Outbreak
Rent & Buy
A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col. Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, and to prevent an over reaction by the White House.
What critics thought
Outbreak lands as a mixed proposition: its premise — a deadly jungle virus unleashed on the American public — is genuinely gripping, but critics found the film undermines its own tension by sliding into formulaic thriller territory halfway through. Audiences responded more warmly than reviewers, and the film's scientific liberties have only looked worse in comparison to later, more rigorous pandemic dramas.
“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.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Outbreak is 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.”
Rita Kempley·The Washington Post
“somewhere in the middle ... Outbreak falls off a cliff”
David Denby·New York
“The film's shallowness also contributes to the impression that no problem is too thorny to be solved by movie heroics.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
Genres
Action, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Wolfgang PetersenDirector
Dustin HoffmanSam Daniels
Rene RussoRobby Keough
Morgan FreemanGeneral Billy Ford
Kevin SpaceyCasey Schuler
Cuba Gooding Jr.Major Salt
Donald SutherlandGeneral Donald McClintock
Patrick DempseyJimbo Scott
Zakes MokaeDr. Benjamin Iwabi
Malick BowensDr. Raswani
Susan Lee HoffmanDr. Lisa Aronson
Benito MartinezDr. Julio Ruiz
Bruce JarchowDr. Mascelli
James Newton HowardComposer
Michael BallhausCinematographyOutbreak
A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col. Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, and to prevent an over reaction by the White House.
What critics thought
Outbreak lands as a mixed proposition: its premise — a deadly jungle virus unleashed on the American public — is genuinely gripping, but critics found the film undermines its own tension by sliding into formulaic thriller territory halfway through. Audiences responded more warmly than reviewers, and the film's scientific liberties have only looked worse in comparison to later, more rigorous pandemic dramas.
“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.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Outbreak is 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.”
Rita Kempley·The Washington Post
“somewhere in the middle ... Outbreak falls off a cliff”
David Denby·New York
“The film's shallowness also contributes to the impression that no problem is too thorny to be solved by movie heroics.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
Genres
Action, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Wolfgang PetersenDirectorDustin HoffmanSam DanielsRene RussoRobby KeoughMorgan FreemanGeneral Billy FordKevin SpaceyCasey SchulerCuba Gooding Jr.Major SaltDonald SutherlandGeneral Donald McClintockPatrick DempseyJimbo ScottZakes MokaeDr. Benjamin IwabiMalick BowensDr. RaswaniSusan Lee HoffmanDr. Lisa AronsonBenito MartinezDr. Julio RuizBruce JarchowDr. MascelliJames Newton HowardComposerMichael BallhausCinematographyRent & Buy