The Arrival

"The greatest danger facing our world has been the planet's best kept secret... until now."

1996 1h 55m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🍅

65%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 886🍅65%Rotten Tomatoes●56Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 41,138

Science FictionThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue.

“The greatest danger facing our world has been the planet's best kept secret... until now.”

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Cast

Charlie Sheen
Zane Zaminski
Lindsay Crouse
Ilana Green
Richard Schiff
Calvin
Ron Silver
Gordian
Teri Polo
Char
Phyllis Applegate
Mrs. Roosevelt
Tony T. Johnson
Kiki
Alan Coates
Terraformer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Twohy
Writers: David Twohy, P.K. MacCarthy
Languages: English, French
Countries: Mexico, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 56% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Mexico, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Arrival Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Twohy, shot by Hiro Narita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arthur Kempel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Martin Hunter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Twohy directs. Hiro Narita behind the camera. Arthur Kempel scores. Martin Hunter cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Mexico, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 56% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
4International production across 2 countries: Mexico, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Arrival Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by David Twohy, shot by Hiro Narita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Arthur Kempel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Martin Hunter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Crouse and Richard Schiff carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The greatest danger facing our world has been the planet's best kept secret... until now.".
11IMDB entry: tt0115571 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 21 themes, including "greenhouse effect", "global warming", "alien", "extraterrestrial".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hiro Narita
Original score: Arthur Kempel
Editing: Martin Hunter
Production design: Michael Novotny
Costume design: Mayes C. Rubeo
Makeup / hair: Maxine Morris
VFX supervisor: Robert Skotak
Sound: Lora Hirschberg
Stunt coordinator: Buddy Joe Hooker
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $14,063,331
Return: 56% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Arrival (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 56/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 41,138 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination total

Part of

The Arrival Collection

The Arrival is a 1996 American-Mexican science fiction horror film directed by David Twohy and starring Charlie Sheen. A sequel, Arrival II: The Second Arrival was released on November 6, 1998.

Also by

David Twohy

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2016-08-15
★ 5/10
Charlie Sheen channels his inner Kevin Smith in this unique take on the genre. Sure it's a little X-Files-y, and a lot of the twists are either glaringly obvious or make zero sense, but by and large it's pretty original. The climate-change message does beat you over the head a little, but only gently, which I can handle. Obviously it didn't take anyway, considering we're here twenty years later and the problem's only gotten worse. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.

Production companies