The ’80s Sci-Fi Thriller Classic Disney Is Letting Die
The good thing about streaming services is that you can find tons of movies and TV shows you might have missed otherwise. The bad news is that if someone has the streaming rights and decides to remove a film from streaming, it can be kind of hard to find. That’s exactly what happened to the 1985 underrated sci-fi film Enemy Mine, which you currently can’t find streaming anywhere.
Dennis Quaid Stars In Enemy Mine
Enemy Mine is an 80s sci-fi directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Edward Khmara, based on the Barry B. Longyear novella of the same name. It follows a human soldier (Dennis Quaid) and an alien soldier (Louis Gossett Jr) who find themselves having to work together after they both become stranded on a dangerous planet. The film also stars Brion James, Richard Marcus, Carolyn McCormick, and Bumper Robinson.
Failed To Make Up It’s Massive Budget At The Box Office
Enemy Mine, along with being a pretty engaging film, had an interesting road to production. The film was actually an international co-production between the United States, United Kingdom and West Germany and saw production shut down just a week into shooting due to creative differences between the original director, Richard Locraine, and producer Stephen Friedman. Wolfgang Petersen would soon take over, reshoot the scenes, and get the film done.However, getting Enemy Mine shot and marketed wasn’t cheap, as the film quickly went over its $17 million budget and ended up costing 20th Century Fox over $40 million. This wouldn’t be too big of a deal if the film ended up being a smash hit, but it was a failure instead and only managed to pull in a measly $12 million at the box office. Interestingly, the film was a pretty big hit in the former Soviet Union, making history as the first Western sci-fi film to be shown in theaters there.
Enemy Mine Divided Critics
Enemy Mine was not looked upon overly favorably by critics upon its release, getting relatively mixed reviews. While critics thought the chemistry between the two leads was good, it was ultimately seen as a letdown. However, the film has since obtained a cult following of its own, and it is seen as a fairly underrated sci-fi film from an era full of great sci-fi films.
A Must-See Movie For ’80s Sci-Fi Buffs
While Enemy Mine certainly isn’t the best sci-fi film of the 1980s, it’s still a respectable project and one that is worth checking out, as recently discussed on the GenreVision podcast, if you’re a fan of 80s sci-fi. The characters are good, and the special effects are pretty decent, making for a pretty entertaining ride overall. The only problem is you’re going to have a tough time finding a place to stream it.
Disney Owns Enemy Mine Streaming Rights
As mentioned, Enemy Mine isn’t streaming anywhere. Disney presumably has the streaming rights to the film after acquiring 20th Century Fox, but that doesn’t mean that Disney is going to make it available on the Hulu or Disney+ streaming platforms. Of course, that doesn’t mean the movie is impossible to find altogether; you might just have to pay to rent or buy it on platforms like Apple TV or Vudu.
