| Enemy Mine | |
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original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Wolfgang Petersen |
| Produced by | Steven J. Friedman Stanley O'Toole |
| Written by | Edward Khmara Barry Longyear (story) |
| Starring | Dennis Quaid Louis Gossett, Jr. Brion James Bumper Robinson |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Tony Imi |
| Editing by | Hannes Nikel |
| Studio | Kings Road Entertainment SLM Production Group |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | December 20, 1985 |
| Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | West Germany United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $29 million |
| Box office | $12,303,411 (domestic box office)[1] |
Enemy Mine is a 1985 science fiction film based on the story of the same title by Barry B. Longyear. It was produced by 20th Century Fox, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and starred Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr. Beset by production problems, including a change of director, that caused its budget to spiral out of control, it was a critical and financial disappointment.
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In the late 21st century, an interstellar war between humans (associated as the Bilateral Terran Alliance, or BTA) and Dracs (a reptilian humanoid race) is being fought. On July 11, 2092, Human pilot Willis E. Davidge (Dennis Quaid) and Drac pilot Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett, Jr.) engage in a spacecraft battle which results in both crash-landing on Fyrine IV, a strange, dark alien world with two moons, a breathable atmosphere, water, and bizarre animal life.
After initial hostilities, the two eventually learn to cooperate in order to survive. They work together to build a shelter for protection against intermittent bombardment by meteorites, and to satisfy their needs for food, water, and warmth. Over a period of years, they learn to overcome their differences, become friends, and learn each other's languages and cultures. Each saves the other's life on at least one occasion.
Davidge, haunted by dreams of spaceships landing on the planet, leaves in search of help. He finds signs of a human presence, but learns that the planet has been periodically visited by human miners known as "Scavengers," who employ Dracs as slave labor. He returns to warn Jeriba (whom Davidge nicknames "Jerry") only to discover that Jeriba is pregnant; (Dracs reproduce asexually with no control over timing of conception).
The combination of a blizzard and attack by one of the planet's predators forces Davidge and Jeriba to flee their shelter. To pass the time Jeriba teaches Davidge his full ancestry, a necessity if his child is to be accepted into Drac society. Jeriba later dies during the childbirth, but not before making Davidge swear that if he ever escapes the planet to take Jeriba's child back to Dracon (the Drac Homeworld) and recite his full ancestry so he can join Drac society.
Davidge raises the child Zammis (Bumper Robinson) as his own. Over the years, Davidge and Zammis form a very close bond, and although the young Drac refers to Davidge as its 'uncle', its emotional range towards Davidge is as a son would look up to a father — an emotion that Davidge shares as well. Davidge discovers that the Scavengers have returned to the planet in search of minerals and ore deposits, and he knows that they have little regard for Drac life, so he remains on guard to keep Zammis from getting captured or killed should they run into any of the miners. However, Zammis does not realize the danger and goes off to get a closer look at the Scavenger ship. He is quickly discovered by the Scavenger captain, Stubbs (Brion James), and his brother Johnny. Davidge, who has been following, attacks the brothers in a bid to save Zammis, but is violently gunned down. A BTA patrol ship finds Davidge, unrecognizable and apparently dead, and it returns him to the space station where he was formerly based on September 6, 2095.
On the station, during the funeral ceremony, Davidge awakens when one of the disposal technicians tries to steal the small book (the Talman) that Jerry had given him years before when he first wished to learn the Drac language. Davidge's former patrol crew vouch for his loyalty to the BTA, even after it is discovered that he speaks the language fluently. Sometime later, Davidge is reinstated to duty, but not as a pilot. Unable to enlist assistance to rescue Zammis from the Scavengers, Davidge desperately steals a spaceship to rescue Zammis solo. He manages to find and infiltrate Stubbs' ship. Davidge contacts the Drac slaves in their own language which convinces them to help him overcome the brutality of the human overseers and eventually reunite with Zammis. Towards the end of the battle, Davidge is also assisted by a BTA crew who pursued him. They finally realize that whatever it was that he experienced while missing in action (MIA) has made him more human; he no longer hates Dracs.
