Twister (1996 film)

Twister is a 1996 American disaster film directed by Jan de Bont and written by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin. It was produced by Crichton, Kathleen Kennedy, and Ian Bryce, with Steven Spielberg, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, and Gerald R. Molen serving as executive producers. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, and Cary Elwes. It follows a group of storm chasers trying to deploy a tornado research device during a severe outbreak in Oklahoma.
Twister was released in theaters on May 10, 1996, and grossed $495 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1996; it sold an estimated 54.7 million tickets in the United States. It received generally positive reviews from critics and received Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound. It is notable for being among the first films to be released on DVD in the United States. A standalone sequel, Twisters, was released on July 19, 2024.
==Plot==
On an Oklahoma farm in 1969, young Jo Harding, her parents, and their dog take shelter from an F5 tornado that destroys their farm and kills Jo's father as he tries to secure their cellar door. Twenty-seven years later, Jo is a tornado-obsessed meteorologist leading a team of storm chasers. Her estranged husband, Bill, an ex-storm chaser turned TV weatherman, travels to Oklahoma with his fiancée Melissa to obtain Jo's signature on their divorce papers.
Jo shows Bill the realized "Dorothy", a device containing hundreds of small weather sensors that he conceptualized. Dorothy could revolutionize tornado research and potentially provide an earlier storm-warning system, but the device must be deployed dangerously close to a tornado to work. Jo's team rushes off to chase a developing storm with her failing to sign the papers, forcing Bill and Melissa to follow.
Jonas Miller, a rival storm chaser and former colleague with corporate funding, stole Bill's idea for his own Dorothy-like device, Dot3. Jonas plans to deploy Dot3 first, claiming credit for its design. Enraged, Bill agrees to accompany Jo and the team for one day to launch Dorothy. As the team pursues a developing tornado, Bill drives Jo's truck into a ditch attempting to get in front of the damage path. The tornado though strengthens into an F2, and after destroying a barn corners the truck in front of a bridge. Jo and Bill shelter under the bridge as the tornado destroys the vehicle and one of the four Dorothy prototypes. With more storms developing, Bill leads the team in his own truck, and chases a high end F2 tornado. They encounter Jonas's team just as Bill predicts a change in the tornado's path and diverts their course. The team follows the F2 now with a group of waterspouts on Kaw Lake. However one of them becomes a multi-vortex waterspout, and spins the truck around with Melissa traumatized in the process.
The team visits Jo's Aunt Meg in nearby Wakita for rest and food. Dusty tells stories about Bill's crazy past career as a storm chaser to Melissa, but Bill condemns it responding that he had killed his old personality. The team then scrambles to chase a developing twister that had just been forming. Jo and Bill intercept an F3 with unpredictable movements. It knocks over powerlines that crush Dorothy II. With the truck damaged, Bill forces them to retreat, but Jo undergoes an emotional breakdown over the failure, and unloads about her motivations and her father's death. Bill admits his feelings for Jo, unaware that Melissa is overhearing them through the CB radio.
The team overnights in Fairview to repair their vehicles. While there, Jo signs the papers. A nocturnal F4 wedge tornado forces the team and others into a garage pit near a drive-in theater for protection. The tornado destroys the garage and two team vehicles as the result of tossed debris, and injures several people before proceeding toward Wakita. Before the team rush there, Melissa ends her and Bill's relationship, encouraging him to reunite with Jo.
The town's storm sirens provide little warning time ahead of the tornado, which leaves Wakita in ruins and flattens Aunt Meg's house. The team, however, rescues Aunt Meg. The National Severe Storms Laboratory forecasts that a potentially record-breaking tornado will form the next day. Inspired by Aunt Meg's wind-vane sculptures, Bill and Jo add aluminum "wings" to the last two Dorothy prototype sensors, making them more aerodynamic.
