Instinct (1999 film)

Last updated
Instinct
Instinct poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Screenplay by Gerald Di Pego
Story byGerald Di Pego
Based on Ishmael
by Daniel Quinn
Produced by Michael Taylor
Barbara Boyle
Starring
Cinematography Philippe Rousselot
Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce
Music by Danny Elfman
Production
companies
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (United States/Canada)
Spyglass Entertainment (International)
Release date
  • June 4, 1999 (1999-06-04)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million
Box office$34.1 million

Instinct is a 1999 American psychological thriller film, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and starring Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding Jr., George Dzundza, Donald Sutherland, and Maura Tierney. It was very loosely inspired by Ishmael , a novel by Daniel Quinn. [1] In the United States, the film had the working title Ishmael. In 2000, the film was nominated for and won a Genesis Award in the category of feature film. This was the first film produced by Spyglass Entertainment.

Contents

Plot

The film examines the mind of anthropologist Ethan Powell who had been missing for a few years, living in the jungle of Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with mountain gorillas. He is convicted of killing and injuring several supposed Wilderness Park Rangers in East Africa, and is sent to prison. A bright young psychiatrist, Theo Caulder, tries to find out why he killed them, but becomes entangled in a quest to learn the true history and nature of humankind, stating that civilization has steadily destroyed the natural world, advocating that humans abandon this. Eventually it is revealed that during the course of Powell's stay with the gorillas, they accepted him as part of their group; he was attempting to protect his great ape family when the poachers arrived and started shooting them. He gets a hearing to reveal the truth, but an attack by a vicious guard on another prisoner causes Powell to be reminded of the killed gorillas, at which point he violently attacks the guard to stop him, is restrained and stops talking again. At the end of the film, Powell escapes from prison using a pen to dig out the lock on a window, and heads back to Africa.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began on January 25, 1998 and ended on August 7.

Buena Vista Pictures handled North American distribution, while Spyglass Entertainment handled international sales. Buena Vista International handled distribution rights in the United Kingdom, Australia and Latin America. [2]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a critic score of 26% based on reviews from 65 critics. The site's consensus states: "A convoluted and predictable plot overshadows the performances." [3] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [4]

James Berardinelli gave the film 2.5 out 4 describing the film as having "Solid directing and good acting!" [5]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4. [6]

Box office

The film underperformed at the box-office, grossing only $34,105,207 in the United States and Canada. [7] The film won a Genesis Award for its themes of animal rights. [8] On the day of the premiere for this film in Orlando, FL, Cuba Gooding, Jr. added his handprints to a star outside of the Chinese Theater at MGM Studios, a park at Walt Disney World. This walk of fame is a replica of the famous Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.

Soundtrack

Instinct
Film score by
Released1999
Danny Elfman chronology
Men in Black
(1997)
Instinct
(1999)
Sleepy Hollow
(1999)
  1. "Main Title"
  2. "Into the Wild"
  3. "Back to the Forest"
  4. "Everybody Goes"
  5. "The Killing"
  6. "The Riot"
  7. "Escape"
  8. "End Credits"

Related Research Articles

<i>Ishmael</i> (Quinn novel) 1992 philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn

Ishmael is a 1992 philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn. The novel examines the hidden cultural biases driving modern civilization and explores themes of ethics, sustainability, and global catastrophe. Largely framed as a Socratic conversation between two characters, Ishmael aims to expose that several widely accepted assumptions of modern society, such as human supremacy, are actually cultural myths that produce catastrophic consequences for humankind and the environment. The novel was awarded the $500,000 Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in 1991, a year before its formal publication.

<i>Entrapment</i> (film) 1999 film by Jon Amiel

Entrapment is a 1999 caper film directed by Jon Amiel and written by Ronald Bass. It stars Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones and includes Will Patton, Ving Rhames and Maury Chaykin. The film focuses on the relationship between investigator Virginia "Gin" Baker and professional thief Robert "Mac" MacDougal as they attempt a heist at the turn of the New Millennium. Simon West and Antoine Fuqua were both in talks to direct before Amiel was hired. The film was released theatrically in the United States on 30 April 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Siskel</span> American film critic (1946–1999)

Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He is best known for co-hosting various movie review television series with colleague Roger Ebert.

<i>Seabiscuit</i> (film) 2003 American film

Seabiscuit is a 2003 American sports film co-produced, written and directed by Gary Ross and based on the best-selling 1999 non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The film is loosely based on the life and racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized and overlooked Thoroughbred race horse, whose unexpected successes made him a hugely popular media sensation in the United States during the Great Depression. At the 76th Academy Awards, Seabiscuit received seven nominations, including Best Picture, but ultimately lost all seven, including six to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

<i>That Darn Cat</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film by Bob Spiers

That Darn Cat is a 1997 American mystery comedy film directed by Bob Spiers, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and starring Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug. It is a remake of the 1965 film That Darn Cat!, which in turn was based on the 1963 book Undercover Cat by Gordon and Mildred Gordon.

<i>Varsity Blues</i> (film) 1999 film by Brian Robbins

Varsity Blues is a 1999 American coming-of-age sports comedy-drama film directed by Brian Robbins that follows a small-town high school football team through a tumultuous season, in which the players must deal with the pressures of adolescence and their football-obsessed community while having their overbearing coach constantly on their back. In the small fictional town of West Canaan, Texas, football is a way of life and losing is not an option. The film drew a domestic box office gross of $52 million against its estimated $16 million budget despite mixed critical reviews. The film has since gone on to become a cult film.

