Main Cast: Charlie Sheen, Ron Silver, Lindsay Crouse, Teri Polo, Richard Schiff
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A shy radio telescope operator named Zane Ziminski (Charlie Sheen) picks up a series of regular signals coming from space -- and deliberately pointed toward Earth. Convinced that he has discovered alien transmissions, Ziminski is first chastised and then fired by his boss (Ron Silver). Obsessed, he builds a makeshift radio telescope in his house to find out where the signals were sent. Convinced that they're intended for aliens already hidden on Earth, he tracks them to a bleak, isolated Mexican village, where he joins forces with a female scientist (Lindsey Crouse), who has suspicions of her own after witnessing an acceleration of global warming. The villagers turn out to be aliens, and the village a front for an underground alien complex. The aliens are here to "terraform" Earth and prepare it for the arrival of the rest of their race, who will die unless they leave their homeworld and colonize elsewhere. Only Ziminski can stop them. Written and directed by David N. Twohy, The Arrival is a throwback to the genre chillers of the '50s. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review
In his sophomore directorial effort, screenwriter David Twohy creates yet another underrated, inventive science fiction adventure, one of the very few solid films for star Charlie Sheen in the 1990s. Twohy has a lot of fun with the conventions of his genre, spinning old saws such as alien invasion, terraforming, and the obligatory protagonist paranoia into new and intelligent directions. Okay, global warming isn't all that fresh but it's more contemporary than, say, the aliens need to deplete Earth's undefined "resources," the hackneyed premise of both Independence Day (1996) and Battlefield Earth (2000) (what, the alien home worlds in those films ran out of water, beef, and coal?). If Sheen is a miscast as a tech wizard (other actors better at playing smart and available on limited budgets having been presumably unavailable), the rest of the cast is pretty sharp. Teri Polo provides her usual workmanlike performance as the supportive, attractive love interest with a twist and oily Ron Silver is typically loathsome as an up-to-no-good villain. The film's effects, while limited, are decent, while the tight script, no-frills direction, and briskly edited pace keep things moving along fast enough that one barely notices this sturdy thriller seems to have been produced on a made-for-TV budget. The Arrival (1996) might not be the biggest sci-fi spectacle of its year, having been trampled in the Independence Day onslaught, but like most of Twohy's other behind-the-camera projects, it earns the shelf-life respect it's garnering on video and cable. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Tony T. Johnson - Kiki; Phyllis Applegate - Mrs. Roosevelt; Roger Cudney - JPL Official; Leon Rippy - 1st Department of Defence Man; David Villalpando - cabbie; Jacqueline Voltaire - reporter; Jorge Zepeda - detective; Buddy Joe Hooker - 2nd Department of Defence Man; Maria Luisa Coronel - maid; Luisa Huertas - security woman; José Garcia - planecorp guard; Jorge Becerril - plancecorp guard; Reed Johnson - maintenance man; Monica Dionne - reporter; Ellen Bradley - screaming woman; Alan Coates - Terraformer; Javier Morga - co-worker; Catalina Botello - N. C. A. R. Woman; Georg Lillitsch - George, Computer Technician; Angel De La Pena - Skeleton Man; Alejandro Usigli - reporter; Dave Galasso - 2nd Jpl Guard; Andrea Sisniega - weather woman; Shane - 1st JPL guard
Credit
Tony Stabley - Art Director, Hector Romero - Art Director, Peter Plevritis - Animator, Apurva Shah - Animator, Collin Hemnen - Animator, Fred Nilsson - Animator, Dave Rader - Animator, Terry Emmons - Animator, Karl Fornander - Animator, Matt Merkovich - Animator, Raman Hui - Animation Director, Lorenzo O'Brien - Associate Producer, David Tripet - Associate Producer, Mary Jo Slater - Casting, Claudia Becker - Casting, Steven Brooksbank - Casting, Rogelio Rojas - Casting, Laura Seidel - Casting, Paul Lombardi - Consultant/advisor, Arthur Kempel - Conductor, Cyrus Yavneh - Co-producer, Mayes C. Rubeo - Costume Designer, Rene Villarreal - First Assistant Director, John Nelson - First Assistant Director, Hugo Gutierrez - First Assistant Director, Federic Henocque - First Assistant Director, Evan Yavne - First Assistant Director, José Martinez, Jr. - First Assistant Director, David N. Twohy - Director, Isidore Mankofsky - Second Unit Director, Martin Hunter - Editor, Steve R. Moore - Editor, Robert W. Cort - Executive Producer, Ted Field - Executive Producer, Brad Lewis - Executive Producer, Mark Galvin - Executive Producer, Diego Sandoval - Location Manager, John Johnston - Location Manager, Karl H. "Charlie" Braun - Location Manager, John "JR" Robeck - Line Producer, Arthur Kempel - Composer (Music Score), William Kidd - Musical Direction/Supervision, Sharal Churchill - Musical Direction/Supervision, Audrey DeRoche - Musical Direction/Supervision, Arthur Kempel - Songwriter, Todd Masters - Makeup, Erich Anderson - Camera Operator, Guillermo Rosas - Camera Operator, Michael Novotny - Production Designer, Isidore Mankofsky - Cinematographer, Hiro Narita - Cinematographer, Russell J. Lyster - Cinematographer, Richard Malzahn - Cinematographer, Mark Shelton - Cinematographer, Mark Hannah - Production Manager, Jim Steele - Producer, David N. Twohy - Producer, Thomas G. Smith - Producer, Melissa Cira Taylor - Producer, Fernando Camara - Production Sound, Ricky Lopez - Recording, Jaime Rivas Ruiz - Set Designer, Paul Wang - Special Effects, Paul Kocar - Special Effects, Carmen Gonzales - Special Effects, David Farmer - Sound/Sound Designer, Eddie Braun - Stunts Coordinator, Buddy Joe Hooker - Stunts Coordinator, Daniel Cordero - Special Effects Supervisor, Rudy Perez - Special Effects Supervisor, Gerardo Barrera - Unit Production Manager, Bob Johnston - Unit Production Manager, Carlos Taibo Mahovo - Unit Production Manager, David N. Twohy - Screenwriter, Arthur R. Botham - Additional Cinematography, Available Light Ltd. - Visual Effects Supervisor, Jeff Burks - Visual Effects Supervisor, Bob Skotak - Visual Effects Supervisor, John T. Van Vliet - Visual Effects Supervisor, Richard Malzahn - Visual Effects Supervisor, Rick Thorne - Visual Effects Supervisor, Ethan Van der Ryn - Sound Effects Editor, Bob Scifo - Matte Artist, Michael Lloyd - Matte Artist, Valentin Vassilev - Model Effects, Konrad Dunton - Model Effects, Juan Jos Martinez - Model Effects, Jesus A. Gomez Capetillo - Model Effects, Antonio Gomez - Model Effects, Elpidio Cano - Model Effects, John M. Stephens - Aerial Photography, Michael J. Travers - CGI Effects, David Lauer - CGI Effects, Richard Alonso - CGI Effects, Pacific Data Images - Digital Effects, The Digital Magic Co. - Digital Effects, Stephen A. Hope - Music Editor, Brad Arensman - Post Production Supervisor, Belinda Uriegas - Production Coordinator, Adriana Mondragon - Production Coordinator, Rebecca Batt - Production Coordinator, John Chaldu - Production Coordinator, Kristine Morgan - Production Coordinator, Rick Lalonde - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Todd Masters Company - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Lenny MacDonald - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, David Matherly - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Greg Johnson - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Gary Summers - Re-Recording Mixer, Lora Hirschberg - Re-Recording Mixer, Dea Cantu - Script Supervisor, Rebecca Fulton - Script Supervisor, Dee Whitehurst - Script Supervisor, Laurencio Cordero - Special Effects Coordinator, Sharon Holly - Special Effects Coordinator, Checco Varese - Steadicam Operator, Hugh Waddell - Supervising Sound Editor, Katherine Kean - Visual Effects Producer, Rodney Montague - Visual Effects Producer, Lauren Alexander Ritchie - Visual Effects Producer, Charles L. Finance - Visual Effects Producer, Michael Silvers - ADR Editor, Richard Hymns - ADR Editor, Michael Silvers - ADR Mixer, Richard Hymns - ADR Mixer, Greg Steele - ADR Mixer, Tami Treadwell - ADR Recordist, Diane Lynn - ADR Recordist, Wendy Range - Costumes Supervisor, Dianna Stripe - Dialogue Editor, Dianna Stirpe - Dialogue Editor, Carlos Benassini - Draftsman, David Novotny - Draftsman, Luis Amezquita - Draftsman, Francisco Garcia - Draftsman, Dennie Thorpe - Foley Artist, Jana Vance - Foley Artist, Sandina Bailo-Lape - Foley Editor, Marsha Lewis - Key Hairstylist, Gabriel Solana - Key Make-up, Dianne Cheek Blasco - Production Controller, Forrest A. Leathers - Scenic Artist, Enrique Estevez - Set Decorator, Hermelindo Hinojosa - Set Decorator, Teresa Visinare - Set Decorator, Mitch Carter - ADR Voice Casting, L.A. MadDogs - ADR Voice Casting, Tony Eckert - Foley Mixer, Frank Merel - Foley Recordist, Chuck Tamburro - Pilot, John Tamburro - Pilot, Fernando Camara - Production Sound Mixer, Amy Pawlowski - Visual Effects Editor, Daniel Arkin - Visual Effects Editor, Kelly G. Crawford - Visual Effects Editor, Howard A. Anderson Company - Title Design, Design Publications - Title Design, Nina Saxon Film Design - Title Design