True to the forecast, a mile-wide F5 tornado forms the next day, and the team pursues it. Bill and Jo attempt to place Dorothy III in its path; however, the device is knocked over and destroyed by an airborne tree. Meanwhile, Jonas attempts to deploy Dot3, ignoring Bill and Jo's warnings that the tornado is changing direction and headed straight at them. The tornado sweeps Jonas's truck away, killing him and his driver. With the last remaining Dorothy affixed to the truck bed, Bill and Jo drive directly at the tornado, then jump out, sacrificing Bill's truck to ensure that Dorothy IV can release its probes into the wedge. The gamble is successful, as Dorothy IV's probes provide immediate scientific data, but without their truck, Jo and Bill are forced to run as the tornado shifts toward them. Inside a nearby pumphouse, they strap themselves to deep pipes. As the building rips away, the F5's core passes over them. After the tornado dissipates, the team celebrate their success and Jo and Bill reconcile.
== Cast ==
== Release ==
===Theatrical===
Originally, Twister was set to be released on May 17, 1996. Warner eventually made the decision to push forward its release date to May 10, 1996, in order to avoid competition with Paramount's Mission: Impossible two weeks later. The premiere took place at the AMC Penn Square 10, then known as General Cinema Theatres at Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City a day prior on May 9, 1996. Jan de Bont, Bill Paxton, and Helen Hunt were at the mall for interviews. The film would go on to receive a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America due to "intense depiction of very bad weather". 
===Home media===
Twister was released on LaserDisc and VHS by Warner Home Video on October 1, 1996. It was the division's first home video release to be THX certified. A widescreen VHS release became available at the same time. There is a message by James Lee Witt, the then-head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the end of the film. By November 1996, it topped the number one spot in Billboards top sales. The film was released on DVD on March 25, 1997, and was the first feature film to be released on the DVD format. The DVD release occurred eleven days before Twister made its United States pay-cable debut on HBO on April 5, 1997. Twister was then released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video through CIC Video in the UK on March 10, 1997, and July 14, 1997.
The film was re-released on DVD on June 6, 2000. Special features on this release include an audio commentary by Jan De Bont and Stefen Fangmeier to listen throughout the film, behind-the-scenes footage and a Van Halen music video. Eight years later on May 6, 2008, a two-disc special edition DVD and Blu-ray were released. An HD DVD was then released on May 27, becoming one of the last HD DVDs to be ever released.
The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray with a new Dolby Atmos audio mix on July 9, 2024.
===Soundtracks===
Twister featured both a traditional orchestral film score composed by Mark Mancina, and a soundtrack of rock-music singles, many of which were exclusive releases for the film. Both the soundtrack and the orchestral score featured an instrumental theme song ("Respect the Wind") composed and performed for the film by Alex (his only recording outside of Van Halen) and Eddie Van Halen. The film's music was released on CD and cassette tape formats.
== Reception ==
===Box office===
Twister opened on May 10, 1996, earning $41.1 million from 2,414 total theaters during its opening weekend, and ranked in the number-one spot at the North American box office, taking the spot from The Craft. Upon its release, it topped The Birdcage to have the biggest 1996 opening. At that time, it had the sixth-largest opening weekend of any film, behind The Lion King, Batman, Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, and Batman Forever. Moreover, the film had the largest May opening weekend, dethroning both Lethal Weapon 3 and The Flintstones. The success of Twister helped the blockbusters of May officially begin the summer season. It would follow similar openings of Deep Impact in 1998 and The Mummy in 1999. Two years later in 2001, The Mummy Returns set a new precedent for the frame by unleashing an opening weekend of $68.1 million. Then in 2002, Spider-Man took the summer starter films to the next level with its $114.8 million opening weekend.
