The Andromeda Strain
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Movie Reviews of The Andromeda Strain
Movie Review: 5 Stars but...
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw this movie in 1971 I was transfixed. While I have become a little more analytical over the years of seeing it on TV and through tape, laserdisc, and earlier DVD incarnations, it's still one of my favorites. (My latest is the Universal 21239 DVD.) Recent national and world events have only intensified the relevance of the story. But I have a complaint. In the first release I saw there was an initial segment portraying the loss of tracking and control of the orbiting satellite and the attempt of the government to find it as and after it reentered and crashed. I thought this added a great deal to the drama and effectiveness of the movie. But it has been cut from the beginning ever since. It badly needs to be restored.Beyond this there are some less important comments and missteps. (I did not read all of the 59 previous reviews here to see if I'm duplicating.)
*The town used for the crash point of the satellite is never credited. It is Shafter, TX, a silver mining ghost town in west Texas. (Nearby Alpine is my hometown.)
*The highly contagious rapidly lethal organism doesn't affect the buzzards scavenging the corpses.
*The "Piedmont" flyover, supposedly from a jet fighter, is way too slow.
*The crawlers displaying teletype messages are likewise much too slow.
*Watch for Crichton as the tall doctor in the OR (told in the extras).
*The imaginary secret desert government installation was concocted before Area 51 was revealed.
*Kate Reid can't pronounce "thermonuclear". (Neither can Bush.)
*The "Making of" feature is not great; shows the pre-computer methodology used to simulate the transparent computerized 3-D facility images.
*The xenon sterilization lamps fry all the hair and surface skin off their bodies EXCEPT THEIR HEADS!
*The wavelength button is labeled A instead of Å (A with the little circle over it - these reviews often don't transfer the special Arial characters correctly), as any piece of technical equipment would.
*The prefix "M" (which is "mega") is used instead of "µ" (Greek mu) for "micro."
*Inside joke: The DVD extras reveal that the green organism on the sample screen was simulated by ultraviolet flourescent paint. Dialog says "They do look like spatters of paint," and later "luminous paint."
*A (computer synthetic?) voice message intones "Computer capacity vs. access time is 10 to the 12th bits." Gibberish.
Movie Review: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
"Andromeda Strain" is based on the first major novel by Michael Crichton (author of "Jurassic Park," et al). It reaps the benefits of "2,001: A Space Odyssey," in the sense that science fiction movies back then started to become big budget and could be taken seriously. Significantly, David Wise ("The Day the Earth Stood Still") directs, and a good ensemble was chosen to act out the roles. The story is about a mass invasion, but instead of tangible beings appearing like "War of the Worlds," we get some sort of disease, instead. (Perhaps, then, it is the inverse of the H. G. Wells' classic.) There are innovations of technical achievement that make this movie worthwhile from the start. The movie is detailed, yet engaging throughout. It seldom gets too technical, and it seldom matters if one misses the boat regarding all of the facts presented. The explanations are mainly meant to give the story a plausible execution. The tension ebbs and flows in an effective way, mostly from the fine acting performances, which are credible and entertaining throughout. The strife between four expert scientists (Arthur Hill, David Wayne, Kate Reid, and Jimmy Olson) and the tension of their task is tangible. (Reid's performance as the acerbic Dr. Ruth Levit is particularly funny and sharp.) Their gathering, called upon during biological crises, is central to the movie's success. The timing and music also create a genuine atmosphere of crisis. Otherwise, the story unfolds like a detective mystery with clues appearing quickly along the way. While it may seem to some that it is a fanciful concept to acquire new biological life forms without the usual characteristics that our life forms have, there is enough suspension of our disbelief to make the adventure worthwhile.
The extras are particularly good for a DVD. The technical explanations regarding the movie's creation are almost as detailed as the scientific ones given in the movie. The interviews are stimulating, although extras on DVD's always have the effect of going back behind the stage after a magic show. It is a mixed blessing: One's curiosity is satisfied at the expense of revealing the effect of the magic. Nevertheless, the extras are awesome. Michael Crichton and Robert Wise are featured, and both are very articulate and resourceful at explaining their crafts.
Movie Review: It Was Worth The Wait!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen reviews where the reviewer didn't like this film because it wasn't true to the book. Having read the book, I'm glad that this film turned out to be so much better than the book ever was.
After watching the movie on DVD, I watched the bonus feature about the making of the Andromeda Strain, saw the interview with the book's author, Michael Crichton, who himself was very pleased with the way the movie expanded upon what he had written. It was also a chance to see how much extraordinary effort that went into the movie, and seeing the groundbreaking techniques in photography needed to visualize the Andromeda virus itself as well as the "three dimensional" diagrams of the Wildfire installation. Too many people onsider the movie hoaky by today's standards, but the then new technologies that went into the Andromeda Strain made it possible to have the special effects of today.
