History Film / Outbreak

'''''Outbreak''''' is a 1995 suspense {{film}} directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and starring Creator/DustinHoffman, Creator/ReneRusso, and Creator/MorganFreeman (among many others: Creator/DonaldSutherland, Creator/KevinSpacey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Creator/PatrickDempsey, etc.), depicting a what-if scenario surrounding a deadly fictional African virus called Motaba, inspired by real-life Ebola outbreaks, and speculating on the measures taken by the military and the Center for Disease Control if such an outbreak occurred in the United States.

* FailsafeFailure: A lab technician is infected with ThePlague when he carelessly opens and reaches into a centrifuge while it's still spinning, breaking a vial of infected blood and cutting his hand. In RealLife, lids on centrifuges lock until the spinning has completely stopped; it's ''impossible'' to open one while it's still in motion, therefore, in order to open that, the lock would have had to have been broken.

* GameOfChicken: Twice

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Wisely navigated when demonstrating the impact on the town's populace. The soldiers begin rounding up infectees in the quarantined small town, and we get to see only one woman say a tearful goodbye to her family. We follow her for a few minutes while they take a blood sample during her initial medical exam. There is even a close up of the phial, labeled "Sample 612". In a later scene, we see Casey examining blood slides and becoming increasingly frustrated as he pronounces:
-->'''Casey:''' "Sample 607: Infected. 608: Infected. 609: Infected. ''*Frustrated sigh*'' They can't all be infected. 610... Infected. 611...Infected. 612... Damn! Still infected!"
** We're later treated to a shot of her in a body bag.

* NoOshaCompliance: We get a shot that shows the disease is airborne as it must have traveled from the isolation ward to the room of another patient who's had no contact. But a hospital would have heavy and redundant filtration for just that reason even if they were told the virus isn't airborne.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Daniels encounters one of these, but convinces him to cut the crap by informing him that he has come all the way from the disease-infected city, clutching the man's hands very earnestly, and offering to cough on him if he doesn't believe him.

-->'''Col. Daniels:''' It's airborne!

* PlayedForLaughs: Daniels and Salt use their having just come from Cedar Creek, site of the viral infection, to get people to stop obstructing them. It works like a charm when Salt yells loud enough for everyone to hear.

* {{Sting}}: These are used practically all the time. And I do mean all the time.

'''''Outbreak''''' is a 1995 suspense {{film}} directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and starring Creator/DustinHoffman, Creator/ReneRusso, and Creator/MorganFreeman (among many others: Creator/DonaldSutherland, Creator/KevinSpacey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Patrick Dempsey, etc.), depicting a what-if scenario surrounding a deadly fictional African virus called Motaba, inspired by real-life Ebola outbreaks, and speculating on the measures taken by the military and the Center for Disease Control if such an outbreak occurred in the United States.

** [[spoiler: The cure is isolated and synthesized in large quantities within hours. It gives Hollywood effectiveness for how rapid and complete recovery is from a virus that has been described as liquefying the internal organs of its victims.]]

* TheDogBitesBack: From the moment General [=McClintock=] arrives in Cedar Creek, he treats Lt. Colonel Briggs like total crap. Just look at the [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/7/70/Out19112.jpg grin on Briggs' face]] when [[spoiler: he gets to put [=McClintock=] under arrest at the end]]. The General {{lampshade}}s how pleased the Colonel must feel about this.

* RevealingCoverup: Ford provides the team with a serum [[spoiler: derived from the Motaba samples taken back in the Sixties]], which they find out works just fine against the first, un-mutated strain. Daniels' insistence in finding out where it came from puts Ford in a rut of increasingly ImplausibleDeniability.

* WorkingWithTheEx: Daniels works with his ex-wife Robby. [[spoiler: Naturally, they get back together at the end of the movie.]]

'''''Outbreak''''' is a 1995 suspense {{film}} directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and starring Creator/DustinHoffman, Rene Russo, and Creator/MorganFreeman (among many others: Creator/DonaldSutherland, Creator/KevinSpacey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Patrick Dempsey, etc.), depicting a what-if scenario surrounding a deadly fictional African virus called Motaba, inspired by real-life Ebola outbreaks, and speculating on the measures taken by the military and the Center for Disease Control if such an outbreak occurred in the United States.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/outbreakmonkey_3523.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:This animal carries a deadly virus, and the greatest medical crisis in history is about to begin.]]

* GeneralRipper: [=McClintock=], whose go-to option for disease control can be summed up as "KillItWithFire". [[spoiler:This is because he wants Motaba as a biological weapon, which won't work if it can be cured by anyone else. It says a lot that he's the ''only'' man in the film that sees the horrors Motaba can do and ''doesn't'' looks disturbed (he doesn't even tries).]]

* GeneralRipper: [=McClintock=], whose go-to option for disease control can be summed up as "KillItWithFire". [[spoiler:This is because he wants Motaba as a biological weapon, which won't work if it can be cured by anyone else.]]

** [[DefiedTrope Defying this trope]] is the crux of the speech given by the White House Chief Of Staff, who asks everybody in the room to make ''damn sure'' that is necessary to wipe out Cedar Creek, ''damn sure'' that the American people understand there was no other choice, and damn sure that nobody gets the funny idea of lying about which decision they took after the fact.

* TheDogBitesBack: From the moment General [=McClintock=] arrives in Cedar Creek, he treats Lt. Colonel Briggs like total crap. Just look at the [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/7/70/Out19112.jpg grin on Briggs' face]] when [[spoiler: he gets to put [=McClintock=] under arrest at the end]]. The General is GenreSavvy enough to {{lampshade}} how pleased the Colonel must feel about this.

* CouldSayItBut / SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: General Ford tells Daniels and Salt exactly how to stop the bombing run at the end of the movie, under the guise of warning them of the dire consequences of doing so.
** [=McClintock=] immediately starts berating him for "slipping up" like that, then has a bit of a subdued OhCrap reaction when he realizes what he's up to.

-->[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Those are the citizens of Cedar Creek, go ahead take a look at them]] - these are [[AMillionIsAStatistic not statistics]] ladies and gentlemen - they're flesh and blood! I want you to burn those images into your memories, [[WhatTheHellHero because they should haunt you until the day you die!]]

--> '''Mrs. Pananides''': I have a friend in the Coast Guard I could call.
--> '''Daniels''': How close a friend?
--> '''Mrs. Pananides''': Closer than his wife would like...

** Ford roundabout suggests it to Daniels and Salt so they can try to prevent Viper One from dropping its bomb.

** The Strings of Suspense play during Sam Daniels' impassioned plea to the pilots of Viper One not to drop the Fuel Air Bomb.
** There's a musical lilt that goes soft and gentle after Viper One releases its bomb over the water, indicating that Daniels' plea was successful and the pilots chose not to bomb the town despite orders.

** Daniels to Ford, before Viper One is close enough to drop the bomb.

* HidingTheInfection: Casey does this after the incident that tore his suit. He just goes on working without a word of complaint or a hint that he's been infected until Motaba gets into his lungs and causes respiratory arrest.

* Hiding The Infection: Casey does this after the incident that tore his suit. He just goes on working without a word of complaint or a hint that he's been infected until Motaba gets into his lungs and causes respiratory arrest.

[=McCormick=] and Ford, now generals, dispatch Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. [=McClintock=] concocts a plan to firebomb Cedar Creek.

In 1967, a deadly virus, Motaba, ravages a war-torn African village. The U.S. Army sends in colonels Donnie [=McClintock=] (Sutherland) and Billy Ford (Freeman) to check on the status of the village, and they promise to send for help. But what's really sent is a fuel-air-bomb which vaporizes the town and everyone in it.

Ford, now a brigadier general, dispatches Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. [=McClintock=], now a major general and Ford's superior, concocts a plan to firebomb Cedar Creek.

Ford, now a brigadier general, dispatches Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. [=McClintock=], who like Ford has been promoted to general, concocts a plan to firebomb Cedar Creek.

In 1967, a deadly virus, Motaba, ravages a war-torn African village. The U.S. Army sends Cols. Donnie [=McClintock=] (Sutherland) and Billy Ford (Freeman) to check on the status of the village, and they promise to send for help. But what's really sent is a fuel-air-bomb which vaporizes the town and everyone in it.

Ford, now a brigadier general, dispatches Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. [=McClintock=], now a general himself, concocts a plan to firebomb Cedar Creek.