<i>Welcome to Mooseport</i> 2004 "`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000004-QINU`" film

Welcome to Mooseport is a 2004 American political satire comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, and starring Ray Romano and Gene Hackman in his final film role before his retirement. It was filmed in Jackson's Point, Ontario and Port Perry, Ontario.

James Berardinelli is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ReelViews. Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on DVD and video. He is also a fantasy novelist, publishing a trilogy from 2015 through 2016 known as The Last Whisper of the Gods.

<i>Loser</i> (film) 2000 film by Amy Heckerling

Loser is a 2000 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. Starring Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari and Greg Kinnear, it is about a fish-out-of-water college student (Biggs) who falls for a classmate (Suvari), unaware she is in a relationship with their English teacher (Kinnear). The film, Heckerling's first after 1995's Clueless and inspired by the 1960 film The Apartment, was a box-office failure and received negative reviews.

<i>Last Dance</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Last Dance is a 1996 crime drama thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid and Peter Gallagher.

<i>Undertow</i> (2004 film) 2004 American psychological thriller film

Undertow is a 2004 American psychological thriller film co-written and directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Bell, Devon Alan, Dermot Mulroney and Josh Lucas. Taking place in Georgia, the film tells the story of two boys pursued by a murderous uncle.

<i>Excess Baggage</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

Excess Baggage is a 1997 American crime comedy film, written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Marco Brambilla about a neglected young heiress who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention, only to be actually kidnapped by a car thief. The film stars Alicia Silverstone, Benicio del Toro, and Christopher Walken. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial failure.

<i>George of the Jungle</i> (film) 1997 American comedy film

George of the Jungle is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and based on Jay Ward and Bill Scott's 1967 American animated television series of the same name, which in turn is a spoof of the fictional character Tarzan, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Written by Dana Olsen and Audrey Wells, and starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor, Richard Roundtree and John Cleese. It tells the story of a young man raised by wild animals who falls for an heiress and contends with the heiress's spoiled and narcissistic fiancé. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released in theatres throughout the United States and Canada on July 16, 1997. It was later aired on Disney Channel in the United States on December 5, 1998. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $174 million worldwide. A sequel, George of the Jungle 2, was released direct-to-video on October 21, 2003.

<i>Flirt</i> (1995 film) 1995 film by Hal Hartley

Flirt is a 1995 drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley and produced by Good Machine.

<i>Surrender Dorothy</i> (film) 1998 American film

Surrender Dorothy is an independent film by director Kevin DiNovis which won first place at the 1998 Slamdance Film Festival. The film stars Peter Pryor and Kevin DiNovis. The film is shot in black and white. It is also notable for featuring the first film role for Elizabeth Banks, who appears in the credits as "Elizabeth Casey."

<i>Normal Life</i> 1996 American film

Normal Life is a 1996 American crime drama film based on the real lives of husband-and-wife bank robbers, Jeffrey and Jill Erickson. The film stars Ashley Judd and Luke Perry and was directed by John McNaughton. The original screenplay was written by husband-and-wife team Peg Haller and Bob Schneider.

<i>Transporter 3</i> 2008 French film

Transporter 3 is a 2008 French action film directed by Olivier Megaton. It is the final installment in the original trilogy of the Transporter franchise, but not the last movie, since it was succeeded by The Transporter Refueled, also called Transporter 4 (2015). Jason Statham and François Berléand reprise their roles as Frank Martin and Inspector Tarconi. Frank Martin returns to France in order to continue his low-key business of delivering packages without question. Transporter 3 grossed $112.9 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the trilogy.

<i>Finding Amanda</i> 2008 American film

Finding Amanda is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Peter Tolan and starring Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow.

<i>Kiss or Kill</i> (1997 film) 1997 Australian film

Kiss or Kill is a 1997 Australian thriller film about two lovers and fugitives from the law who are pursued across the Australian Outback. The film was written and directed by Bill Bennett, and stars Frances O'Connor and Matt Day.

<i>Three Colours: Red</i> 1994 film by Krzysztof Kieślowski

Three Colours: Red is a 1994 drama film co-written, produced and directed by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski. It is the final installment of the Three Colours trilogy, which examines the French Revolutionary ideals; it is preceded by Blue and White. Kieślowski had announced that this would be his final film, planning to retire claiming to be through with filmmaking; he would die suddenly less than two years later. Red is about fraternity, which it examines by showing characters whose lives gradually become closely interconnected, with bonds forming between two characters who appear to have little in common.

References

  1. O'Hehir, Andrew (June 5, 1999). "Instinct review". Salon.com . Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  2. Cox, Chris Petrikin; Petrikin, Chris; Cox, Dan (December 4, 1998). "Distribution savvy". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  3. "Instinct". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  4. "Instinct reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  5. Berardinelli, James. "Reelviews Movie Reviews". Reelviews Movie Reviews.
  6. Ebert, Roger (1999). "Instinct movie review & film summary (1999)". RogerEbert.com/.
  7. "Instinct (1999)". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  8. "Genesis Awards 2000". IMDb .