Waterworld

Movie
German title	Waterworld
Original title	Waterworld
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1995
length	130 minutes; Extended Edition (Region 1, USA): 176 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Kevin Reynolds ; Kevin Costner
script	Peter Rader ; David Twohy
production	Kevin Costner ; John Davis ; Charles Gordon ; Lawrence Gordon
music	James Newton Howard
camera	Dean Semler
cut	Peter Boyle
occupation
	Kevin Costner : Mariner; Tina Majorino : Enola; Jeanne Tripplehorn : Helen; Dennis Hopper : Deacon; Michael Jeter : Gregor; Jack Black : Smoker Airplane Pilot; Kim Coates : insane drifter; Gerard Murphy : North; Sean Whalen : Bone; Robert LaSardo : Smitty; Rick Aviles : Porter; Leonardo Cimino : Elder;

Waterworld is an American science fiction film of the end times genre that was shot in 1995. The leading role is played by Kevin Costner , who also co-produced the film. The film was the most expensive in history to date, with a budget of $ 175 million. These costs could not be brought in at the box office; only the evaluation for the home theater brought a slight plus. In addition to the 130-minute theatrical version, there is a 176-minute extended version that has not yet been dubbed into German.

action

The action takes place in a dystopian future, in which an unspecified ecological catastrophe has melted the polar ice caps of the earth and the continents have sunk almost completely in water. The few survivors live as traders on boats or on floating atolls . Fresh water and earth have become the most precious goods because they are very difficult to extract. The Smokers, a gang of pirates whose hiding place is an old oil tanker, threaten the otherwise peaceful and lethargic world. Their name comes from the fact that, in addition to oil, they also have relatively large stocks of cigarettes and smoke all the time. Their leader is Deacon. There is one hope that they all have in common: the myth of “dryland”, a non-flooded mainland.

In this world the mariner travels through the sea in a trimaran and barter deals with his needs. He is not an ordinary person, but a mutant : He has gills and webbed feet and can therefore breathe underwater and swim faster. While visiting an atoll, he is recognized by the residents as a mutant and captured. Since his mutation frightens the inhabitants, he is said to be drowned in the mud of a food recycling facility when the Smokers attack the atoll. During the battle, the mariner and atoll inhabitants Helen and Enola, who are still a child, can flee on his trimaran. There is a tattoo on Enola's back that supposedly reveals Dryland's location if it can be read. Since this tattoo was the reason for the attack of the Smokers on the atoll, the three are pursued on the vastness of the ocean.

At first the mariner refuses Helen and Enola, throws Enola into the water once, whereby the non-swimmer almost drowns, or wants to give Helen to another dealer as a barter item. Gradually, however, he became friends with Enola in particular on the trip. Eventually the Smokers manage to capture Enola and destroy the Mariner's trimaran. The odd inventor Gregor, a friend of Helen's, finds the trimaran, on the remains of which the Mariner and Helen are floating in the sea, and saves them both with a self-made airship . The mariner sets off to deliver Enola's rescue. On the Smokers' oil tanker, he manages to ignite the oil in the tanks and free Enola in the resulting chaos, causing the ship to explode and sink. The mariner can now decipher the map on Enola's back, since he knows the position of the flooded cities that are marked on it, but for all other undetectable flooded cities. So he reached Dryland in his airship with Enola, Helen and Gregor. There they find Enola's dead parents. The Mariner does not stay there, however, as he is only comfortable at sea.

In the last shot you see Enola and Helen discovering a sign on the ground under some earth that documents that they are on the top of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest .

Production notes

The film came under fire because the planned budget of 100 million US dollars was far exceeded. There were transport problems while filming on the water and bad weather. After filming was over, many scenes had to be re-shot or digitally reworked, for example because Costner's hair loss could be seen too clearly. Other extra requests by Costner are also said to have increased production costs enormously.

After the filming, Kevin Costner fell out with his longtime friend, director Kevin Reynolds, who was fired. Costner then took over the direction himself. The rift had to do with the film editing by Reynolds, who had edited a version of about three hours, but the length of which was only possible one evening performance per day in the cinemas. Because of the immense costs, it was too dangerous for both Universal and Costner and so Reynolds was fired, who refused to cut a shorter version. The longer version can still be seen; it has been shown several times on American television and has now been released on DVD in the USA.

Joss Whedon , creator of the Buffy and Firefly series , was employed as a script doctor during the filming to fix the inconsistencies and holes in the plot . When asked about it years after this work, he said it was one of the toughest repairs to one of the worst scripts he had ever read.

Waterworld initially threatened to be a big flop , which is why Costner has since been considered a box office poison . Although the film grossed a higher amount at the box office worldwide than it had cost, the revenue of 264 million US dollars from global sales was initially too low to cover the costs after deducting the revenue share of the cinemas. Only in the video rental could the film ultimately bring in a slight profit.

In the theme park of Universal Studios in Hollywood as well as in the parks in Osaka ( Japan ) and Singapore (Universal Studios Singapore), a stunt show based on the motifs of the film can be attended.

Trivia

One scene shows the name of the Smoker's ship. It's called " Exxon Valdez ", called "Deez" by the smokers in the movie.

In a speech, the Deacon makes a sacrifice to "St. Joe" in the form of a bottle of whiskey. "St. Joe “is an allusion to Joseph Hazelwood , the alcoholic captain of the Exxon Valdez when it broke down in 1989, whose picture can also be seen in the film.

The smokers call the oil "Go-Juice", in German roughly "Laufsaft". A refinery needed to refine the “go juice” is located on the “Deez”.

The older scholar Gregor also calls the Mariner Ichthyo sapiens , since he seems to be a person perfectly adapted to aquatic life. This designation is wrong, however, because Ichthyo sapiens translates as “wise fish”, a species of fish whose intelligence comes close to that of humans. The correct name for a water man would be Homo aquaticus . However, evolution doesn't happen in as short a time and as purposefully as the film shows.

"Ichthyo sapiens" is also a name for Abraham "Abe" Sapien in the stories about Hellboy .

On November 4th, 2008, a double DVD box from Waterworld was released in the USA . On the one hand it contains the so-called “Theatrical Version”, which was shown in the cinema, and on the other hand the so-called Extended Version . It is over 40 minutes longer than the cinema version of Waterworld. This "Extended Version" is the original cut by the director Kevin Reynolds. A release of the extended version in Germany is not planned.

The film opened in German cinemas on September 21, 1995.

In reality, the complete melting of the earth's ice would raise the sea level by less than 80 meters.

criticism

“Rather unimaginative in characters and story, the film reaches its climax in the description of the bizarre scenery and the artistic stunts of the battle scenes. Stylistically a gigantic recycling company. "

- Lexicon of international film

“The cost controversy aside, Waterworld is a decent futuristic action picture with some great sets, some intriguing ideas, and a few images that will stay with me. It could have been more, it could have been better, and it could have made me care about the characters. It's one of those marginal pictures you're not unhappy to have seen, but can't quite recommend. "

“Aside from the cost controversy, Waterworld is a decent futuristic action film with some great scenery, some delightful ideas, and some imagery that I won't forget. It could have been more, it could have been better and the characters could have been looked after more. It is one of those few films that you are not unhappy to have seen, but also cannot recommend them. "

- Roger Ebert : rogerebert.com