Ford, now a brigadier general, dispatches Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. [=McClintock=], now a general, concocts a plan to firebomb Cedar Creek.

* OperationBlank: [=McClintock=]'s plan for bombing Cedar Creek is code-named Operation Clean Sweep.

Ford, now a brigadier general, dispatches Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. Now-General [=McClintock=] concocts a plan, code-named [[OperationBlank Operation Clean Sweep]], to firebomb Cedar Creek.

In 1967, a deadly virus, Motaba, ravages a war-torn African village. The U.S. Army sends in Cols. Donnie [=McClintock=] (Sutherland) and Billy Ford (Freeman) to check on the status of the village, and they promise to send for help. But what's really sent is a fuel-air-bomb which vaporizes the town and everyone in it.

In 1967, a deadly virus, Motaba, ravages a war-torn African village. The U.S. Army sends Colonels Donnie [=McClintock=] (Sutherland) and Billy Ford (Freeman) to check on the status of the village, and they promise to send for help. But what's really sent is a fuel-air-bomb which vaporizes the town and everyone in it.

In 1967, a deadly virus, Motaba, ravages a war-torn African village. Cols. Donnie [=McClintock=] (Sutherland) and Billy Ford (Freeman), sent to see the status of the village, promise to send for help. But what's really sent is a fuel-air-bomb to sterilize the town and everyone in it. Flash-forward thirty years, when an infected monkey from this very area has been captured and smuggled to the United States, and into the hands of Jimbo (Dempsey), a young man who plans to sell it for the pet trade.

The smuggled monkey spits in Jimbo's face, on his way to sell it. When it turns out unsuitable (after having scratched the pet shop owner and having lost her banana to another monkey in the shop), Jimbo sets it free in California and hops a flight home to Boston -- during which he falls seriously ill. He greets his girlfriend with as passionate a kiss as he can muster, then passes out. In Boston, Dr. Robby Keough (Russo) takes care of the victims of the infection, and that's that. But the cat is out of the bag. Cedar Creek, California becomes infected with a mutated and airborne strain of the virus.

Ford, now a brigadier general, dispatches Robby's ex-husband, [=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels (Hoffman), to Cedar Creek along with Dr. Casey Schuler (Spacey) and Major Salt (Gooding). With Robby's help, they race against time to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Meanwhile, the Army, seeing projections of the virus's progress across the North American continent, advises the President to take drastic measures... without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon. Now-General [=McClintock=] concocts a plan to firebomb Cedar Creek.

'''''Outbreak''''' (1995) is a suspense {{film}} starring Creator/DustinHoffman as Sam Daniels, Rene Russo as Robby Keough, and Creator/DonaldSutherland as Gen. [=McClintock=] (among many others: Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/KevinSpacey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., etc.), depicting a what-if scenario surrounding a deadly fictional African virus called Motaba, inspired by real-life Ebola outbreaks, and speculating on the measures taken by the military and the Center for Disease Control if such an outbreak occurred in the United States.

A deadly virus, Motaba, was killing a war-torn African village. Col. [=McClintock=], sent to see the status of the village, promises help. But what he really sends is a fuel-air-bomb to sterilize the town and everyone in it. Flash-forward thirty years, an infected monkey from this very area has been captured and smuggled to the United States, and into the hands of Jimbo, a young man who plans to sell it for the pet trade.

The smuggled monkey spits in Jimbo's face, on his way to sell it. When it turns out unsuitable (after having scratched the pet shop owner and having lost her banana to another monkey in the shop), Jimbo sets it free in California and hops a flight home to Boston -- during which he falls seriously ill. He greets his girlfriend with as passionate a kiss as he can muster, then passes out. In Boston, Dr. Robby Keough takes care of the victims of the infection, and that's that. But the cat is out of the bag. Cedar Creek, California becomes infected with a mutated and airborne strain of the virus.

[=USAMRIID=] Doctor Sam Daniels, Dr. Casey Schuler and Major Salt once in Cedar Creek, race against time with Robby's help, to find a way to cure the deadly virus. Worse, the Army, once seieng projections of the virus' progress across the North American continent, advises the president to take drastic measures...without sharing with him the information that they have a cure for the African strain and want to be able to use it as a biological weapon.