Now on Blu-ray: “Contact”

Contact came out back in 1997 and I thought it was such a through-provoking and intriguing film.  It stars Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a SETI scientist who is searching for the meaning of life – both on earth and from outer space.  

Unfortunately, the government withdraws funding for the project but a reclusive billionaire makes it possible for Ellie to continue her work.  Several years later, it looks like SETI is about to be closed down when she discovers an alien contact message and everything changes.

The entire project is put under tight security (even President Clinton makes an appearance!) which gets more intense after the message yields a code for building a special machine.  Construction gets underway and a list of test “pilots” is compiled.  Of course, Ellie is a candidate and, after all of her hard work, she feels like she deserves to be the one to test this machine out but her lack of religious conviction makes her a questionable choice. 

This is when the highly religious Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) shows up.  The pair become romantically involved but he’s also on the panel for deciding who gets to try the machine.  He wants her to be able to believe in things she can’t necessarily see or explain and the real test begins – will Ellie learn a lesson about having faith?

Contact is now available on Blu-ray and, at two and a half hours, it’s a bit long but I think it’s totally worth it.

image: Amazon