As an engineer who got to work in a "weird government lab" in the middle of nowhere (the MIRACL laser site at White Sands Missile Range), I think this is the best documentary-type sci-fi film with "Contagion" being a very close second. I like the ending and think that an "organism" with genetic memory and a very short lifespan could mutate en masse the way Andromeda did. However, the existence of crystalline life is a big stretch, but still a great part of the plot. As a New Mexican, the "town of Piedmont" is very relatable. Thanks for the review.
LOVE this movie. Saw it twice in theatres. Didn't see it again until it turned up on TCM in the early 2000s, then a couple years ago I got it on DVD, and have watched it multiple times since. I swear, every actor in it, to me, had their best role ever in this film. The ending is scary, when you realize, the scientists DIDN'T solve the problem-- it did it itself.
As a Biology Major in College I worked extensively with all different kinds of Light Microscpy, X-Ray Diffraction and Electron Microscpes so those scenes really ran true with me and we're extremely well done. As others said the acting was great, sets and camera work great, very loyal to the book, all around a great Sci-fi novel and movie adaption, one of the best. Great video, really enjoyed the look back.
Good review. I've seen this at least a dozen times since its release and still find it intelligently presented, especially compared to the films we slog through today.
One of my all time favourite films. Catching this first time, late at night without any foreknowledge or introduction made for a gripping watch. Thank you for revisiting this underrated beauty. Much appreciated. Cheers.
The thing that strikes me about the book is that Crichton's plot doesn't actually make a lot of sense, scientifically, but it *feels* like super-hard science fiction just because he's gotten the flavor so down. (The detail that I find hardest to swallow is the claim that the organisms are converting radiant energy into matter, which they use to grow. If you do the math... 1 microgram is about 25 kilowatt-hours. Hard to make that work even if you've got some nonexistent total-conversion mechanism that won't spew an equal amount of antimatter.)
I watched the movie in Brazil when it was first aired, and I can say that it really grabbed the audience's attention from start to end. And contrary to several highly acclaimed movies that I've never minded watching twice, The Andromeda Strain is channel stopper for me.
I met Crichton in the early 90's and read alot of his work, both fiction and non-fiction. I like former material except it uses the same basic structure ( he does it well) and the non-fiction is a bit on the nutty side, IMO. The Andromeda Strain was well done for its time.
Still my favorite Michael Chricton novel. The film was a highly worthy and faithful adaptation, with a great cast, including one of my favorite actors-Arthur Hill. The Gilles Melles score was very avant-garde for its time and really added to what became one of the earliest Technothrillers, appearing a couple years after “The Satan Bug” another film dealing with a deadly pathogen, and based on Alistair Maclean’s novel.
I have favourite movies, some of which I rate as excellent eg North by Northwest. Excellent movies which are not favourites eg Citizen Kane, and movies although not favs, (some of which are excellent ) i like to return to now and again. eg The Andromeda Strain. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit with critics. though. This was a nice, very informative piece. Thank you.
Saw this movie when it came first came out in the theaters enjoyed it roughly. The only actors I recognized at the time were David Wayne and James Olsen. Yes the movie was a mass of technological gobilygook but was well done over all.
[word nerd mode] There is a word for that quality of a fictional setting seeming to be real, even with unreal elements: Verisimilitude. The anime series "Last Exile" has aircraft that fly by pumping out the craft's weight. As blatantly ridiculous as that sounds, there is a working fluid and pumps and a network of piping, and the mechanics turn wrenches to keep these systems running, so there is a lot of verisimilitude to the aircraft of "Last Exile".[/word nerd mode]
If you can re-upload the video, I suppose re-uploading my original comment is kosher: There are three scenes I always dread coming upon in movies: The desert crossing in Lawrence of Arabia. The space walk in 2001. And trying to escape the core while that damn interminable alarm is going off in this film.
So did you miss where the lady is in the room measuring all the growth mediums that you say they should have measured? Its where her first seizure happens.
I have always loved this movie - since I was , well much younger than I am now. The only thing that mystifies me to this day is how a clearly PG movie got a G rating
This is one of my favourite films. A good 'hard sci fi' story. It's far superior to the modern remake. A modern film I liked as well is 'Spectral'. I won't bore you with the plot but in it you see the engineer / scientist observing what is going on, testing things and working out, close enough, what is happening. Is it as good as The Andromeda Strain? Of course not but it is decent, especially compared to what is made now.
