Outbreak(film)

This article is about the 1995 feature film. For the 1995 telefilm based on the Robin Cook novel "Outbreak", seeVirus (1995 film).

Outbreak
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Wolfgang Petersen
Written by	Laurence Dworet Robert Roy Pool
Produced by	Gail Katz Arnold Kopelson Wolfgang Petersen
Starring	Dustin Hoffman Rene Russo Morgan Freeman Cuba Gooding Jr. Patrick Dempsey Donald Sutherland Kevin Spacey
Cinematography	Michael Ballhaus
Edited by	William Hoy Lynzee Klingman Stephen E. Rivkin Neil Travis
Music by	James Newton Howard
Production companies	Arnold Kopelson Productions Punch Productions, inc.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	March 10, 1995(1995-03-10)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$189.8 million

Outbreakis a 1995 Americanmedicaldisaster filmdirected byWolfgang Petersenand written byLaurence DworetandRobert Roy Pool.The film starsDustin Hoffman,Rene Russo,Morgan FreemanandDonald Sutherland,and co-starsCuba Gooding Jr.,Kevin SpaceyandPatrick Dempsey.

The film focuses on an outbreak of Motaba, a fictionalebolavirus- andorthomyxoviridae-like virus, inZaire,and later in a small town inCalifornia.It is set primarily in theUnited States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseasesand theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention,as well as the fictional town of Cedar Creek, California.Outbreak'splot speculates how far military and civilian agencies might go to contain the spread of a deadly, contagious disease.

The film, released byWarner Bros.March 10, 1995, was a box-office success, and Spacey won two awards for his performance. A real-life outbreak of the Ebola virus was occurring in Zaire when the film was released.The film's popularity resurged during theCOVID-19 pandemic,ranking as the fourth most streamed film in the United States on Netflix, March 13, 2020.

Plot

The single biggest threat to man's continued dominance on the planet is the virus.

— Joshua Lederberg,Ph.D., Nobel laureate, Film introduction:Outbreak(1995)

In 1967, during theStanleyville mutinies,a virus called Motaba, which causes adeadly fever,is discovered in theAfricanjungle.To keep the virus a secret,U.S. Armyofficers Donald McClintock and William Ford destroy the camp where soldiers were infected.

Twenty-eight years later, Colonel Sam Daniels, aUSAMRIIDvirologist, is sent to investigate an outbreak inZaire.He and his crew — Lieutenant Colonel Casey Schuler and new recruit Major Salt — gather information and return to the United States. Ford, now a brigadier general, and Daniels' superior officer, dismisses the latter's fears that the virus will spread.

Awhite-headed capuchinmonkey that is host to the virus is smuggled into the country. James "Jimbo" Scott, a worker at ananimal testinglaboratory, is infected when he steals the monkey to sell on theblack market.Jimbo takes the monkey to Rudy Alvarez, a pet-store proprietor in the coastal-California village of Cedar Creek. He fails to sell the monkey after it scratches Rudy, who also becomes infected.

After releasing the monkey into the woods outside of the nearby community of Palisades, he develops symptoms on a flight to Boston, and infects his girlfriend Alice at the airport. Their illness is investigated by Dr. Roberta Keough, aCDCscientist and Daniels's ex-wife. Jimbo, Alice and Rudy die, but Keough determines that no one else in Boston was infected.

A hospital technician in Cedar Creek is infected when he accidentally breaks the vial of Rudy's blood. The virus quickly mutates into a strain capable of spreading likeinfluenza,becomingairborneand causing a number of people to be infected in a movie theater. Daniels flies to Cedar Creek against Ford's orders, joining Keough's team with Schuler and Salt. As they begin a search for the monkey, the Army quarantines the town and imposesmartial law.Schuler is infected when his suit tears, and Keough accidentally sticks herself with a contaminated needle while treating him.

When Ford provides an experimental serum that cures the original strain, Daniels realizes that his superiors were aware of the virus before the outbreak. Daniels learns about Operation Clean Sweep, a plan for the military to contain the virus by bombing Cedar Creek, incinerating the entire town and its residents, ostensibly to prevent Motaba's expansion to pandemic proportions. However, McClintock, now a major general, plans to use the operation to conceal the mutated virus's existence, so the original strain can be preserved for use as abiological weapon.

To prevent Daniels from finding a cure, McClintock orders him arrested for carrying the virus. Daniels escapes before he and Salt fly a helicopter to the ship at sea that carried the monkey. Daniels obtains a picture of the monkey and releases it to the media; a Palisades resident, Mrs. Jeffries, realizes that her daughter Kate has been playing with the monkey (which she named Betsy) and calls the CDC. Daniels and Salt arrive at the Jeffries's house, where Salt tranquilizes Betsy after Kate coaxes her from hiding in the woods nearby. When he learns from Daniels about Betsy's capture, Ford delays the bombing.

