Released in December 1985, Twentieth Century Fox’s Enemy Mine was designed to be the next sci-fi sensation.
A new interstellar adventure developed by production company Kings Road Entertainment, it was intended to match the barnstorming success of warm-hearted science-fiction blockbusters like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and, above all, Fox’s own Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983).
And Fox had the perfect source material to achieve such lofty goals: a critically acclaimed novella by budding sci-fi writer Barry B. Longyear.
Longyear’s Enemy Mine was originally published in the September 1979 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine and went on to win Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novella.
Set in the late twenty-first century, it tells of a future in which mankind has united Earth – under the banner ‘Bilateral Terran Alliance’ – but divided the universe; humans are locked in an intergalactic war with an alien race from the planet Dracon, known to their Earthling rivals as ‘Dracs.’
During a dogfight in open space, a BTA pilot and a Drac warrior both crash land on the desolate planet Fyrine IV, a gruelling wasteland battered by vicious storms and mammoth tidal waves. The two are forced to work together to withstand the planet’s unforgiving environment and eventually they form a deep-seated friendship.
Enemy Mine on Blu-Ray
31 years after the release of the movie into cinemas, Enemy Mine is now coming to Blu-ray on the 20th June, this remastered version of the movie is still a joy to watch, very much as is was back in 1985, which is when I first saw the movie in the local cinema.
Being 31 years older, I can now appreciate the story much more than I did when I first saw it, it can be rather emotional in parts as Willis Davidge (played by Dennis Quaid) and Jeriba ‘Jerry’ Shigan (played by Louis Gossett Jr.) start to pull together as their time stuck on Fyrine IV starts to show the true meaning of friendship over the hate for one another.
The performances from Quaid and Gossett Jr. are superb, especially considering the prosthetics that Gossett Jr. had to endure for the part of the ‘Jerry’ with 3 hours at a time spent making him look like a Drac.
But the two work brilliantly together and the comedy side of Enemy Mine is apparent, not only in the script, but you can also see a point in the film when ‘Jerry’ and Davidge are talking about Mickey Mouse, as Davidge starts to walk away you can see that Quaid is trying to stop from laughing and as he walks off-screen you can see a noticeable smirk and he’s making a snorting noise consistent with trying to stifle laughter. Supposedly this was the only take they could use has Quaid didn’t burst with laughter.
The scene works brilliantly and shows that Jerry and Davidge are developing a relationship after being hostile to each other at the start of the film.
The Look of Enemy Mine on Blu-ray
The film looks great, with its 1080p full widescreen presentation, the Blu-ray has vibrant colour and has a fresh feel to the scenes during the film. The space battle scenes look good and with any other film from the era, the special effects are great without the CGI we have these days, yes there are those moments where you can see that there may be a rear-projection, but hey, the film is 31 years old and things are more noticeable on Blu-ray.
The sound mix is a nice and crisp with a 5.0 soundtrack to make the use of those rear speakers when they are needed such as the beginning of the film with the space battle.
Special features may be a little sparse, we get the original trailer, a deleted scene and English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but there is the inclusion of a nice looking collector’s booklet with information about the movie and the inclusion of some behind the scenes still.
Enemy Mine Trailer
Overall Thoughts for Enemy Mine Blu-ray
Enemy Mine is one of those movies that may have got left behind when it was originally released, but director Wolfgang Peterson did a brilliant job pulling the movie from its abyss after the original director, Richard Loncraine, left the production. With a soundtrack by Maurice Jarre (Ghost, Lawrence of Arabia) the film is enjoyable viewing and it really has to be in any SciFi fans Blu-ray collection.
Enemy Mine is being released on the 20th June by Eureka Entertainment.
Enemy Mine Blu-ray
Movie title: Enemy Mine
Movie description: During a long space war, the lives of two wounded enemies become dependent on their ability to forgive and to trust.
Director(s): Wolfgang Peterson
Actor(s): Dennis Quad, Louis Gossett Jr.
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
