| Fire in the Sky | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Robert Lieberman |
| Produced by | Joe Wizan Todd Black |
| Screenplay by | Tracy Tormé |
| Based on | The Walton Experience by Travis Walton |
| Starring | D. B. Sweeney Robert Patrick Craig Sheffer Peter Berg James Garner |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Bill Pope |
| Editing by | Steve Mirkovich |
| Studio | Paramount Pictures |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 12, 1993 |
| Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $19,885,552 |
Fire in the Sky is a 1993 film based on an alleged extraterrestrial encounter, directed by Robert Lieberman, and written by Tracy Tormé based on Travis Walton's book The Walton Experience. The film stars Robert Patrick in the leading role as Walton's best friend and future brother-in-law, Mike Rogers, and D. B. Sweeney as Walton himself. James Garner, Craig Sheffer, Scott MacDonald, Henry Thomas, and Peter Berg also star.
Contents |
On November 5, 1975 near Snowflake, Arizona, logger Travis Walton (D. B. Sweeney), becomes the victim of an alien abduction. Walton and his co-workers—Mike Rogers (Robert Patrick), Allan Dallis (Craig Sheffer), David Whitlock (Peter Berg), Greg Hayes (Henry Thomas) and Bobby Cogdill (Bradley Gregg); are engaged in forestry operations under a business contract to clear a wilderness area.
After completing a day's work, the men come across what appears to be an unidentified flying object on their drive home. Curious to learn more about the spectacle, Walton steps out of their vehicle, but is struck by a beam of light from the phenomenon. Fearing Walton was possibly killed after the encounter, the others leave the scene in horror. Rogers decides to make a trip back to the spot of the confrontation to pick up Walton, but he is nowhere to be found. Upon making their way back to the local town to report the incident, the loggers are greeted with skepticism, as they relate what sounds like an outrageous story to Sheriff Blake Davis (Noble Willingham) and Lieutenant Frank Watters (James Garner). They are suspected of foul play despite no apparent motive or knowledge as to Walton's whereabouts.
After interviewing the men, Lieutenant Watters deduces that tensions had arisen between Walton and Dallis, substantiated by a wound on Dallis's hand from a previous altercation between the two, leading him to believe there might be a murder investigation on the way. The Lieutenant also discovers a tabloid newspaper with headlines surrounding aliens in the seat of their truck, hinting there is a strong possibility they used the article to help concoct their story. Meanwhile, Sheriff Davis encourages the men to take a polygraph examination to which they agree and appear to pass; however, Dallis's test comes out inconclusive. The men are still accused of murder and are being threatened by Travis's Brother Dan Walton (Scott MacDonald).
Five days later, Walton is found alive at a gas station, naked, dehydrated and incoherent. During a welcome home party thrown by his friends and family, Walton suffers a paranoid delusion as he recounts a flashback of the abduction by the extraterrestrials aboard the UFO. In his hallucination, Walton wakes up in a cocoon-like setting attempting to escape his captivity in a suspended weightless environment. After discovering that he is not sedated or unconscious, the aliens drag him through a series of corridors to be subsequently experimented on against his will. Stripping him to his underwear and then covering him with a rubber-like sheet, which eventually pins him to an examination table, the aliens subject him to an extremely painful examination in which he is forced to endure an optical probe.
While briefly interviewing Walton, Lieutenant Watters continues to express his doubts on his abduction as merely an elaborate hoax. He notes Walton's new found celebrity status after his popularity increased by tabloids attempting to profit from his tale. The film culminates with a denouement between Walton and Rogers, with the UFO mystery essentially unresolved. The closing titles of the film inform the viewer that in February 1993, the loggers agreed to resubmit to an additional polygraph examination which they passed, corroborating their innocence.
The film is based on the book The Walton Experience by Travis Walton. In the book, Walton tells of how he was abducted by a UFO.
Walton's original book was later re-released as Fire in the Sky (ISBN 1-56924-710-2) to promote the book's connection to the film. The real Travis Walton made a cameo appearance in the film.
Unlike other movies of this nature, this film does not focus primarily on the more fantastical elements of the story. Much screen time is spent on the distress experienced by Walton's friends due to his inexplicable disappearance, and his reappearance in a seemingly disturbed emotional state. A major issue depicted in the film is Rogers' guilt about leaving his friend in the woods. The film was shot in Roseburg, Sutherlin, and Oakland (Oregon) between August and October 1992 for a production cost of $15 million, but is not connected to a 1978 telefilm of the same name, though coincidentally it is also set in Arizona. The special effects in the film were coordinated by Industrial Light & Magic, and the cinematography was handled by Bill Pope.
The X-Files creator Chris Carter was impressed by Patrick's performance in the film, which lead to his casting Patrick as FBI Special agent John Doggett for the show's eighth season in 2000.[1] MSNBC covered the film in a 2009 article on alien abductions in film, ranking it number seven of ten and describing the scenes in question as "harrowing" and "genuinely frightening". The article praised Torme and Lieberman's writing, saying "Credit should go to screenwriter Tracy Torme and director Robert Lieberman, as they were called upon to punch up Walton’s original account".[2]
The original music score for the film was composed and arranged by Mark Isham. The audio soundtrack was released in Compact Disc format on March 30, 1993.
Despite mixed critical reviews upon release,[3] Fire in the Sky has gone on to be described as a cult favorite among science fiction fans,[4] with many praising the alien abduction scenes as being among the most well-executed in the history of film.[2] Prominent critic Roger Ebert offered a mildly positive review, saying "The scenes inside the craft are really very good. They convincingly depict a reality I haven't seen in the movies before, and for once I did believe that I was seeing something truly alien, and not just a set decorator's daydreams." He disliked certain aspects of the film though noting, "the movie's flaw is that there's not enough detail about the aliens, and the movie ends on an inconclusive and frustrating note."[5] Ironically, the scenes Ebert praised bear almost no resemblance to Walton's actual claims. Walton claimed to have flown the ship at the end of the "abduction" event, which was not portrayed in the film. Scriptwriter Tracy Tormé reported executives thought Walton's account was boring, and insisted on the changes.[4] Chris Hicks of the Deseret News wrote "Fire In the Sky leans in favor of believers, suggesting that all of this really did happen. And some of it is fairly entertaining." However, he notes "the film tells its story in deadly earnest, and that is its greatest failing. Had the approach been more humorous or satirical, without necessarily sacrificing the sense that these characters believe it all — in the manner of Melvin and Howard, for example — it might be more palatable."[6] Film critic James Berardinelli called the movie a "muddled-up mess", saying "It can't make up its mind whether it wants to be horror, drama, or science-fiction, and, consequently, succeeds as none."[7] Lawrence Cohn of Variety Magazine voiced his negative opinion on the film crew saying "Unfortunately, scripter Tracy Torme (son of singer Mel) has no ear for the way people speak, delivering corny dialogue that sounds like a pastiche of ancient B-movie cliches".[8]
The film receiving three 1994 Saturn Award nominations including; Best Actor for Robert Patrick, Best Music for Mark Isham and Best Writing for Tracy Tormé.[9]
At its widest release in the U.S., the film was screened at 1,435 theaters grossing $6,116,484 in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $19,885,552 in ticket sales through a 4-week theatrical run.
The film was initially released in VHS video format on November 16, 1994. The Region 1 Code widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on October 19, 2004. Currently, there is no set date on a future Blu-ray Disc release for the film.
|
||||||||||||||