I had a copy of the Andromeda Strain on VHS, commercials included since it was recorded from a "Sunday Afternoon" movie show many years ago. That tape is now somewhat lost in my huge video collection and I don't get the chance to see it too often. But even if I see this movie only once in every three or four years, the movie still has an impact on me today and every time I watch it. Robert Wise created such a sense of urgency that was never truly present in the book, which to me, read more like a
congressional report on C-Span rather than a good sci-fi book. Watching James Olson trying to dodge the lasers in the core but not succeeding too well, then reaching the place he needed to be only to find some hysterical technician run away in fear from him-- that is an unforgettable moment. Eighteen seconds to nuclear self-destruction; can he get the key in the slot before the big boom that not only will kill him and his colleagues, but will also spread Andromeda around the world in a vast super-colony. We know our hero will save the day, but that's the kind of suspenseful moment I always find myself holding my breath no matter how many times I see the film.
I wholeheartedly recommend this film to any science fiction fan because there has never been anything like this since; not even the newer films like Outbreak or other virus/plague movies.
Movie Review: A Thrilling Sci-Fi Suspense from Michael Crichton
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Andromeda Strain" was the first of many films produced from novels written by the author Michael Crichton, whose novels-turned-film include "Westworld" (1973), "Coma" (1978), "Jurassic Park" (1993) and "Twister" (1996). Filmed in 1971, "The Andromeda Strain" may seem dated to some, but sci-fi aficionados have long enjoyed the film for its suspense and questions that it raised that may be more valid today than they were three decades ago.The story begins in a small, isolated town in the desert where a satellite that re-entered earth's atmosphere crashed. Shortly after the crash, most of the town's residents mysteriously die. The government calls in four scientists to determine what killed the townsfolk. The scientists are Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), Dr. Charles Dutton (David Wayne, known for his portrayal of inspector Ellery Queen in 1975 TV series of the same name), Dr. Mark Hall (James Olsen) and Dr. Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid, known also for her role in the 1977 film "Equus"). They are taken to a top-secret government facility code-named Wildfire, an underground laboratory, to search for the cause of death and why two townspeople remained unaffected. Their quest leads to a very exciting discovery, but also several grave questions.
Special effects used in "The Andromeda Strain" were very good for the early 1970's. The design of the Wildfire facility, which earned "The Andromeda Strain" an Oscar nomination for Best Set Decoration, is somewhat reminiscent of interior designs used in "2001: A Space Odyssey". Director Robert Wise (who also directed "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951), "West Side Story" (1961) and "The Sound of Music" in 1965) did a brilliant job escalating the suspense and fear throughout the film. The film also received an Oscar nomination for Best Editing. Other notable characters include Nurse Karen Anson (Paula Kelly, who also starred in "Sweet Charity" in 1969 and "Soylent Green" in 1973) and Peter 'Gramps' Jackson (George Mitchell).
Overall, I rate "The Andromeda Strain" with 4.5 stars out of 5, rounded up to 5 stars. If you choose not to purchase the film, you might want to consider renting it so that you can see it at least once.
Movie Review: Silver Iodine Cloud Seeding
Summary: 5 Stars
1. Dr. Jeremy stone is retrieved by the US Air force because a wildfire is brewing.
2. Communications by Mrs. Stone to her father are broken for national security reasons.
3. Jeremy Stone open documentation on the Scoop mission
4. Dr Robinson is in charge of the Nations science project.
5. The citizens of piedmont are dead or dying. Their blood has dried up.
6. The military decision is to quadrant off the area, instead of destroying the area by thermonuclear denotation, order 712.
7. No MCM communications have been routed to the Wildfire facility.
8. Wildfire facility is equipped for a nuclear denotation. The odd man alone can arm the weapon with his key. Only the odd man can override detonation.
9. Hand print access, five levels of bacterial decontamination, and gastro intestinal decontamination prior to examination of a child and a old man, who have survived the catastrophe.
10. The infection in the vial killed the rat and the monkey within seconds. Ruth wants to isolate and identify.
11. The infection agent is 2 microns in size, black rock with properties like plastic and the green composed of basic elements necessary for life on earth. No amino acids and enzymes, yet the organism is alive and foreign and lethal
12. A phantom fighter plane and pilot was destroyed by an organism that completely consumes all the plastic and the pilot.
13. Andromeda strain is a crystal and can consume anything. Andromeda converts energy to matter, energy for growth. All the molecules appear to be the same. Andromeda can divide and mutate at the same time.
14. Wildfire was intended to use as a biological warfare. The strain was man-made.
15. Andromeda can only exist within a narrow range of Ph, too acidic or alkaline, the pattern of the crying baby or the old man on diabetic medicine.
16. Andromeda eats the gaskets and compromises level 5 and auto destruction by the computer starts. Andromeda could mutate into a thousand forms.
17. Self destruct has been canceled.