Without Warning (1994 film)
Without Warning | |
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Genre | |
Written by |
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Directed by | Robert Iscove |
Starring | |
Music by | Craig Safan |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Cinematography | John Beymer |
Editors |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | October 30, 1994 |
Without Warning (also known as July 13th
Plot
Broadcast of a murder mystery film starring
The three impact sites begin broadcasting an ear-piercing radio signal that cripples aircraft flying within latitudes immediately surrounding the impacts. Another larger object is detected moving towards the North Pole. The United States, despite protests from world leaders and scientists, orders several aircraft to intercept the object before it impacts with the earth and destroy it using nuclear weapons. The destruction of the larger object is successful, though the attacking aircraft are brought down by another radio signal broadcast by the object shortly before its destruction.
A scientist, named Dr. Avram Mandel, who has been studying the impacts, is flown by an
Dr. Mandel's fears are confirmed when he later reveals that three more objects, each two miles wide, will soon impact Washington, D.C., Moscow, and Beijing - the capital cities of the only three nations capable of first-strike nuclear warfare. The survivors of the initial impacts are identified as Jean-Paul Chounard and Kimberly Hastings. They succumb to their wounds and die. Nuclear weapons are launched to intercept the three incoming objects, which are successfully destroyed. Scientists finally decipher Chounard and Hastings' speech. They are each speaking a fragment of a message. When combined, the message appears to be a recital of the message from the U.N. Secretary General that had been included on a special recording housed aboard Voyager 2.
Moments later, NASA detects hundreds more asteroids, all heading towards Earth. As a stunned Vanocur and Jaffe react to reports of cities and entire countries being destroyed worldwide, Vanocur solemnly quotes from William Shakespeare; "The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves" as a rumble is heard and the picture cuts to static.
Cast
- Sander Vanocur as Himself
- Jane Kaczmarek as Dr. Caroline Jaffe
- Bree Walker as Herself
- Dwier Brown as Matt Jensen
- Brian McNamara as Mike Curtis
- James Morrison as Paul Whitaker
- Ashley Peldon as Kimberly Hastings
- James Handy as Dr. Norbert Hazelton
- Kario Salem as Dr. Avram Mandel
- Spencer Garrett as Paul Collingwood
- Gina Hecht as Barbara Shiller
- John de Lancie as Barry Steinbrenner
- Patty Toy as Denise Wong
- Dennis Lipscomb as Dr. Robert Pearlman
- Ron Canada as Terrence Freeman
- Victor Wilson as Mark Manetti
- John M. Jackson as Dale Powell
- Ernie Anastos as Himself
- Phillip Baker Hallas Dr. Kurt Lowden
- Jim Pirri as Robert Marino
- Alan Scarfe as General Lucian Alexander
- Cynthia Allison as Herself
- Arthur C. Clarke as Himself
- Sandy Hill as Herself
- Michelle Holden as Herself
- Mario Machado as Himself
- Warren Olney as Himself
- Saida Pagan as Herself
- Richard Saxton as Himself
- Debra Snell as Herself
Co-starring
- Randy Crowder as Deputy Anson Peters
- Frank Bruynbroek as Jean-Paul Chounard
- Diana Frank as Sylvie Chounard
- Marnie McPhail as Donna Hastings
- Sherri Paysinger as Pamela Barnes
- Robert Peters as Dwayne Haskell
- Lou Beatty Jr. as Dr. Jonas Tremblay
- John DeMita as Major Powers
- Tyler Cole Malinger as Tyler O'Neal
- Marnie Mosiman as Annie O'Neal
- Armand Schultz as David Case
Production
The film employed "accelerated time" (i.e. events said to have taken place an hour apart actually take place a few minutes apart), among other storytelling devices to make it clear to viewers paying attention that it was not real; including the mention of the year's G7 Summit, which had already come and gone three months before the film released. This, combined with the casting of Jane Kaczmarek, a recognizable actress, as well as several other well-known performers in secondary roles (Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star John de Lancie as a reporter and Philip Baker Hall as one of the doctors in the space station), was expected to alleviate any concerns that the story being shown was actually happening. Ron Canada, who appeared in the film as a science author being interviewed by Sander Vanocur, had previously worked as a television news reporter for stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. during the 1970s before becoming an actor. However, the casting of noted (albeit retired) news anchor Vanocur and noted journalist Bree Walker (who had previously anchored for Los Angeles CBS O&O station KCBS-TV) in major roles portraying themselves, plus a faux interview with noted author Arthur C. Clarke, still left some viewers wondering.
Broadcast
During the film's broadcast, CBS had warnings during the commercial breaks stating that the film was completely fictional,
Some accused CBS of being irresponsible in showing the movie during the
Other releases and home media
The film was released on DVD on July 8, 2003, nearly nine years after its initial, and only, showing on CBS. However, it has since been shown outside the United States, such as the United Kingdom where it aired on
See also
- The War of the Worlds radio drama (1938)
- Special Bulletin (1983)
- Countdown to Looking Glass (1984)
- Ghostwatch (1992)
References
- ^ Turner Classic Movies
- ^ Bobbin, Jay (October 29, 1994). "Warning: Prepare for Distorted Reality". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ The Best Alien Invasion Movie You Probably Haven't Seen - The Companion
- ^ David L. Wolper
- ^ Were Asteroids Falling? Few Viewers Cared - The New York Times
External links
- Without Warning at IMDb