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‘Master of cinematic technology Robert Zemeckis brings Carl Sagan's opus to life JULIE TAPLEY ‘Daily Texan Staff Hollywood has always had an affinity with science fiction. Modern technology is in constant demand to top the best of the best with the newest in visual effects and digital imagery. The big winners in the summer time box office race are often the films with the biggest explosions, dinosaurs or aliens and the skimpiest plots to thread it all together. But tn the case of Contact, audiences will be unexpectedly swept away in a wave of intel lect, inspiration and awe. . Carl Sagan published his best-selling ‘novel, Contact, in 1985. Offers to turn it into to film came knocking immediately, but it wasn’t until 1995 that science and cinema ‘found a new kind of visionary: Robert Zemeckis. Fresh from his success with Acad emy Award-winning Forrest Gump, the director of such fanciful favorites as the Back to the Future series and Who Framed Roger Rabbit proved to have a mind uncontained by the limits of technology. Together, the Starring: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey Director, Robert Zemeckis Playing at: Barton Creek, Great Hills, Lake line, Lincoln, Movies 12, Roundrock Rating: **%*x (out of five) now-deceased Sagan and Zemeckis found the equilibrium necessary to question and amaze while remaining human and believ able. The story follows Dr. Ellie Arroway’s (Jodie Foster) search for intelligent, extrater restrial messages from outer space, and the events that follow when that search is suc cessful. She has dedicated her whole life to the quest for answers to the unimaginable, despite ridicule and scorn from opposition within her profession. When a radio message comes to Earth from a distant star, it is all she had hoped for — and feared. The world gathers to decode the transmission, contain ing the blueprint for an intergalactic travel machine, as intense controversy erupts. Ellie turns to her only potential confidant, Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a top-level government agent and religious scholar. Determined to become the first person to make contact, Ellie must ultimately chal lenge all her assumptions about truth, sci ence, faith and the human experience. Fine performances by Foster, McConaugh ey and a slew of other stars, backed by the imagination of scholars (Sagan) and vision aries (Zemeckis and crew) make Contact the stellar event of the summer. FILM In the film’s surprise ending, the beautiful Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) finally makes contact with extraterrestrial life by transmitting signals with her wide-brimmed hat.
Newspaper Details
Austin Daily Texan
Austin, Texas, US
Fri, Jul 11, 1997
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Eric W.
USA 04 Sep 2026
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