During its second weekend, Twister managed to top Flipper with an additional $37 million. It was ranked as the second-highest-grossing second weekend at the time, after Jurassic Park. The film suffered only a 10% second-weekend drop, making it the smallest decline for a non-holiday film. For 15 years, Twister held that record until it was surpassed by DreamWorks' Puss in Boots in 2011. By May 21, it reached the $100-million mark. Not too long after, the number-one spot was taken by Mission: Impossible, putting Twister into second place. Like its predecessor, the film also had the largest May opening weekend. It went on to hold this record until 1997, when it was taken by The Lost World: Jurassic Park. As for Twister, it continued to stay in second place while beating out Dragonheart. When The Rock was released that June, the film was put into third place. It then approached $200 million by June 19, becoming the first film to do so since Forrest Gump. Twister fell into fifth place shortly after the releases of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Eraser. After Independence Day was released in July, the film crossed over Ghostbusters to become the 13th-highest domestic grossing film of all time. It continued to dominate the box office, especially during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
After 12 weeks of release, the film had earned $231.3 million and had become 12th-highest domestic grosser, surpassing The Empire Strikes Back. Twister went on to earn a total of $241.7 million at the North American box office, and a worldwide total of $494.5 million during its theatrical run. It became the second-highest-grossing film of 1996, behind Independence Day, and was the 10th-highest-grossing film in history at the time of its release, making it the most successful Warner Bros. film release, surpassing Batman. In 2001, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone took Twisters record for becoming the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film of all time.
In China, Twister was the second-highest-grossing Hollywood film in the country, behind True Lies, making a total gross of .
===Critical response===
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 140 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "A high-concept blockbuster that emphasizes special effects over three-dimensional characters, Twisters visceral thrills are often offset by the film's generic plot." On Metacritic, the film had a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four and wrote, "As drama, Twister resides in the Zone. It has no time to waste on character, situation, dialogue and nuance. The dramatic scenes are holding actions between tornadoes. As spectacle, however, Twister is impressive. The tornadoes are big, loud, violent and awesome, and they look great". In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Somehow Twister stays as up-tempo and exuberant as a roller-coaster ride, neatly avoiding the idea of real danger". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating, and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "Yet the images that linger longest in my memory are those of windswept livestock. And that, in a teacup, sums up everything that's right, and wrong, about this appealingly noisy but ultimately flyaway first blockbuster of summer". In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan wrote, "But the ringmaster of this circus, the man without whom nothing would be possible, is director De Bont, who now must be considered Hollywood's top action specialist. An expert in making audiences squirm and twist, at making us feel the rush of experience right along with the actors, De Bont choreographs action and suspense so beautifully he makes it seem like a snap." Time magazine's Richard Schickel wrote, "when action is never shown to have deadly or pitiable consequences, it tends toward abstraction. Pretty soon you're not tornado watching, you're special-effects watching". In his review for the Washington Post Desson Howe wrote, "it's a triumph of technology over storytelling and the actors' craft. Characters exist merely to tell a couple of jokes, cower in fear of downdrafts and otherwise kill time between tornadoes".
===Accolades===
Association 	Category 	Recipient 	Results
Academy Awards 	Best Sound 	Steve MaslowGregg LandakerKevin O'ConnellGeoffrey Patterson	
Academy Awards 	Best Visual Effects 	Stefen FangmeierJohn FrazierHenry LaBounta
Habib Zargarpour	
BAFTA Awards 	Best Special Visual Effects 	Stefen FangmeierJohn FrazierHenry LaBounta
Habib Zargarpour	
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Actress - Action/Adventure 	Helen Hunt 	
BMI Film & TV Awards 	BMI Film Music Award 	Mark Mancina 	
Cinema Audio Society Award 	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Feature Films	Steve MaslowGregg LandakerKevin O'ConnellGeoffrey Patterson	
Golden Raspberry Awards 	Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100-Million 	Michael Crichton & Anne-Marie Martin 	
Golden Raspberry Awards 	Worst Supporting Actress 	Jami Gertz 	
| 	 	 	
MTV Movie + TV Awards 	Best Female Performance 	Helen Hunt 	
MTV Movie + TV Awards 	Best Action Sequence 	For the truck driving through farm equipment 	
Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards 	 	 	
Satellite Awards 	Best Visual Effects 	Stefen Fangmeier 	
Saturn Awards 	 	 	
Saturn Awards 	Best Actress 	Helen Hunt 	
Saturn Awards 	Best Actor 	Bill Paxton 	
Saturn Awards 	Best Special Effects 	Stefen FangmeierJohn FrazierHenry LaBounta
Habib Zargarpour	
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards 	 	 	
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards 	 	 	
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards 	Worst Supporting Actress 	Jami Gertz 	
== Legacy ==
On May 24, 1996, a tornado destroyed Screen No. 3 at the Can-View Drive-In, a drive-in theater in Thorold, Ontario, which was scheduled to show Twister later that evening, in a real-life parallel to a scene in the film in which a tornado destroys a drive-in during a showing of the film The Shining. The facts of this incident were exaggerated into an urban legend that the theater was actually playing Twister during the tornado.Commentary at Snopes.com 
On May 10, 2010, the 14th anniversary of the film's U.S. release, a tornado struck Fairfax, Oklahoma, destroying the farmhouse where numerous scenes in Twister were shot. J. Berry Harrison, the owner of the home and a former Oklahoma state senator, commented that the tornado appeared eerily similar to the fictitious one in the film. He had lived in the home since 1978.