In the epilogue, Davidge and Zammis return to the Drac homeworld for Zammis's introduction ceremony with the Drac Holy Council so that he may be accepted into Drac society. As required and as he promised Jerry, Davidge recounts the complete Jeriba ancestry before the Holy Council in the traditional ritual, as he was taught by Jerry. A narrator explains that years later, when Zammis also has a child and brings it to the Holy Council for the same ritual, the name of "Willis Davidge" was added to the line of Jeriba.
The film began shooting in April 1984 with Richard Loncraine as director.[2] However, after weeks of shooting in Iceland and Budapest, producers became concerned about a mixture of budget overruns, creative differences and poor quality dailies. Filming was stopped. The studio had already spent $9 million in production costs and had "pay or play" contracts committing an additional $18 million, so executives needed to decide whether to cut losses or go with a new director.[3]
At the same time, Fox changed its upper management and new Chairman, Barry Diller, and head of production, Lawrence Gordon, decided to move ahead with a new director. The studio had faith in the story and actors involved, and hired Wolfgang Petersen to take over as director.[3] Petersen did not like any of Loncraine's work and opted to start anew, scouting locations along the African coast. Stars Quaid and Gossett remained on during the duration of the film's delays and were paid "holding" money.[2] He moved the production from Budapest to Munich and the studio he used for Das Boot.[3]
Large sets were constructed, including a man-made lake, and Gossett's Drac makeup was redesigned, taking several months on its own. The film finished shooting seven months after its delay.[3] The film's budget, originally planned at about $17 million[3] rose to $29 million,[4] and ended up costing more than $40 million with marketing costs.[3]
The president of Fox's marketing department felt the film was an "extremely difficult movie to market", that its story of two species evolving from enemies to friends made the science fiction picture less about the technology used to film it and more "along the lines of brotherhood." This was epitomized by the film's tagline: "Enemies because they were taught to be, allies because they had to be, brothers because they dared to be."[3]
The studio pushed the film with a full marketing blitz: On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, full-page advertisements ran in 43 of the largest newspapers in the United States. Meanwhile, Fox arranged for a "network roadblock": three 30-second television commercials ran at virtually the same prime time moment on what were then the three television networks. Still that same day, 3,500 theatrical trailers were shipped to theaters across America and 164 of the nation's biggest shopping malls were covered with posters for the film.[3]
The campaign received some critical scorn from those in the industry. The poster, with the two leads staring at each other, was singled out for failing to convey the warmth of the story. A marketing head at another studio called it "one of the worst of the year, really terrible. There was a way to make the movie much more palatable."[3]
Enemy Mine was met with mixed reviews, scoring 59% positive on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[5] Roger Ebert gave the film a 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, saying it "made no compromises in its art direction, its special effects and its performances - and then compromised everything else in sight."[6] Janet Maslin of The New York Times referred to it as "This season's Dune", referring to the critically panned science fiction epic from the previous year.[7] Variety magazine called it "an anthropomorphic view of life but touching nonetheless."[8] Seventeen years later, another New York Times reviewer gave the film a better assessment, noting that if it were "taken in the intended spirit it's often moving, suggesting what might happen if two of earth's perpetually warring peoples were stranded together."[9] The Los Angeles Times praised the film, calling it "surprisingly coherent, surprisingly enjoyable." The movie received similar praise from critics Gary Franklin, Gene Siskel, and Leonard Maltin.[3]
With Enemy Mine costing over $40 million, the studio hoped for a large first weekend opening. That did not occur, with the film pulling in only $1.6 million at 703 theaters nationwide. As of Christmas day, the film had taken in $2.3 million at the box office. When asked exactly how much the movie would have to take in during its theatrical run to make its money back, an executive with Fox replied "It doesn't really matter, because it's not going to do it."[3]
The score was composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre, and performed by the Studioorchester in Munich and a synthesiser ensemble. The soundtrack album was released by Varese Sarabande.
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