The Andromeda Strain (1971)

• Year: 1971
• Released: 12 Mar 1971
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 4 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/The_Andromeda_Strain
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-andromeda-strain
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: G
• Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
• Runtime: 131 min
• Writer: Michael Crichton, Nelson Gidding
• Director: Robert Wise
• Cast: James Olson, Arthur Hill, David Wayne
• Keywords: based on novel or book, nasa, new mexico, biological weapon, epilepsy,

	7.2/10
	60/100

The Andromeda Strain Storyline

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico, are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force’s Project Scoop declares an emergency. Many years prior to this incident, a group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill) advocated for the construction of a secure laboratory facility that would serve as a base in the event an alien biological life form was returned to Earth from a space mission. Stone and his team – Drs. Dutton, Leavitt and Hall (David Wayne, Kate Reid, and James Olson, respectively)- go to the facility, known as Wildfire, and try to first isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont (an old wino and a six-month-old baby) survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device should it manage to escape.

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The Andromeda Strain Movie Reviews

Frighteningly absorbing piece of fiction that’s fused with fact.

A satellite from the SCOOP project has crashed into the desert town of Piedmont, the SCOOP project basically entails that the satellite scoops outer space for any alien micro-organisms. After the crash all the residents of Piedmont are killed with the exception of a baby and an old gentleman booze hound. Mankind is on the verge of being destroyed by a leaked alien virus, so a crack team of scientists are gathered in the hope of containing and understanding the virus before the world gets devoid of human life!

Taken from the novel by Michael Crichton, this film is a wonderful lesson in tension building as we follow the scientists through a carefully structured sci-fi plot that will eventually become a race against time thriller. What makes The Andromeda Strain stand out against other genre pieces is the astute and believable approach to the subject matter, we are (in the main) in the presence of proper scientists. There’s no super hero tricks forthcoming from these people, these are sensible honest intelligent folk using their combined knowledge to hopefully save the planet? A masterstroke from the makers is that they used largely unknown actors for the film, this gives the story an added grounded believable factor, thus a very useful way of drawing the audience into the drama unfolding. The direction from Robert Wise is very clued in for serio narrative drive, the set design for the underground research facility is top notch, and the actors all give stoic and intelligent performances.

However, it’s not without a niggle, for after the excellence of the films first two thirds, it’s disappointing to find that the final act reverts to type, which somehow seems misplaced given what the viewer has just been through. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine sequence of events that fuels the dramatic slant, but it comes off as just a bit too glossy in light of the preceding structure. Still, The Andromeda Strain is an intelligent, smart, mature, and knowing film that is standing the test of time for being a great piece of science fiction cinema. 8/10

Great hardcore sci-fi. Crichton’s best

The 1970s were a time before some of the “intelligentsia” of American culture began to abandon rationality and reject science on pseudo-ethical grounds. Unsurprisingly, then, 1970s sci-fi is often better informed by science than the sci-fi of later decades, and it is also often more thoughtful and intelligently written. The Andromeda Strain is one of the best hardcore sci fi epics from a decade which brought us such genre classics as 2001, Solyaris, Silent Running, and the original Rollerball. Unlike most of these films, however, Andromeda Strain does not strain believability beyond its bounds, nor does it indulge in metaphysical tangentializing or philosophical moralizing.

Developed from what I consider to be Michael Crichton’s best book, the Andromeda Strain takes its cue directly from the hard realism of that book, along with its documentary style and scientific background research. Though aspects of the plot defy biological probability, if not law, almost the entire film is plausible. Also borrowed from Crichton’s writing is the general point the film attempts to make – one which is present in nearly all of Crichton’s work – that along with technological advance comes risk. Fortunately, however, this story does not reach the near-paranoid levels of technophobia which sometimes appear in later works.

A great ensemble cast full of not easily recognized character actors represent a team of scientists called together to contain and manage a deadly virus-like organism which has arrived on a crashed space research probe. The virus has already wiped out an entire town, and now the scientists must work at a breakneck, sleepless, pace to determine what the organism is, how it spreads and grows, and how it can be killed or contained. Their only major clues, it seems, are an old man and a baby who survived the initial outbreak. To avoid spoilers, I will avoid any further details regarding the plot.

The only aspect of the film which really seems dated is the strange electronic soundtrack, which, at times, seems more derivative of 1950s sci-fi than more modern stuff. Suffice to say that this is one of the best uses of the ‘as-it-happens’ documentary film-making style. The entire film is delivered in a very refreshingly straightforward manner, with believable dialog, actors that look like real people, and a pace that builds constantly from start to finish.

Highly recommended.

Very good….but probably not a film for the average viewer.

I like this film and have seen it several times. However, I also realize that it’s not the sort of film that many, if not most, would not particularly enjoy. Why? Well, the film is very slow-paced, crammed with scientific jargon and has nothing but supporting actors–no big stars. It’s obvious that this Michael Crichton story is not marketed to the same mass audience as his “Jurassic Park”.

The film begins in a tiny desert town. A space probe launched by the US has crashed there and inexplicably the townspeople all appear to be dead. A crack team of scientific experts are then mobilized in a high-tech and super-top secret base to find out what caused these deaths and how to stop it from potentially destroying everyone on Earth.

“The Andromeda Strain” features actors who are very familiar but whose names you won’t readily recognize. This is because the stars are people who usually were supporting actors in movies and mostly TV during this era. Arthur Hill, James Olsen and David Wayne are these very recognizable but generally unheralded actors. This was good because it heightened the realism of the film, however I think the practical reason for this is because Crichton was not yet famous and the studios really didn’t want to commit huge money to the film. Plus, a lot was already spent on special effects and equipment for the movie. Regardless, it worked well and the movie was fascinating. Just don’t be put off by the occasionally glacial pace and the slightly silly ending involving lasers and nuclear detonations.