Enemy Mine

"Enemies because they were taught to be. Allies because they had to be. Brothers because they dared to be."

1985 1h 48m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,147

DramaScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.

“Enemies because they were taught to be. Allies because they had to be. Brothers because they dared to be.”

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Cast

Dennis Quaid
Willis Davidge
Louis Gossett Jr.
Jeriba 'Jerry' Shigan
Brion James
Stubbs
Richard Marcus
Arnold
Carolyn McCormick
Morse
Lance Kerwin
Joey Wooster
Bumper Robinson
Zammis
Jim Mapp
Old Drac

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writers: Edward Khmara, Barry Longyear
Languages: English
Countries: 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 31% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, shot by Tony Imi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. and Brion James carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Enemies because they were taught to be. Allies because they had to be. Brothers because they dared to be.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089092 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wolfgang Petersen directs. Tony Imi behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. Hannes Nikel cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 31% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
241 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, shot by Tony Imi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Hannes Nikel shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. and Brion James carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Enemies because they were taught to be. Allies because they had to be. Brothers because they dared to be.".
8IMDB entry: tt0089092 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "future", "friendship", "narration", "slavery".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tony Imi
Original score: Maurice Jarre
Editing: Hannes Nikel
Production design: Rolf Zehetbauer
Costume design: Monika Bauert
Makeup / hair: Daniel Parker
VFX supervisor: Don Dow
Sound: Mike Le Mare
Stunt coordinator: Martin Grace
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $12,300,000
Return: 31% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Enemy Mine (1985)

Also by

Wolfgang Petersen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2023-09-12
★ 3/10
A very dated and unsatisfactory film, which carries a rather naive message about war and conflicts. This is one of those films that promises a lot when we read the synopsis, but ends up being disappointing: in its attempt to please different audiences, from sci-fi to drama and also action, it fails to satisfy anyone and I believe it was this feeling, more or less general, that led it straight to the oblivion bin where I found it. Released in the golden age of sci-fi, when the genre experienced a very notable development and popularity, the film has a relatively warm story and begins with a war between humans and a reptilian alien species called “drac”. We follow the combat between two spaceships in a remote part of the universe until they both crash on the same planet. From here on, in order to survive, both will have to collaborate with each other, which opens the door to dialogue and mutual understanding. I can understand what makes some people appreciate this film or want to see it: it has some good quality action that Wolfgang Petersen's solid direction emphasizes and enhances, and a script with a flowery and progressive message about prejudice and the importance of having a frank and open dialogue. That is, the film still comes in the aftermath of those ideas of peace and love from the 70s, where it seemed that all wars could end if there was a willingness to talk and understand whoever was on the opposite side. However, neither the script nor the director are flawless: the film is excessively slow and has a variable and inconstant rhythm, we feel that it wastes time with a sentimentality worthy of a soap opera and injects a lot of melodrama without any advantage, like those people who stay for ten minutes talking before getting to what matters. With all this, the action, although good, is scarce and does not justify the film for fans of a good space fight. And the message of peace underlying the script forgets that all wars begin due to conflicts of interest, not exactly due to a lack of dialogue and mutual prejudices: I can understand my enemy very well and think that war is horrible, but decide to fight anyway if consider that I have a good chance of winning and, thus, have access to an advantage or gain that I would not be able to obtain otherwise. Despite Dennis Quaid's sound and fame, the best actor in the film is Louis Gossett Jr., in an alien costume. The actor is not brilliant, he is average, but he manages to be incredible in the role, especially when he has an immature and charisma-free scoundrel like Quaid at his side. I've seen a few movies with him, and what he does here is essentially overact it and look stupid. Brion James deserves an honorable mention for the skillful villain he brought to life, but he adds little to the film. Technically, it fits into the broad spectrum of mid-budget sci-fi films from the 80s: we have decent enough cinematography and some creatively invented aliens, to which must be added some good special effects. The general appearance is old: it is a visually very dated film and the sets and costumes, although effective, are unable to appear realistic. The sound isn't bad, but the soundtrack doesn't do much for the overall work.

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