Personally I find the use of carbon dioxide dubious; this would be incredibly uncomfortable to humans, and I'd use nitrogen which is painless. I think almost every script Crichton wrote made use of "We thought this would work but it didn't because..." which works with varying success. In Andromeda Strain the communications breakdown is not, in my opinion, credible because communications would certainly be tightly monitored, with "Nothing to report" heartbeat messages sent on a strict schedule so a breakdown would be recognized quickly. The great irony in the novel and film is that the human race is not saved because of the heroic efforts of the protagonists, but because of the (real) evolutionary pressure on infectious diseases to become more communicable and less lethal over time. Humanity's helplessness faced with Andromeda is almost Lovecraftian, and disturbingly accurate. I think the worst Chrichton adaption is Thirteenth Warrior, which takes Eaters of the Dead, a carefully annotated (fictional) historical document that turns into a disturbing revelation (Beowulf is real), and made it a period monster movie. If I had to pick one other hard-science SF novel to make into a movie or miniseries, I think I would pick Inherit the Stars, a 1977 SF novel which takes place in 2027-29, and which has been used as a text in archeology classes.
Great book. Great film. Love them both. (Unfortunately Michael Crichton also wrote "State of Fear" (published 2004) which tries to tell us that climate change isn't a real problem. He certainly missed the target on that one!)
Crichton developed an antipathy toward scientists as a group, that gradually increased to the point that he was embracing things you'd think a writer of cautionary tales would reject just because scientists said the opposite.
As an engineer who got to work in a "weird government lab" in the middle of nowhere (the MIRACL laser site at White Sands Missile Range), I think this is the best documentary-type sci-fi film with "Contagion" being a very close second. I like the ending and think that an "organism" with genetic memory and a very short lifespan could mutate en masse the way Andromeda did. However, the existence of crystalline life is a big stretch, but still a great part of the plot. As a New Mexican, the "town of Piedmont" is very relatable. Thanks for the review.
LOVE this movie. Saw it twice in theatres. Didn't see it again until it turned up on TCM in the early 2000s, then a couple years ago I got it on DVD, and have watched it multiple times since. I swear, every actor in it, to me, had their best role ever in this film. The ending is scary, when you realize, the scientists DIDN'T solve the problem-- it did it itself.
Massively underrated movie. One of the few hollywood movies to show a microtome in use.
As a Biology Major in College I worked extensively with all different kinds of Light Microscpy, X-Ray Diffraction and Electron Microscpes so those scenes really ran true with me and we're extremely well done. As others said the acting was great, sets and camera work great, very loyal to the book, all around a great Sci-fi novel and movie adaption, one of the best. Great video, really enjoyed the look back.
Good review. I've seen this at least a dozen times since its release and still find it intelligently presented, especially compared to the films we slog through today.
One of my all time favourite films. Catching this first time, late at night without any foreknowledge or introduction made for a gripping watch. Thank you for revisiting this underrated beauty. Much appreciated. Cheers.
Thanks for pointing out the art and history that make and are made by this film
The thing that strikes me about the book is that Crichton's plot doesn't actually make a lot of sense, scientifically, but it *feels* like super-hard science fiction just because he's gotten the flavor so down.
(The detail that I find hardest to swallow is the claim that the organisms are converting radiant energy into matter, which they use to grow. If you do the math... 1 microgram is about 25 kilowatt-hours. Hard to make that work even if you've got some nonexistent total-conversion mechanism that won't spew an equal amount of antimatter.)
I watched the movie in Brazil when it was first aired, and I can say that it really grabbed the audience's attention from start to end. And contrary to several highly acclaimed movies that I've never minded watching twice, The Andromeda Strain is channel stopper for me.
Criton used a similar shtick with 'The Eaters Of The Dead'! Source material for 'The 13th Warrior'!
This movie didn’t feel like a movie, it felt real. As a kid the red light scene was very unsettling.
One of my favorites. Maybe if you appear on screen youtube copyright claims won't be an issue as it would be considered as reaction and commentary.
Great movie & Great Vid-Thanx TUG !
Great film, I remember coming across it when i was late night channel hopping, been a fan since then
One of my favourite films. Excellent video.
I just watched this classic yesterday!
I met Crichton in the early 90's and read alot of his work, both fiction and non-fiction. I like former material except it uses the same basic structure ( he does it well) and the non-fiction is a bit on the nutty side, IMO. The Andromeda Strain was well done for its time.
Have you seen Michael Crichton's 1981 movie Looker? It would be a good choice for your channel.
