Sphere

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Barry Levinson directs. Adam Greenberg behind the camera. Elliot Goldenthal scores. Stu Linder cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
• 2Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 328 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 4Directed by Barry Levinson, shot by Adam Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Elliot Goldenthal. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Stu Linder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Terror can fill any space.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0120184 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 12 themes, including "space marine", "based on novel or book", "ocean", "extraterrestrial technology".

The technical file

Cinematography

Adam Greenberg

Original score

Elliot Goldenthal

Editing

Stu Linder

Production design

Norman Reynolds

Costume design

Gloria Gresham

Makeup / hair

Catherine Childers

VFX supervisor

Carlos Arguello

Sound

Richard Beggs

Stunt coordinator

Ronnie Rondell Jr.

Runtime

134 min · 2h 14m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$80,000,000

Box office

$37,020,277

Return

46% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Sphere (1998) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

12% 🥫 Rotten

Metacritic

35/100

IMDB rating

6.1/10 · 118,472 votes

MPAA

PG-13

Also by

Barry Levinson

• 
  The Jury

  2004 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Yesterday's Tomorrows

  1999 · ★ 8.5
• 
  Homicide: Life on the Street

  1993 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Dopesick

  2021 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Rain Man

  1988 · ★ 7.7
• 
  Sleepers

  1996 · ★ 7.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Sphere (2/10) Movie CLIP - A Perfect Sphere (1998) HD

  Clip

Community reviews

What people are saying

• JPV8522020-07-20
  ★ 5/10

  Interesting idea but poorly executed and overly long. Acting was okay but nobody really stood out. At least some of the effects weren't too bad for 1998. I actually back in the day read the novel but don't remember anything from it, just know this adaptation was pretty different. 2.5/5

  Read full review ↓
• Kamurai2021-06-30
  ★ 8/10

  Great watch, would watch again, and do recommend. I feel like I have a thing for the isolationism of deep sea bases. "Bioshock", "Deep Blue Sea", "The Meg", "Underwater", "The Abyss": just the idea of being far away from any help in the most dangerous living conditions possible on the planet. Add in a mysteriously time traveling alien sphere and let bake in the survival situation where people are losing their minds and things keep manifesting into existence. It's a little insane, but it has a quality cast, plot, and some great action for all the characters being a bunch of nerds.

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2024-11-09
  ★ 6/10

  The power to actualize your thoughts and fears A huge spacecraft at the bottom of the Pacific ocean with a strange, humming sphere found inside. A team of scientists are sent down to investigate – a psychologist (Dustin Hoffman), a mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), a biochemist (Sharon Stone) and an astrophysicist (Liev Schreiber). Two notable characters at the station on the ocean floor are played by Peter Coyote and Queen Latifah. Mystery and (some) horror ensue. Based on Michael Crichton's 1987 novel, "Sphere" (1998) intermixes elements of other scif-fi flicks, like "Forbidden Planet," "Solaris," "Alien," "Galaxy of Terror" and "The Abyss." Like those movies, the plot involves a small group of people who are isolated from society and encounter the unknown. The theme is the actualization of one's thoughts and fears and the potential for good or, more likely, bad that comes with it. Are we mature enough as a species to handle such power? Of course, we already have this power, just not to the degree depicted in the story (seemingly). Anything important that we do, whether productive or destructive, is formulated within first and then manifests without, like a song or a book or a loving relationship. If we truly knew the power at our disposal we'd hardly be able to sleep at night we'd be so excited! The first hour or so is quite good because the film definitely makes you feel like you're at the bottom of the ocean. The mystery is engaging and the actors formidable. Unfortunately, some parts of the second half don't work so well, which destroys the illusion of the movie. As far as the ending goes, it features tricky material that's not easy to pull off. The fact that it's somewhat successful is largely due to having great actors. Despite the murkiness of parts of the second half, the theme is great. This isn't a slasher film in space, like "Alien," and refuses exploitive thrills, like "Galaxy of Terror." Rather, it shoots for well-acted drama and thought-provoking ideas. However, there are some harrowing aspects, like the jelly fish sequence. While many lambaste "Sphere," it wasn't the box office dog you might think in light of the bad press. It made $37 million (in 1998 dollars) in the USA alone, which is hardly a clunker. The problem was that it cost over twice that to make. It runs 2 hours, 14 minutes. GRADE: B- QUESTIONS ON THE THEME (Don't read further unless you've seen the film) Why is it that the dark side of the human subconscious is empowered by the alien technology/entity? Why not the positive side? The four scientists (and the others) strike me as quality souls who pretty much have it together. While not perfect human specimens, they're strong people who have their phobias and destructive emotions under control. So why aren't their GOOD, PRODUCTIVE thoughts/desires manifested rather than the bad? I could see if the story took place in a prison and the characters were pieces of sheet, but that's not the case. Also, who or what does the sphere represent? The Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9)?

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  US

• PU

  Punch Productions

  US

• 

  Baltimore Pictures

  US

• CO

  Constant c Productions

  US

Key crew

• ProducerBarry Levinson
• ProducerAndrew Wald
• ProducerMichael Crichton
• EditorStu Linder
• Storyboard ArtistJim Magdaleno
• NovelMichael Crichton
• Production DesignNorman Reynolds
• Art DirectionJonathan McKinstry
• Art DirectionMark W. Mansbridge
• Set DecorationAnne Kuljian
• Costume SupervisorJames W. Tyson
• CastingEllen Chenoweth
• Costume DesignGloria Gresham
• StuntsTim Rigby
• StuntsLisa McCullough
• AdaptationKurt Wimmer
• CGI SupervisorRobert Bardy
• CGI SupervisorMichael Kory
• CGI SupervisorJeff Lin
• Second Unit Director of PhotographyGary Capo
• Key GripCharles John Bukey
• Negative CutterMo Henry
• 3D AnimatorNicole Herr
• Supervising Dialogue EditorMichael Silvers

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• space marine
• based on novel or book
• ocean
• extraterrestrial technology
• paranoia
• time travel
• time bomb
• alien
• psychologist
• ocean floor
• deepsea
• spaceship crash

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1998-02-13PG-13

Also known as

International titles

• Sfera - Il terrore può essere ovunqueIT
• KulaPL
• СфераRU
• SphereUS