Enemy Mine
Short description
Enemy Mine follows Willis Davidge, a human fighter pilot who crash-lands on a desolate planet after a battle in an interstellar war between humanity and the reptilian Dracs. He soon discovers that a Drac pilot, Jeriba Shigan, survived the same skirmish and is stranded alongside him. The two begin as bitter adversaries, each seeing the other as the enemy responsible for the war's losses, but the planet's harsh conditions force them to cooperate if either is to live. Over time, their reluctant alliance turns into something closer, and Davidge finds himself responsible for a young Drac child, aware that his own people treat the Dracs as slaves.
The film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, released in 1985 between The NeverEnding Story and Shattered, from a screenplay by Edward Khmara and produced by Stephen J. Friedman. Dennis Quaid plays Davidge and Louis Gossett Jr. plays Jeriba, with Brion James, Richard Marcus, Carolyn McCormick and Lance Kerwin in supporting roles. It is a drama and science fiction film made in the United States.
Produced for a budget of 40 million dollars, it took in about 12 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.9 from 55,000 votes, on TMDB 7 out of 10 from 1,131 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.8 from 28 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Just before the creature attacks his leg, Davidge sings the song “Midnight Express.”
- The film was very popular in the former Soviet Union, as it was part of the first wave of American films legally permitted for release. 'Enemy Mine' was advertised as the first American horror film and was a huge success.
- 'Enemy Mine' inspired the song “Inseparable Enemies” by the band Star One on the album Space Metal.
- Actors Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. had previously worked together for several years on the film 'Jaws 3'.
- At the beginning of the film, the letters BTA (Bilateral Terran Alliance) can be seen on a passing freighter.
- The film takes place from 2092 to 2096. Towards the end of the film, the dates of Davidge's disappearance and rescue are visible when a high-ranking officer reviews his file.
- In the same year, 1985, Longyear, in collaboration with David Gerrold, wrote a novelization of the same name.
- The lake where the first human encounter and fight take place was created for the filming of Petersen's "Das Boot" (1981). Sets made for Petersen's another film – "The NeverEnding Story" (1984) were also used during the filming of "Enemy Mine".
- During the battle at the beginning of the film, the Drakon ship's onboard computer displays a protein structure on the monitor.
- The film was initially shot in Vestmannaeyjar (a small island archipelago off the south coast of Iceland). Due to friction between the director and the producers, the project was shut down. A year later, Petersen reshot the entire film. Filming took place at the Bavaria Film Studios (Munich. Some of the sets have been preserved to this day and can be seen during a tour of the studio), but some scenes were shot on location – on one of the Canary Islands (volcanic landscapes and a green lake. These landscapes can be seen by visiting the national park in Lanzarote).
- David Lynch was offered the opportunity to direct the film. Ultimately, Richard Loncraine was chosen. But then Wolfgang Petersen emerged as a more suitable candidate, in the opinion of the producers.
- The film could have had a longer ending. At least, Petersen shot a scene in which Zamus introduces David to his relatives on his home planet.
- According to Louis Gossett Jr. (who played the Drake, i.e., the alien), the Drake language was created from scratch. A significant part of it consisted of Russian words pronounced backward.
- Applying makeup to Louis Gossett Jr. for his transformation into a reptiloid took 3 hours.
- To make the corridor appear longer than it actually was, the filmmakers created an optical illusion by placing a mirror at a 45-degree angle at the end of it.
- At the beginning of work on the film, when Richard Lonkraine was still the director and filming was taking place in Iceland, the film's budget was $17 million. When Lonkraine was fired and replaced by Wolfgang Petersen, who reshot all the scenes Lonkraine had already filmed, the film's budget increased to $40 million (including the funds spent on Lonkraine's filming).
- Wolfgang Petersen twice refused offers to work on this film. He was only convinced to agree by being granted permission to reshoot all the material already filmed by his predecessor. Petersen began filming on Lanzarote (an island that is part of the Canary Islands, 125 km from Morocco), and when filming there was completed, he ordered the transportation of over 40 tons of lava rock from there to Bavaria Studios in Munich. Giant pavilions – at the time the largest in continental Europe – were specially constructed for filming some scenes (for example, inside space stations).
- Terry Gilliam was considered for the director’s chair, but he declined, preferring to work on his own project – "Brazil".
- Luis Gossett Jr., who played the alien, invented the strange "accent" himself. He swished saliva around in his mouth as infants do.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
