THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971)

[The Burgomaster]

I haven't watched this DVD since I bought it about 5 years ago, but I popped it in and watched it again tonight.  What a great movie.  It's actually a lot like ALIEN, except the isolated scientists are menaced by a microbe instead of a huge, drooling monster.  And guess what . . . the microbe is scarier than any sharp-toothed Alien (or Predator, for that matter) could ever be.  If you haven't seen this movie, what are you waiting for?

In case you don't know the story, a satellite carrying a microbe from outer space lands in the desert, wiping out all the inhabitants of a small town . . . except for a baby and an old derelict.  Scientists bring the survivors and the satellite to an underground laboratory to isolate and study the microbe.  The suspense builds as they learn more and more about the deadly organism.  Without giving away too much, I will say that the climax, which pits man against computerized laser in a race against time to disarm a self-destruct mechanism (much like the climax of ALIEN when the ship is about to self-destruct) will make your palms sweat.

THIS is science fiction!

[Dave Munger]

I was just thinking about this because these prion diseases like mad cow are a lot like the andromeda strain. No dna.

[nobody]

Alright, I think I've heard enough pro-"The Andromeda Strain" comments recently (especially on this board). I'm finally going to break down and watch it again. I saw it a long time ago and remember being bored to death by it. Maybe I've matured since then and I'll like the movie now.
I'll find out soon enough.
But if not, I'm blaming YOU, "The Burgomaster" for wasting my time. :)

[peter johnson]

A really wonderful movie --
The scenes where the scientist team descends through ring upon ring of increasingly harsh disinfection has a real mythic quality to it -- comparions to Dante inevitable --
The scene wherein the tough ol' Broad scientist is transfixed by the flashing red warning light & then thrown into an epeleptic fit, which is misinterpreted by those around as being infected by the killer virus --
The continuous mystery of why the baby and the old drunk pervert survived when nobody else did --
The Nasty Government/Biowar subplot --
Just a fine ol' film -- holds up like a support beam --
peter johnson/denny crane

[Yaddo42]

I've always liked it, for the no-frills approach to the casting. The actors look like real people who might actually be scientists, not a group of stunning looking, perfect people too young for their positions and careers like they would be if this were made now. Plus the characters are flawed, they screw up, make mistakes, and actually have to figure out what is happening, rather than remembering some clue the director spoon-fed to we the audience earlier in the movie. I believed the characters in the movie were actually trying to figure things out.

Plus I've seen it in whole or part so many times, this is another one of those 70s movies that used to play on my local CBS affiliate late at night for many years. I think the only thing they played more was "Hannie Caulder".

Too bad I could never make it through the book, kind of the beginning of the end of my enjoyment of Michael Crichton's books.

[trekgeezer]

This movie doesn't sit well with some people because of the sort of documentary style it was shot in. It was directed by great Robert Wise (Day the Earth Stood Still, Westside Story, Star Trek :The Motion Picture....etc.).

Crichton was in medical school when he wrote the book and he was present during the filming of the movie.  I  believe this is what made him decide to become a writer and film maker instead of a doctor.  

This is a real Science Fiction film, it makes you have to think!  That's probably the reason a lot of people think it's boring.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Supposedly, one of the few sci fi films that is more sci then fi. Anyway, a film I enjoyed, when I saw it on television. And the novel upon which the film is based, is one of Crichton's more readable novels for me.

[Flangepart]

When i saw it in the theater, i was haveing some trouble following the details of the plot.
Now, much older, i find it even better then when i first took a crack at it.
Yaddo42 nails it.
Real people, not Hollywood hunks and honeys. A scientific plot that encouraged real thought. The fact that the decisions made were real guessing games by smart people without total information.
All in all....a gem.
One of the few that realy engenders my sence of wonder.

[ED]

Yep, I liked this one a lot, including the book.  I am a science guy and bad science, when not in a comic book/kaiju environment, makes me crazy.  Things like the pH test determining species in "Mimic" *pant pant Ed mad, Ed SMASH***.   This one had an element of realism to it I like a lot.  
I think it was on AMC about a week or two ago.
-Ed

[Susan]

I always liked this film, particularly the growing suspense of realizing the microbe would suddenly start growing at astonishing speed. Nail biting. The film style was also unique, with th camera split up into multiple frames.

I never really looked at who directed it. Same guy who did "The day the Earth Stood Still", "star Trek", "the Haunting"...

I too like sci-fi films that really explore science, where the monsters aren't always visible to the naked eye. Sort of the same concept as ghost stories, where you end up being more afraid because you aren't overexposed to actually seeing the villian. John Carpenters The Thing also is like that, where the audiences knows it's in someone, we just don't know who. The scene with the blood test, very suspenseful.

[Scott]

Count me in on this neat film. Liked the directing style and Sci-Fi plot.

[Pus]

What I liked about the Petit Mal seizure she had when she saw the blinking red, was that the test results showed that it killed the strain. And then she can't remember it. Great movie.

[The Burgomaster]

Another interesting thing about this movie is that it was Rated G.  It has scenes of:

1. Naked asses;
2. Skin of dead bodies being slit open;
3. A woman who had hanged herself;
4. A laser beam burning through someone's cheek;
5. General suspense and terror.

I'd say that it's PG-13 by today's standards.



Post Edited (08-21-04 06:40)

[Yaddo42]

A "G" was different than today, but I agree it'd probably be "PG-13" today.

I'm STILL trying to figure out how "The Green Berets" got a "G" when it was first released.

[Susan]

Yeah i would imagine back then G wasn't associated with kid movies only, but general audiences. PG always seemed to imply (when i was a kid) that it was a movie that could be viewed by kids, which is why there had to be parental guidance to determine appropriate age.

Kids probably didn't wanna see movies like this. But back then there were alot of movies like this my parents would go to see and drag us along, because in those days there wasn't a Finding Nemo movie out every freakin week to cater to our age group - we just sorta saw whatever our parents wanted to see. I think the only kid movie i saw in a theater when i was little was Benji and that raggedy ann and andy movie...which was kinda trippy.