or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
38 used & new from £0.80
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Contact (Special Edition) [1997] [DVD]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Contact (Special Edition) [1997] [DVD]

DVD ~ Jodie Foster
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
RRP: £13.99
Price: £3.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £10.01 (72%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Items for dispatch to UK will be sold by Amazon's Preferred Merchant. (Why?)

16 new from £1.99 22 used from £0.80
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Contact (Special Edition) [1997] [DVD] + 2010 - The Year We Make Contact [DVD] [1985] + 2001 - A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray] [1968]
Total RRP: £52.97
Price For All Three: £17.94

Show availability and delivery details

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Contact (Special Edition) [1997] [DVD]
90% buy the item featured on this page:
Contact (Special Edition) [1997] [DVD] 4.3 out of 5 stars (62)
£3.98
2010 - The Year We Make Contact [DVD] [1985]
3% buy
2010 - The Year We Make Contact [DVD] [1985] 3.8 out of 5 stars (33)
£2.98
The Ultimate Bourne Collection [Blu-ray] [2002]
2% buy
The Ultimate Bourne Collection [Blu-ray] [2002] 4.7 out of 5 stars (80)
£17.97
2001 - A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray] [1968]
2% buy
2001 - A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray] [1968] 4.4 out of 5 stars (148)
£10.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Jena Malone, David Morse, Geoffrey Blake
  • Directors: Robert Zemeckis
  • Writers: Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan, James V. Hart, Michael Goldenberg
  • Producers: Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan, Joan Bradshaw
  • Format: PAL, Widescreen, Dolby, Digital Sound, Subtitled
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, Arabic
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 25 Sep 1998
  • Run Time: 144 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CX8A
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,919 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #95 in  DVD > Action & Adventure > Heroes & Heroines

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

The opening and closing moments of Robert (Forrest Gump) Zemeckis's Contact astonish viewers with the sort of breathtaking conceptual imagery one hardly ever sees in movies these day--each is an expression of the heroine's lifelong quest (both spiritual and scientific) to explore the meaning of human existence through contact with extraterrestrial life. The movie begins by soaring far out into space, then returns dizzyingly to earth until all the stars in the heavens condense into the sparkle in one little girl's eye. It ends with that same girl as an adult (Jodie Foster)--her search having taken her to places beyond her imagination--turning her gaze inward and seeing the universe in a handful of sand. Contact traces the journey between those two visual epiphanies. Based on Carl Sagan's novel, Contact is exceptionally thoughtful and provocative for a big-budget Hollywood science fiction picture, with elements that recall everything from 2001 to The Right Stuff. Foster's solid performance (and some really incredible alien hardware) keep viewers interested, even when the story skips and meanders, or when the halo around the golden locks of rising-star-of-a-different-kind Matthew McConaughey (as the pure-Hollywood-hokum love interest)reaches Milky Way-level wattage. Ambitious, ambiguous, pretentious, unpredictable--Contact is all of these things and more. Much of it remains open to speculation and interpretation but whatever conclusions one eventually draws, Contactdeserves recognition as a rare piece of big-budget studio film making on a personal scale. --Jim Emerson

Video Description

DVD Special Features

Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers
Language in Dolby Digital 5.1: English
Subtitles: English/Arabic/English for the hearing impaired

See all Reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

2010 - The Year We Make Contact [DVD] [1985]

2010 - The Year We Make Contact [DVD] [1985]

DVD ~ Roy Scheider
3.8 out of 5 stars (33)  £2.98
Deep Impact [Blu-ray] [1998]

Deep Impact [Blu-ray] [1998]

Blu-ray ~ Robert Duvall
3.6 out of 5 stars (38)  £10.98
Contact

Contact

by Carl Sagan
4.4 out of 5 stars (20)  £5.96
Mission To Mars [DVD] [2000]

Mission To Mars [DVD] [2000]

DVD ~ Tim Robbins
2.7 out of 5 stars (46)  £2.98
The Abyss [1989] [DVD]

The Abyss [1989] [DVD]

DVD ~ Ed Harris
4.1 out of 5 stars (41)  £3.18
› Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(7)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?
See all 11 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

62 Reviews
5 star:
 (38)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (62 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Rare treat - intellingent sci-fi!, 13 Jan 2002
By Dennis E. Sisterson (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
To anyone who thinks that science fiction is about action-packed escapism, with ray guns and scary monsters, as all those who have jumped on the Star Wars bandwagon in the last 25 years would have us believe, watch this film. Science fiction can be plausible, intelligent and - shock, horror - have things to say just like any other form of drama. I have a personal fondness for this film for that reason, and therefore am prepared to forgive its occasional lapse into schmaltz. It's refreshing to see something that gives us a credible glimpse into what our first contact with an alien intelligence might actually be like, and how we might react to it.
Also this disc represents top value for a DVD:... here's what you get for your money:

*No less than THREE full-length audio commentaries - one from Jodie Foster, one from the director and producer, and one from the Special Effects men. And these are genuine commentaries too, not cobbled together from interviews - they are with you as you watch the film, commenting on everything you see as you see it. Together they are a wonderful eye-opener into how a film like this is made.
* Isolated music score - this option means that the film is silent for a lot of the time but provides a fascinating alternative way to view many scenes.
* Special effects featurette; sort of a technical showreel showing how many shots were composited -even the ones that don't look like FX shots.
* Production notes, the usual scene access & trailers

None of this is the cheap promo stuff that is thrown carelessly onto many discs; somebody cared enough about this film to make a real effort. all of this means you have to watch this film at least four times before you're exhausted all the disc has to offer.

