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Enemy of the State
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Enemy of the State (1998) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 42 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
Enemy of the State (1998) -- A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his NSA goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime.
Enemy of the State (1998) -- US Home Video Trailer from Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   58,168 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 30% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tony Scott
Writer (WGA):
David Marconi (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Enemy of the State on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 November 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Drama | Thriller more
Tagline:
It's not paranoia if they're really after you. more
Plot:
A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his NSA goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 12 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(24 articles)
Exclusive: State of Play Poster
 (From EmpireOnline. 29 January 2009, 1:19 AM, PST)

Conversation on TV?
 (From JoBlo. 6 August 2008, 4:59 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Crackerjack Thriller with a message... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and violence.
Runtime:
132 min | USA:140 min (extended version)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
USA:R (certificate #36342) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | South Korea:15 | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | Netherlands:16 (video rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Brazil:14 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15
Filming Locations:
Baltimore, Maryland, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Gabriel Byrne's character looks and dresses exactly like Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro's character in Taxi Driver (1976). He also drives Dean away in a taxi. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When the birdwatcher picks up the videotape from the scene, the "cop" calls on his radio and requests a "10-27" on the vehicle and a "10-28 on the registered owner"...Any police officer knows that "10-27" in the standard ten-code list means "requesting DRIVER information" such as name, date of birth, height, weight, registered address, etc and "10-28" means "requesting VEHICLE information" such as make, model, year, etc...He only needed to switch the two ten codes (10-27 and 10-28) in his lines and then his radio transmission would have been factually correct. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Congressman Phillip Hammersley: Come on. Come on, mutt. Now, look at that ball. All right. Come on, get that ball. Ah!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-09-16)" (2008) more
Soundtrack:
6 Underground more

FAQ

What are the differences between the R-Rated cut and Unrated version of the movie?
more
55 out of 62 people found the following comment useful:-
Crackerjack Thriller with a message..., 6 December 2003
8/10
Author: neilmac (neilmac@rocketmail.com) from Sydney, Australia

Why? Well for starters there is the best chase sequence since The French Connection. Then there is Will Smith as an actor - not just a star, though later in the movie he is admittedly overshadowed by veteran Gene Hackman.

There are two layers to this movie: On the surface is a pacy thriller with edge-of-the-seat chases but underneath lies a telling commentary on government surveillance. It is one of those truth-in-fiction stories which makes its point about government intrusion into privacy dramatically and effectively.

There are references to the classic, The Conversation: The surveilled couple talking in the park, and the Hackman character's premises are an obvious recreation of his workshop in the earlier movie. If you haven't yet seen The Conversation - see it before you see this one - you will understand the Hackman character a lot better (besides, it is a superb movie in its own right).

Oh, and Jon Voight is terrific as the bad guy...

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Enemy of the State (1998)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
the scary thing about this movie is.. chrcoluk
Unwise ending? Tony Keats
Gene Hackman's Homage to The Conversation merryg
How could the bill reduce jobs? MatthiasMeyer_Hameln
Why is it R? batistaballer549
Man,Tom Sizemore in his BEST!!!! gabriel_scott
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