Review of Enemy Mine (1985) by Juli N — 27 Feb 2015

In the late 21st century, an interstellar war between humans (the Bilateral Terran Alliance, or BTA) and Dracs (a reptilian humanoid race) is fought. Battles are periodically fought between fighter spacecraft. During one such battle, human pilot Willis E. Davidge (Dennis Quaid) and Drac pilot Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett Jr.) engage in a dogfight which results in both crash-landing on Fyrine IV, an alien world uninhabited by intelligent life, with two moons, a breathable atmosphere, water and native fauna. After initial hostilities, the two eventually learn to cooperate to survive. They work together to build a shelter for protection against meteorite storms, a natural phenomenon that periodically strikes the planet. Over the next three years, they overcome their differences to cooperate and survive...

"Enemy Mine" is a 1985 science fiction drama film directed by Wolfgang Petersen based on the story of the same name by Barry B. Longyear. The film began production in Budapest in April 1984 under the direction of Richard Loncraine, who quickly ran into "creative differences" with producer Stephen J. Friedman and executives at 20th Century Fox; the project was shut down after a week of shooting. Wolfgang Petersen then took over as director and reshot Loncraine's scenes after moving the production to Munich. Originally budgeted at $17 million, Enemy Mine eventually cost more than $40 million after marketing costs were factored in, and was a disappointment at the box office during the 1985 holiday season, earning only $12.3 million. 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." 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. 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." Roger Ebert gave the film 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." 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. Variety magazine called it "an anthropomorphic view of life but touching nonetheless." "Enemy Mine" has been on my to see list since it came out and I´m not sure why I didn´t see it then. The storyline is so very current and alive with two enemies finding the core of their humanity and realising that there´s no reason or understanding for them being enemies. With that said, the production itself suffered from problems from the start and that´s never a good sign. The special effects are good in some cases, pretty poor in other. There´s too many bad green screen moments and the general production design looks a bit wobbly. Then again in 1985 I reckon it was pretty good and moviegoer in general most have felt it looked authentic. However, the gem in the film is the bond that develops between the sworn enemies Davidge and Jeriba. Dennis Quaid is ok, but the fake beard and hair is not convincing. While Louis Gossett Jr. is simply magnificent and unrecognisable as "Jerry". A true performance and heads up to the make up department. "Enemy Mine" is an ok sci-fi flick, but the storyline of two enemies becoming true friends is the hero (despite some Hollywood sappiness), not everything else around it. .