If you haven't seen the film, watch out for spoilers in the other reviews on this page.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a decent release for Contact, 17 Oct 2009
By Mr. C. Hyder - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Contact [Blu-ray] [1997] (Blu-ray)
A review of an old fave of mine that has languished on a very poor DVD since release, and now finally displayed in all its glory on Blu ray.

Simply put, far superior to the approx 10 year old DVD as you would expect, though not perfect. However for a movie shot in 1997 it mostly holds up pretty well under the scrutiny of high def.
From a technical point of view this blu ray finally gives Contact the treatment it deserves. The majority of the movie is pin sharp, full of detail with well saturated colours. Though a couple of scenes dip below standard, one or two shots show some distracting banding in night skies, I noticed some scenes that had an uncharacteristic softness compared with the rest of movie. However the dips in quality were few and very brief, so not a problem to me.
The CGI elements hold up surprisingly well, you can tell of course that you are looking at CGI but it is not all embarrassing for a 12-13 year old movie. The beach scene where Ellie finally meets the 'alien' was intended to appear unreal due to the Vegan's creating of an artificial setting intended to make Ellie feel more secure (ie a bit of home) so it all has a strange look to it intentionally, but Ellie and her father appear to fade around the edges into the environment with a very blurred outline. No doubt showing the limitations of CGI and blue screen work 10+ years ago. However with the nature of the scene I don't find it a serious problem.
Scenes featuring the machine, again, for the majority look convincing and it is with these scenes that the sound really gets to work. On the whole Contact is a dialogue movie with few 'action' scenes to show off the sound design, but when we get to see the machine up close we really get an impressive sense of the machines enormous energy and momentum. When the rings spin beneath the launch pod the sound really conveys the weight and scale of the thing really helping to sell the completely CGI image.
All in all a fine effort in my opinion, for a movie desperately needing the hi def treatment as the original DVD release was annoyingly poor. Just compare the opening scene as we take a trip from earth to the outer reaches of the universe, very impressive on blu ray as opposed to the digitised mess on the old DVD.
Highly recommended upgrade for a fan of the movie.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Genuinely uplifting piece of hokum, 20 Dec 2000
By G. Russell (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Overall an excellent, intelligent film with good performances. The other reviews have concentrated on the opening sequence which is nice but a bit obvious visually - but the sound tracking back through time and eventually switching off is a great touch). But the virtuoso performance technically has to be the scene with the young girl running for the medicine cabinet - an apparently innocuous scene but watch it again and try to figure out how they could have done it - the whole scene appears to have been shot through a mirror which is fixed to the bathroom wall, yet starts downstairs and travels upstairs and into the bathroom in one continuous shot. It's a shot Hitchcock would have been proud of and it's always good to see a commercial director showing that he still has some artistic sensibilities and can do more than paint by the numbers. Sometimes the ethical elements of the plot are laid on with a trowel, and John Hurt is far too hammy and out of place from the general atmosphere of the film to be anything other than an annoyance but Jodie Foster gives a strong central performance and the movie hangs together nicely by the end. The arguments about spirituality against science are somewhat contrived but that does little to detract from a genuinely uplifting and inspiring story. Great to see a piece of science fiction that actually treats its viewers as intelligent human beings who can perhaps understand a plot that goes beyond boy rescuing Californian beach volleyball princess from evil emperor while retrieving mysterious plastic crystal and saving the world. Watch it, and restore your faith in earthlings.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Film
A fantastic film made even better by blu-ray. It is now full of detail not spotted before. The colours are more vibrant and the sound is enhanced. Read more
Published 20 days ago by John Baxter

4.0 out of 5 stars Sci-Fi which makes you think!
As other reviewers have stated, we finally have a science-fiction film which makes you think about life on other planets in a realistic and frankly believable way... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. M. W. Lawson

5.0 out of 5 stars BluRay worthwhile to showcase outstanding film
Contact is one of the best recent sci-fi movies with a much more thoughtful approach than most. It's only let down by the slightly less sure-footed almost-final sequence on the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. R. Hudson

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
One of the best Science Fiction Movies of all times.
The Blu -Ray has the same 3 commentaries and features as the DVD so no surprises really... Read more
Published 2 months ago by RDJ Herrera

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant
this blu ray transfer is amazing the picture is just great and make the dvd version really look dated was propper impressed and the movie is a classic!!
Published 2 months ago by R. J. Riley

5.0 out of 5 stars Premium quality
Indeed - the image quality is excellent.
Who likes the film - this blu-ray definitely worths the money.
Published 2 months ago by Arnis Janovs

5.0 out of 5 stars Contact
It took a while for Contact to get to Blu-Ray but it was worth the wait. The appearance of Contact on Blu-ray was one without a fanfare, none of the Film/Scifi magazines or... Read more
Published 2 months ago by K. S. Hilton

5.0 out of 5 stars Contact (Special Edition)
Excellent DVD from a first-class seller. The item came very quickly and DVD was of a high standard (sound and picture excellent).
Published 4 months ago by Ms. R. C. Armstrong-Buisseret

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie
This is one of my favourite movies because I like sci-fi to be combined with good acting, great special effects but also intelligent plots and dialogue, and movies that make you... Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. Halloway

3.0 out of 5 stars Blast off!
Well the modern-ish version of'Is there anyone out there?'..Actress Jodie goes full force on this one..Verdict: Quite unbelievable,well worth the money for 2. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Anthony Cox

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Contact in Hi-def Blu-ray Disc 0 December 2008
› See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject










i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.