Following the film's release, the number of meteorological majors in the United States increased by about 10 percent in the late 1990s. The University of Oklahoma, which collaborated with production, in particular saw its meteorology program double from 225 enrolled to 450, and a grant from Universal Studios allowed development of a mobile radar. Universal also funded the NSSL meteorologists to go on a mobile tour in the eastern half of the country, staging safety presentations at science museums in a dozen major cities. Storm chasing increased even as a recreational activity, with tourism companies creating "chase tours". Bill Paxton later narrated storm chaser Sean Casey's 2011 documentary Tornado Alley. After the death of Paxton in February 2017, hundreds of storm chasers and users of the Spotter Network used their markers to spell out his initials across the states of Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma in tribute to the actor, citing that the movie was the inspiration for many of them to pursue storm chasing and meteorology.
A Twister museum in Wakita, Oklahoma, where many of the particularly destructive scenes of the movie were shot, contains various memorabilia and artifacts related to the film.
== In other media ==
===Pinball===
On April 3, 1996, Sega Pinball released Twister, a pinball machine themed to the film. It features modes including Canister Multiball, Chase Multiball, Multibull, and more.
===Theme park attraction===
Twister was used as the basis for the attraction Twister...Ride It Out at Universal Studios Florida, which features filmed introductions by Paxton and Hunt. The attraction opened on May 4, 1998, and closed on November 1, 2015, to make way for Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. In the windows of the New York facade lies a tribute to Twister...Ride it Out with references to the film and Paxton.
===Book tie-in===
The film's original screenplay, written by Crichton and then-wife Anne Marie Martin, was released as a mass-market paperback in conjunction with the film.
== Sequel ==
In June 2020, a remake was announced to be in development from the original film's international distributor, Universal Pictures, with Joseph Kosinski in early negotiations to serve as director. Frank Marshall and Sara Scott were set to serve as producers on the project. Around the same time, Hunt had pitched a direct-sequel to the original film, with a script she co-authored with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. She had intended to serve as director in addition to reprising her starring role in the cast, but the studio ultimately passed on their script. She said in an interview, "I tried to get it made, with Daveed [Diggs] and Rafael [Casal] and me writing it, and all Black and brown storm chasers, and they wouldn't do it. I was going to direct it... We could barely get a meeting, and this is in June of 2020 when it was all about diversity. It would have been so cool".
In October 2022, it was announced that the project was repurposed into a standalone sequel. Officially titled Twisters, the script was written by Mark L. Smith. After Steven Spielberg read the script, his enthusiasm contributed to getting the project green-lit. The project is a joint-venture production between Universal, Warner Bros., and Amblin, with Universal handling US and Canadian distribution and Warner handling worldwide distribution. Principal photography commenced on May 8, 2023. The film was released on July 19, 2024.
==Extended Links==
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== References ==
Category:1996 films
Category:American films
Category:Films
Category:English-language films
Category:American disaster films
Category:Disaster films
Category:Helen Hunt films
Category:Drama
Category:Oscar nominated films
Category:Best Visual Effects nominated films
Category:Standalone films
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Category:THX
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Category:Blockbusters
Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films
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Category:Films directed by Jan de Bont
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