Synopsis:
After a satellite falls to earth carrying a deadly virus from outer space, a team of scientists tries to isolate the deadly strain of the virus before it’s too late.
Reaction & Thoughts:
“Establishment gonna fall down and go boom.”
In May 1969, physician-turned-novelist Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park and Congo) published his first novel, The Andromeda Strain. Crichton’s book introduced a new kind of villain into American literature. Invisible, lethal, cruel, almost irreducible and very much alive, baby boomers were confronted with a new kind of super-evil: The micro-bacteria. Science not only became a source of anxiety, but a real and imminent threat.
Like the book, this film adaptation of Crichton’s bestseller is a lot of things all at once: a vivid, matter-of-fact science fiction story about mankind at terminal odds with technology, a tense political thriller that exposes the pitfalls of our bureaucratic system, and a scary cautionary tale about science getting ahead of us.
And this extraordinarily well-crafted movie does what it does without looking down on its audience — The Andromeda Strain is completely devoid of cheap thrills. It’s one of those rare science fiction films that tries to present science realistically. Most of the credit should go, of course, to best-selling author Crichton. He provides a story that anticipates the contradictions and ironies of a technologically advanced society.
We should also praise director Robert Wise (The Sound of Music) — he succeeds in keeping the film focused on its main themes. Wise doesn’t have all the answers, but he certainly raises some interesting questions. The veteran director’s intelligent handling of complex issues does justice to Crichton’s intriguing narrative.
Wise surrounded himself with a team of world-renowned professionals. Composer Gill Melle’s (The Sentinel) simple but scary music score isn’t obstructive and sets the mood for most of the movie. Richard H. Kline’s (Soylent Green and Star Trek: The Motion Picture) complex multi-image camerawork creates considerable suspense. People who tend to dismiss the split-screen technique as a mere gimmick,
The excellent visual effects were created by legendary illusionists Albert Whitlock (Papillon and Earthquake) and Douglas Trumbull (Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner). The Oscar-nominated work of editors Stuart Gilmore (John Wayne’s The Alamo) and John W. Holmes (Diamonds Are Forever) is notable too — the film is long, but it’s packed with many tense moments.
Despite being part of the golden era of disaster cinema, The Andromeda Strain has no movie stars in the film. The cast of talented but largely unknown actors — James Olson (Amityville II: The Possession), David Wayne (The Three Faces of Eve), Kate Reid (Atlantic City) and Arthur Hill (A Little Romance) — look and act like real people. It adds an appropriate touch of realism to the proceedings.
Conclusions & Final Thoughts:
As we start debating the moral aspects of a missile defense system, human cloning and stem cell research, the issues presented in The Andromeda Strain look more and more relevant today. This is an exciting, engaging, totally believable thriller; a thinking person’s “disaster” movie. Highly recommended! Color, 131 minutes, Rated G (?).
With the exception of the dying monkey scene which is so utterly disturbing, I appreciate this film’s ensuing relevance over time. Especially the final quote by Arthur Hill as Dr. Jeremy Stone: “Precisely, Senator. What do we do?”
LikeLiked by 3 people
The movie was ahead of its time: a frightening cautionary tale told with imagination.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Michael Crichton had his own unique talent for that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Last year, I nearly died from COVID-19. That week in ICU reminded me of the scenes with the old man and the baby.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I lost my father to COVID last year. So I appreciate movies like The Andromeda Strain and Contagion even more now for continuing to make us all wiser.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m so sorry to hear that. Please accept my deepest condolences for your loss.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This all very 2001. The budget is tight, but it looks so much better than say, Chosen Survivors — the one with the bunker and the bats; if I remembering my old ’70s films, correctly!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I loved Bob Wise’s split-screen technique. BTW, I’ve seen Chosen Survivors — a really crazy-fun B-movie. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh, and this makes me remember The Satan Bug (1965). Now that one, is very cheap and has no sci-fi sheen to it at all: it looks like a film from the ’50s, with the wooden tables and flasks n’ beakers nonsense. It’s a great story (based on a best-seller) but wow, it could have been so much better in the production department. And George Maharis is no leading man. Maybe if they had gotten Steve McQueen, like they wanted?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I never heard of The Satan Bug before. From what I’ve just seen of the trailer on YouTube, it may not have been the best that it could have been. But like several 50s’ films, it can refresh my perspective on how far thrillers of that nature have come. Thanks for mentioning it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yeah, I did some reading on it a few months back. There’s a WordPress’er on here (forgot) that did a pretty deep dive on it. It had a lot of production problems. In the end: McQueen wasn’t thrilled with the script and bailed. Without McQueen, there went the budget. And without the budget, you end up with Maharis, a TV actor.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I remember George Maharis from a couple of TV roles.
LikeLiked by 3 people
By the time he earned his fame on Route 66 in the early ’60s, he was already his early 30s, which is “over the hill” in Hollywood years. He quit the show with much fanfare after three season — for the movies — and it damaged his reputation. None of the movies, clicked. His Playgirl spread in the early ’70s — after his film career was tanking — didn’t help.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for reminding me of Route 66. I remember enjoying what little I saw of it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes. Same here, via reruns back in the day.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I enjoyed The Satan Bug. BTW, make sure you watch the widescreen version (it does make the difference).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I kinda liked The Satan Bug. But I agree with you that the movie could have been better (it does look like a glorified Dragnet episode). Considering what’s going on right now, I’m surprised that no one has remade it! Virus (1980) is another one that could be remade today.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You nailed it: Dragnet. I love Virus and glad you brought that up. That was meant to be a worldwide theatrical. And it was, is some foreign quarters — but ended up as a syndicated TV movie. None of the Big Three networks — even with the American casting — wanted it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Virus (1980) is kinda prophetic: The flu-like virus is very, very similar to Covid.
The heavily-edited VHS version is just fine, but the longer cut is a huge improvement. YouTube has a copy:
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I agree. You must go with the longer cut. The TV loses a lot of those stunning visuals, such as the abandoned church scene.
LikeLiked by 2 people