That is a great movie, with the epilepsy gun that causes at time distortion, AI deep fakes and a killer soundtrack.
I haven't seen it, but I should track down a copy! Good suggestion.
Still my favorite Michael Chricton novel. The film was a highly worthy and faithful adaptation, with a great cast, including one of my favorite actors-Arthur Hill. The Gilles Melles score was very avant-garde for its time and really added to what became one of the earliest Technothrillers, appearing a couple years after “The Satan Bug” another film dealing with a deadly pathogen, and based on Alistair Maclean’s novel.
Love this movie. I saw it on a Sat afternoon on TV as a preteen.
I have favourite movies, some of which I rate as excellent eg North by Northwest. Excellent movies which are not favourites eg Citizen Kane, and movies although not favs, (some of which are excellent ) i like to return to now and again. eg The Andromeda Strain. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit with critics. though. This was a nice, very informative piece. Thank you.
I still have some lasercut wildfire keys if you want one.
Saw this movie when it came first came out in the theaters enjoyed it roughly. The only actors I recognized at the time were David Wayne and James Olsen. Yes the movie was a mass of technological gobilygook but was well done over all.
[word nerd mode] There is a word for that quality of a fictional setting seeming to be real, even with unreal elements: Verisimilitude. The anime series "Last Exile" has aircraft that fly by pumping out the craft's weight. As blatantly ridiculous as that sounds, there is a working fluid and pumps and a network of piping, and the mechanics turn wrenches to keep these systems running, so there is a lot of verisimilitude to the aircraft of "Last Exile".[/word nerd mode]
I remember that movie
If you can re-upload the video, I suppose re-uploading my original comment is kosher:
There are three scenes I always dread coming upon in movies:
The desert crossing in Lawrence of Arabia.
The space walk in 2001.
And trying to escape the core while that damn interminable alarm is going off in this film.
So did you miss where the lady is in the room measuring all the growth mediums that you say they should have measured? Its where her first seizure happens.
I have always loved this movie - since I was , well much younger than I am now. The only thing that mystifies me to this day is how a clearly PG movie got a G rating
Good movie 😊
This is one of my favourite films. A good 'hard sci fi' story. It's far superior to the modern remake.
A modern film I liked as well is 'Spectral'. I won't bore you with the plot but in it you see the engineer / scientist observing what is going on, testing things and working out, close enough, what is happening. Is it as good as The Andromeda Strain? Of course not but it is decent, especially compared to what is made now.
Great film. The first 'scientific procedural'?
sweet af
Such a great film
Seemed like a good movie but never understood why they didn’t have a more attractive actress fill the role.
That Night Court clip aged badly. 😜
That's why I included it. 😂
its funnt how your tepid review is so clearly based on your age bias. reality is this movie was off the hook for its day.
So was the Michael Chrichton 1969 novel, which was a huge bestseller.
Personally I find the use of carbon dioxide dubious; this would be incredibly uncomfortable to humans, and I'd use nitrogen which is painless.
I think almost every script Crichton wrote made use of "We thought this would work but it didn't because..." which works with varying success. In Andromeda Strain the communications breakdown is not, in my opinion, credible because communications would certainly be tightly monitored, with "Nothing to report" heartbeat messages sent on a strict schedule so a breakdown would be recognized quickly.
The great irony in the novel and film is that the human race is not saved because of the heroic efforts of the protagonists, but because of the (real) evolutionary pressure on infectious diseases to become more communicable and less lethal over time. Humanity's helplessness faced with Andromeda is almost Lovecraftian, and disturbingly accurate.
I think the worst Chrichton adaption is Thirteenth Warrior, which takes Eaters of the Dead, a carefully annotated (fictional) historical document that turns into a disturbing revelation (Beowulf is real), and made it a period monster movie.
If I had to pick one other hard-science SF novel to make into a movie or miniseries, I think I would pick Inherit the Stars, a 1977 SF novel which takes place in 2027-29, and which has been used as a text in archeology classes.
Great book. Great film. Love them both.
(Unfortunately Michael Crichton also wrote "State of Fear" (published 2004) which tries to tell us that climate change isn't a real problem. He certainly missed the target on that one!)
Crichton developed an antipathy toward scientists as a group, that gradually increased to the point that he was embracing things you'd think a writer of cautionary tales would reject just because scientists said the opposite.
El libro no lo he leido pero la película es una mierda, sobre todo el mensaje final.