| Actor |
Production Team |
| John Travolta |
George Malley
|
| Richard Kiley |
Dr. Wellin
|
| Robert Duvall |
Doc
|
| Kyra Sedgwick |
Lace Pennamin
|
| Forest Whitaker |
Nate Pope
|
| Betsy Berryhill |
Woman at Bar
|
| Sage Callaway |
Female Officer
|
| Jeffrey DeMunn |
Professor Ringold
|
| Brent Spiner |
Dr. Bob Niedorf
|
|
|
| Director |
Jon Turteltaub |
| Producer |
Barbara Boyle; Michael Taylor |
| Writer |
Gerald Di Pego |
| Studio |
|
Buena Vista |
|
|
| Plot |
| John Travolta's should've-been-nominated-for-an-Oscar performance is the best reason to see this largely moving work, which is a little reminiscent of the novel Flowers for Algernon (basis for the film Charly). Travolta plays a mechanic who sees a bright light in the sky one night and wakes up the next morning a genius, hungry for knowledge and so smart he figures out national defense secrets in his own living room (and gets in hot water for it). The more interesting drama, however, is not with the government but with the character's longtime neighbors and friends, who come to reject him for being different. Robert Duvall gives a stirring performance as a doctor who has known the hero all his life, and Kyra Sedgwick is very good as an ambivalent love interest. If you missed this one in the theaters, then you haven't seen one of Travolta's best performances since his comeback. The DVD release presents a widescreen image, optional French soundtrack, optional Spanish subtitles, and theatrical trailer. --Tom Keogh |
| Movie Details |
| Genre |
Drama; Fantasy; Romance |
| Country |
 USA
|
| Language |
English |
| Running Time |
123 mins |
|
| Audience Rating |
PG (Parental Guidance) |
| Movie Release Date |
1996 |
| Color |
Color |
|
| Personal Details |
| Format |
DVD |
| Seen It |
Yes |
| Index |
178 |
| Collection Status |
In Collection |
|
| Product Details |
| Region |
 Region 1
 Region 4 |
| Screen Ratio |
 Theatrical Widescreen (2.35:1) |
| Layers |
Single Side, Single Layer |
| UPC (Barcode) |
717951000095 |
| Release Date |
12/2/1997 |
| Subtitles |
Spanish; English (Closed Captioned) |
| Packaging |
Keep Case |
| Audio Tracks |
 Dolby Digital 5.1 [English]
Dolby Digital Surround [French] |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
|
|
Extra Features
|
| Interactive Menus Scene Selection Theatrical Trailers |
| Links |
|
|
