Contact
Mystery, Science Fiction
Warner Bros.  (1997) 150 mins PG

7.3 (62,000 votes)
The Academy Award-winning director of "Forrest Gump" and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Contact" take you on a journey to the heart of the universe.

Contact, based on the novel of the same name by Carl Sagan, is the story of a free thinking radio astronomer (Jodie Foster) who discovers an intelligent signal broadcast from deep space. She and her fellow scientists are able to decipher the Message and discover detailed instructions for building a mysterious Machine. Will the Machine spell the end of our world, or the end of our superstitions? Will we take our place among the races of the Galaxy, or are we just an upstart species with a long way to go?...

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Cast and Crew
James Woods  ...... 
Tom Skerritt  ......  David Drumlin
David Morse  ......  Ted Arroway
Jodie Foster  ......  Eleanor Arroway
Angela Bassett  ...... 
John Hurt  ...... 
Director  .....  Robert Zemeckis
Producer  .....  Robert Zemeckis; Steve Starkey; Steven J. Boyd; Joan Bradshaw
Writer  .....  Michael Goldenburg; James V. Hart; Carl Sagan
Notes
Goofs:
Factual errors: Vega (Alpha Lyra) the star from which the message is supposed to arrive only rises at Socorro New Mexico, the VLA facility, after 7:30 am MST around Halloween. The movie has it setting at around that time (message received 6:31 MST is announced at the presidential press conference). (more)

Trivia:
Sidney Poitier was announced for this film but was replaced before filming. (more)

Filming Locations:
Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico (more)

Quotes:
[first lines]
Young Ellie: CQ, this is W9GFO. CQ, this is W9GFO here. Come back?
(more)

Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations (more)