Phénomène

Original title: Phenomenon

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

87K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:44

Drama Fantasy Romance Sci-Fi

An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

87K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,798

395

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 8 nominations total

Videos3

Trailer 2:44

Official Trailer

Clip 1:05

Phenomenon: 15th Anniversary Edition

Clip 1:05

Phenomenon: 15th Anniversary Edition

Clip 1:14

Phenomenon: 15th Anniversary Edition

Photos98

+ 94

User reviews165

6.587.3K

Featured reviews

dubnut

Augmented Human Interest

I'm not usually inspired to review your average hollywood fare, but I was moved by this film. Not only did it portray dramatic tension between one who is experiencing 'supernatural' awareness and their hokey, small-town friends, but Phenomenon also gains rank by being one of the first few films with a completely 'open mind.' I attribute its existence to the film Powder, which came out a few years ago, and I am honestly looking forward to more innovative dramas in a similar vein.

It will probably not become a classic, but it deserves to be seen in its time. Perhaps the honesty of this film will inspire other, greater filmmakers with more influence to change their ways and provide more thinking elements in their films.

Watch it with a loved one on a Saturday night.

A good alternative to show those boyfriends who are caught up in their own male-ness. Try this before plopping in Gone with the Wind. It may bridge the gap.

myklrichter

Travolta and Duval at their finest.....

This movie was, without a doubt, one of the finest ever made in a long, long time. I was expecting ti to take a sci-fi route with abductions and vulcan mind-melds...but the ending and explanation for George's predicament are not only plausable but heart-breaking. You cannot help but feel for a like George Malley. I didn't buy into too much of the hyseria surrounding the townsfolk as it seemed a little "tacked on"...but the performances by Travolta, Duval, Kyra Sedgwick and Forrest Whitaker made up for any shortcomings and plot holes. I have watched this movie time and time again and the combination of true emotional drama and a beautiful score nearly bring me to tears everytime. 9 out of 10.

7michaeltrivedi

Yep

Now John Travolta is one weird guy. Though I like his movies, and I like his characters. They are all so different than himself.

Here is a good one and an old one. A guy gets hit by an alien force, and becomes a genius with the power to move things with his mind.

It was very good actually. Not Oscar worthy or great or anything. Just a good movie worth watching. It's really got everything, and is a good time for the whole family.

Highly recommend

7 stars

tfrizzell

A Phenomenal Experience.

An ordinary small-town man (John Travolta) sees a flash of light in the sky one night and then starts to experience super-intelligence and telekinesis. Soon he is changing everyone's life for the better (most notably love interest Kyra Sedgwick, town doctor Robert Duvall and best friend Forest Whitaker). Slyly funny and innovative at first and then impressively dramatic and thought-provoking, "Phenomenon" is an effective picture that comes through because of good performances across the board and smart screen-writing. Travolta and Duvall are excellent together and they share the spotlight in the venture. Under-rated production that should be given a try. It is one of those films that will cause your emotions to come shining through. 4 stars out of 5.

daghda_jim

More than it might seem to be

I think any movie that can be described as both (a) a Scientology recruiting pamphlet, and (b) an analogy to Jesus' life has to be a bit out of the ordinary. In some ways, this film reminds me of another seeming science fiction movie that really turned out to be about people's response to the unusual: `Charly' In both films an extraordinary increase in intelligence frightened the people around the main character; they just couldn't deal with it and feared him for it. The love story was a gem. Lacy had obviously been badly hurt by a past relationship, and simply didn't want to encourage George's love. But when he began to be hurt by the way some of his friends treated him, she warmed and opened her heart to him. The way George tried to describe how he looked at things differently and saw relationships that he'd never seen before reminded me of classical descriptions of the act of creativity in many fields. And it's a sad thing but true that we are all capable of concentrating harder and focusing on things to achieve more, but it's very difficult, and more often than not, we tend to take the easier road. Good thought-provoking flick.

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Allô maman, ici bébé!

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Old town Auburn, California was used for the scenes in town. Most of the businesses are still in operation, and thrive off of the tourism generated by the movie to this day. Auburn is also the birthplace of Kane Hodder who played Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th movies.

Goofs
When George uses the tape recorder to record the Morse code signals, there's no tape in the recorder.

Quotes
Dr. Bob Niedorf: All right, I'll start the questions, and I'll be timing your responses, and we'll be recording. Any questions?
George Malley: What's your first name?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: Uh, my first name is Bob.
[George reaches across the wide table to shake hands]
George Malley: Shoot, Bob.
Dr. Bob Niedorf: Right. Name as many mammals as you can in 60 seconds. Ready? Go.
[Starts stopwatch]
George Malley: Hmm. 60 seconds. Well, how would you like that? How about alphabetical? Aardvark, baboon, caribou, dolphin, eohippus, fox, gorilla, hyena, ibex, jackal, kangaroo, lion, marmoset, Newfoundland, ocelot, panda, rat, sloth, tiger, unicorn, varmint, whale, yak, zebra. Now "varmint" is a stretch; so is "Newfoundland" (that's a dog breed); "unicorn" is mythical; "eohippus" is prehistoric. But you weren't being very specific, now, were you, Bob?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: [pauses, then stops watch and laughs] Well! Ahh, I'll, uh - I'll try to be more specific. You ready for the next one?
George Malley: Shoot.
Dr. Bob Niedorf: Answer as quickly as you can... how old is a person born in 1928?
[starts stopwatch]
George Malley: Man or a woman?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: [stops stopwatch and pauses] Why?
George Malley: Specifics, Bob.
Dr. Bob Niedorf: Okay, one more time. How old is a MAN born in 1928?
[starts stopwatch]
George Malley: Still alive?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: [stops watch, pauses, nods] If a man is born in 1928, and he's still alive, how old is he?
[starts stopwatch]
George Malley: What month?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: [stops stopwatch] If a man was born October 3rd, 1928, and he's still alive, how old is he?
[starts stopwatch]
George Malley: What time?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: [stops stopwatch] 10 o'clock... PM!
[starts stopwatch]
George Malley: Where?
Dr. Bob Niedorf: [stops stopwatch; now impatient] Anywhere!
George Malley: Well, let's get specific, Bob! I mean, if the guy's still alive, born in California, October 3rd, 1928, 10 PM, he's 67 years, 9 months, 22 days, 14 hours, and...
[takes Bob's hand to see his wristwatch]
George Malley: ... and 12 minutes. If he was born in New York, he's 3 hours older, now isn't he?

Alternate versions
ABC network television version features alternate/new footage not present in the theatrical and home video releases.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Striptease/Cold Fever/The Nutty Professor/A Perfect Candidate/Maybe, Maybe Not (1996)

Soundtracks
Love Child
Written by R. Dean Taylor (as R.D. Taylor), Frank Wilson (as F. Wilson), Pam Sawyer (as P. Sawyer) and Deke Richards (as D. Lussier)
Performed by Diana Ross & The Supremes
Courtesy of Motown Records Company, L.P.
By arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing