Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film, directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charles Gordon and John Davis, and distributed by Universal Pictures.
The setting of the film is in the distant future. The polar ice caps have completely melted, and the sea level has risen over , covering nearly all of the land. The plot of the film centers on a nameless antihero, "The Mariner" (Costner), a drifter who sails the Earth in his trimaran.
The most expensive film ever made at the time, Waterworld was released to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the futuristic setting and premise but criticized the execution, including the characterization and acting performances. The film also was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office despite being the ninth highest-grossing film of 1995; however, the film did later become profitable owing to video and other post-cinema sales. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound at the 68th Academy Awards.
The film's release was accompanied by a novelization, video games and a quartet of themed attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Beijing called WaterWorld.
Plot
In 2500,Although no exact date was given in the film itself, it has been suggested that it takes place in 2500. [The Making of Waterworld by Janine Pourroy (August 1995). Production designer Dennis Gassner states: "The date was 2500."] rising sea levels have put every continent on Earth underwater. The remains of human civilization live on makeshift floating communities built out of scavenged materials known as atolls, having long forgotten about living on land. Rumors of a "Dryland" still exist, but it is considered a myth by most.
The Mariner, a lone drifter, arrives at an atoll on his trimaran to trade dirt, a rare commodity, for supplies. When the locals see that the Mariner is a mutant, with gills and webbed feet, several accost him and he kills one in self-defense. As a result, the Mariner is sentenced to be drowned in a tank of organic sludge. While the Mariner is trapped there, the atoll is attacked by the Smokers, a formidable pirate gang that has been systematically raiding and destroying atolls.
Helen, a strong-willed atoll resident, tries to escape on a gas balloon dirigible with her young ward Enola and inventor Gregor. However, Gregor accidentally departs with only himself on board, stranding the two. She frees the Mariner on the condition that he takes them with him. The Mariner skillfully fights his way out, damaging the Smokers' forces and causing an explosion that blinds its leader, Deacon, in one eye. The Mariner, Helen, and Enola board the trimaran and escape. Following a brief skirmish with the Smoker's scout seaplane, the trio encounters a drifter suffering from cabin fever whom the Mariner kills after a trade gone awry, and a mutated shark the Mariner kills for food. Despite his initial reluctance and gruff attitude, the Mariner slowly warms up to his companions and has a bonding moment with Enola teaching her to swim.
After evading a trap set by the Smokers, the Mariner confronts Helen about their unusual persistence. She admits they are after Enola for the supposed directions to Dryland tattooed on Enola's back. Helen then demands to know where the Mariner collected his dirt. He takes her in a jury-rigged diving bell and shows her the underwater remains of Denver, Colorado, and the soil on the ocean's floor, crushing her belief in Dryland. When they surface, the pair find that the Smokers have caught up. They capture Enola and try to kill Helen and the Mariner before the two dive underwater. The Smokers set the trimaran on fire and leave.
Sorting through the wreckage of his boat, the Mariner sees a collection of National Geographic magazines and compares their images to Enola's doodles, realizing she was drawing Dryland objects. Gregor, having spotted the smoke from his dirigible, finds Helen and the Mariner and takes them to a new makeshift atoll. The Mariner takes a captured Smoker's jet ski to chase down the Smokers' base of operations, the remains of the Exxon Valdez, where they manufacture fuel, ammunition, and cigarettes.
Deacon's advisors struggle to decipher the tattoo. To keep his followers' minds off their dwindling resources, he bluffs that he has decoded the map and orders them back to their stations to row. The Mariner infiltrates the ship and confronts the Deacon, threatening to ignite the oil reserves in the hold unless Enola is returned. The Deacon calls the Mariner's bluff, knowing that it would destroy the ship, but to his shock, the Mariner drops a flare into the oil reservoir. The ship is engulfed in flames and begins to sink. The Mariner rescues Enola, escaping via a rope from Gregor's balloon with Helen and the Atoll Enforcer aboard. The Deacon fires on the balloon, shaking Enola into the ocean. As the Deacon and his men converge on her, the Mariner makes an impromptu bungee jump from the balloon to grab Enola before the Deacon and his men collide on their jet-skis, causing an explosion that kills them.
Gregor later identifies Enola's tattoo as coordinates with reversed directions. Following the map, the balloon party discovers Dryland, covered with vegetation and wildlife. They also find a hut with the remains of Enola's parents. The Mariner, feeling that he does not belong on Dryland, takes an old wooden catamaran from the island and departs, as Helen and Enola bid him farewell.
Ulysses Cut The extended edition, dubbed the "Ulysses Cut", features scenes fleshing out the characters and settings. It identifies the Dryland as Mount Everest, and ends with Helen giving the Mariner the name Ulysses.
Cast
Production Writer Peter Rader came up with the idea for Waterworld during a conversation with Brad Krevoy where they discussed creating a Mad Max rip-off. Rader wrote the initial script in 1986 but kept it shelved until 1989. Rader cited Mad Max as a direct inspiration for the film, while also citing various Old Testament stories and the story of Helen of Troy (with the main female character being named Helen in a direct reference). It is also widely believed that inspiration was taken from Freakwave by Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy, a "Mad Max goes surfing" comic strip first published by Pacific Comics in Vanguard Illustrated #1–3 (November 1983 – March 1984), and continued by Eclipse Comics in Strange Days #1–3 (November 1984 – April 1985). McCarthy himself had unsuccessfully tried to sell Freakwave as a movie in the early 1980s; he would go on to co-write Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
After several rewrites, Kevin Costner and Kevin Reynolds joined the Waterworld production team in 1992. Universal Pictures preferred either Robert Zemeckis or Lawrence Kasdan to direct, but Costner chose Reynolds instead due to their friendship.https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/31/business/waterworld-disappointment-as-box-office-receipts-lag.htmlf The film marked the fourth collaboration between Costner and Reynolds, who had previously worked together on Fandango (1985), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and Rapa-Nui (1994), the latter of which Costner co-produced but did not star in. Waterworld was co-written by David Twohy, who cited Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior as a major inspiration. Both films employed Dean Semler as director of photography.
During production, the film was plagued by a series of cost overruns and production setbacks. Universal initially authorized a budget of $100 million, which by mid-1994 had swollen to $135 million, with final costs reaching an estimated $175 million, a record sum for a film production at the time. Filming took place in a large artificial seawater enclosure similar to that used in the film Titanic two years later; it was located in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Hawaii Island. The final scene was filmed in Waipiʻo Valley on Hawaii Island, also referred to as The Valley of Kings. Additional filming took place in Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, and Santa Catalina Island in California. Before filming began, Steven Spielberg had warned Costner and Reynolds not to film on open water owing to his own production difficulties with Jaws. The production was hampered by difficulties in obtaining otherwise simple shots due to poor weather, safety concerns, and the camera crew being pushed out of position by waves. One of the floating sets sank in heavy seas, and had to be repaired. Eventually the production had to be extended by nearly three months, from 96 days to over 150. The state of Hawaii had more than $35 million added to its economy as a result of the colossal film production.
The production featured different types of personal watercraft, especially Kawasaki jet skis. Kevin Costner was on the set for 157 days, working six days a week. At one point, he nearly died when he got caught in a squall while tied to the mast of his trimaran. Professional surfer Laird Hamilton was Kevin Costner's stunt double for many water scenes. Hamilton commuted to the set via jet ski.
Mark Isham's score, which was not recorded for approximately 25 percent of the film and had only demos completed, was reportedly rejected by Costner because it was "too ethnic and bleak", contrasting with the film's futuristic and adventurous tone; Isham offered to try again but was not given the chance. James Newton Howard was brought in to write the new score. Joss Whedon flew out to the set to do last minute script rewrites and later described it as "seven weeks of hell"; the work boiled down to editing in Costner's ideas without alteration.
Inspired by racing trimarans built by Jeanneau Advanced Technologies' multi-hull division, Lagoon, a custom yacht was designed by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prevost and built in France by Lagoon. Two versions were built, a relatively standard racing trimaran for distance shots, and an effects-laden transforming trimaran for closeup shots. The first trimaran was launched on 2 April 1994, and surpassed in September of that year. The transforming version was initially a raft with a three-bladed egg-beater windmill. When certain levers were triggered, the windmill blades flattened, and a hidden mast is raised to full racing height. A boom previously hidden in the hull emerged, and two sails were automatically unfurled. Once the transformation was complete, this version could actually sail, though not as well as the dedicated racer. The transforming version is in private hands in San Diego, California. For many years, the racing version was kept on a lake at Universal Studios Florida, before being restored for use as a racing trimaran named Loe Real, which was, as of 2012, being offered for sale in San Diego.
Kevin Reynolds quit the film before its release, owing to heated battles with Costner over his creative decisions. Reynolds still received full credit as director. Despite their reported clashes, the director and star reunited almost two decades later for the History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.
Release Home media Waterworld was released on VHS and LaserDisc on January 23, 1996. On September 9, 1997, it debuted on a THX certified widescreen VHS release. The film was then released on DVD on December 9, 1997, on Blu-ray on October 20, 2009, and on 4K Blu-ray on July 9, 2019.
Reception Box office
Waterworld'''s reported budget was $172 million, and a total outlay of $235 million once marketing and distribution costs are factored in. Because of the runaway costs of the production, some critics dubbed it "Fishtar" and "Kevin's Gate", alluding to the flops Ishtar and Heaven's Gate.