviceable if not brilliant, and the acting is okay so far as it goes. What socks over Enemy Mine is Rolf Zehetbauer's awe-inspiring production design and Chris Walas' superb makeup work. Though a favorite on home video, the film deserves to be seen on a wide theatre screen.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/15/2016
UPC:	9344256013621
Original Release:	1985
Source:	Imports
Language:	English
Sales rank:	13,511

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Louis Gossett Jr.	Jeriba `Jerry' Shigan
Dennis Quaid	Willis Davidge
Brion James	Stubbs
Richard Marcus	Arnold
Carolyn McCormick	Morse
Bumper Robinson	Zammis,Walker
Jim Mapp	Old Drac
Lance Kerwin	Wooster
Scott Kraft	Jonathan
Lou Michaels	Bates
Andy Geer	Wilson
Henry Stolow	Cates
Herb Andress	Hopper
Danmar	Wise Guy
Mandy Hausenberger	Medic
Emily Woods	Simpson
Barry Stokes	Huck
Tony Moore	Upfront Drac
Kevin Taylor	Upfront Drac
Colin Gilder	Chavo
Charly Huber	Kranzer,Actor
Frank Henson	Lump
Jazzer Jeyes	Scarbreath
Mark McBride	Hensler
Balog Menyert	Mills
Ulrich Günther	Daggett
Wise Guy Danmar	Actor
Jane Feinberg	Actor
Jack Luceno	Drac Movement
Peter Jurasik	Actor
Maurice Jarre	Composer

Technical Credits

Edward Khmara

Barry Longyear

Wolfgang Petersen	Director
Stephen Friedman	Producer,Producer
Martin Grace	Stunts
Bob MacDonald Jr.	Special Effects
Stanley O'Toole	Executive Producer
Chris Walas	Special Effects
Edward Khmara	Screenwriter
Barry Longyear	Screenwriter
Craig Barron	Special Effects
Gary Clayton	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

An intergalactic take on such previous efforts as John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific (1968), Enemy Mine translates that film's themes of xenophobia and cross-cultural misinterpretation to the outer reaches of the universe with effective results. Though the familiar story has been told before, the decision to strand the two protagonists on a distant planet (a tactic frequently used by Rod Serling to address pressing social issues in The Twilight Zone) removes them far enough from a sense of reality that the issue of resolving differences, not the differences themselves, takes precedence. In this sense, Enemy Mine is a rare and unique example of science fiction being used as a means to ponder humans' relations to each other and the universe, rather than a springboard to the now overly familiar aliens-versus-humans approach. Even if the concept behind the film isn't entirely original, it can be forgiven for its efforts because of a pair of memorable performances by Louis Gossett Jr. and Dennis Quaid. Both actors inject their character with just enough emotional drive and self-centeredness that the discovery of their similarities rings true without excess sentimentality. An unexpected revelation at the film's midpoint drives this point home effectively, obliterating not only the questions of species identity, but also gender identity. A familiar saying states that if humans cannot live together, they will surely die together; Enemy Mine's optimistic coda suggests that not only can humans live together, they can move further to become one despite their differences.

All Movie Guide - Jason Buchanan