On their return flight, Daniels and Salt are chased by McClintock in another helicopter. Salt fires two rockets into the trees to deceive him into thinking they crashed. Once back in Cedar Creek, Salt mixes Betsy'santibodieswith Ford's serum to create anantiserum;although Schuler has died, they save Keough. McClintock returns to base and resumes Operation Clean Sweep, refusing to listen to Ford. Daniels and Salt fly their helicopter directly into the path of the bomber's approach to its target.

With Ford's help, Daniels persuades the bomber's flight crew to detonate thethermobaric bombover water and spare the town. Before McClintock can order another bombing, Ford relieves him of command and orders his arrest. Daniels and Keough reconcile as Cedar Creek's residents are cured.

Cast

• Dustin HoffmanasColonelSam Daniels, MD
• Rene Russoas Dr. Roberta "Robby" Keough, MD
• Morgan FreemanasBrigadier GeneralWilliam "Billy" Ford, MD
• Donald SutherlandasMajor GeneralDonald "Donnie" McClintock
• Kevin SpaceyasLieutenant ColonelCasey Schuler, MD
• Cuba Gooding Jr.asMajorSalt, MD
• Patrick Dempseyas James "Jimbo" Scott
• Zakes Mokaeas Dr. Benjamin Iwabi
• Malick Bowens as Dr. Raswani
• Susan Lee Hoffman as Dr. Lisa Aronson
• Benito Martinezas Dr. Julio Ruiz
• Bruce Jarchowas Dr. Mascelli
• Leland Hayward III as Henry Seward
• Daniel Chodos as Rudy Alvarez
• Lance Kerwinas American Mercenary
• Dale Dyeas Lieutenant Colonel Briggs
• Diana Bellamyas Mrs. Pananides
• J. T. WalshasWhite House Chief of Staff(uncredited)
• David A. R. Whiteas Army Pilot (uncredited)
• Jack Rader as Police Chief Fowler

Production

Scenes in "Cedar Creek" were filmed inFerndale,California, where tanks and helicopters were a common feature of daily life during nearly two months of filming.Other locations used wereDugway Proving GroundandKauai.

Harrison Fordwas offered the role of Sam Daniels, but turned it down.Sylvester StalloneandMel Gibsonwere also offered the role, but turned it down.

ProducerLynda Obsthas stated it was due to the production ofOutbreakthat her film adaptation ofThe Hot Zonewas dropped by20th Century Fox,despite having, in her words, "the better package and... the better script". She also claimed that directorWolfgang Petersentried to enticeRobert Redford,who was already cast for her film, to be a part ofOutbreak,based on Redford's call to her. Obst would eventually have her adaptation of the book, butgreenlitasa miniseriesbyNational Geographic,which premiered in May 2019.

Release

Box office

Outbreakwas a commercial success.It topped theU.S. box-office listits opening weekend with a gross of $13.4 million,and spent three weeks at number one beforeTommy Boy's release.It wasnumber one in Japanfor six weeks.The film grossed $67.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $122.2 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $189.9 million.

Critical reception

Outbreakreceived mixed reviews from critics. According to thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,59% of 64 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.7 out of 10. The website's consensus states: "A frustratingly uneven all-star disaster drama,Outbreakultimately proves only mildly contagious and leaves few lasting side effects. "OnMetacritic,the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 21 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "A−" on a scale of A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesgave it three and a half stars of four, callingOutbreak'spremise "one of the great scare stories of our time, the notion that deep in the uncharted rain forests, deadly diseases are lurking, and if they ever escape their jungle homes and enter the human bloodstream, there will be a new plague the likes of which we have never seen."

Rita Kempley ofThe Washington Postalso enjoyed the film's plot: "Outbreakis an absolute hoot thanks primarily to director Wolfgang Petersen's rabid pacing and the great care he brings to setting up the story and its probability. "

David Denbywrote forNew Yorkmagazine that although the opening scenes were well-done, "somewhere in the middle...Outbreakfalls off a cliff "and becomes" lamely conventional ".

Janet MaslinofThe New York Timesfound the film's subject compelling, but its treatment ineffective: "The film's shallowness also contributes to the impression that no problem is too thorny to be solved by movie heroics."

Scientific accuracy

The film's scientific liberties have been criticized, especially compared to the realism of the 2011 filmContagion.Implausibilities include the virus taking only an hour, rather than days, to multiply; the synthesis of the cure taking less than a minute, rather than many months; and the injection of the cure producing immediate improvement.

Accolades

• New York Film Critics Circle Awards:Kevin Spacey– Best Supporting Actor (Won) – Also includes Spacey's work inSe7en,Swimming with Sharks,andThe Usual Suspects
• Society of Texas Film Critics Awards:Kevin Spacey– Best Supporting Actor (Won) – Also includes Spacey's work inSe7enandThe Usual Suspects

Later popularity

The film's popularity resurged during theCOVID-19 pandemic,ranking as the fourth-most-streamed film onNetflixin the United States March 13, 2020.

External links

• OutbreakatIMDb
• Outbreakat theTCM Movie Database
• OutbreakatAllMovie
• OutbreakatBox Office Mojo
• OutbreakatRotten Tomatoes