The Andromeda Strain
Penned by science thriller guru Michael Crichton - a former
doctor himself - there's no glossing over technical detail in
1971's The Andromeda Strain. At times it actually seems as
if the laboratory set and the gadgetry therein grab more spotlight
than the actors themselves.
Director Robert Wise had helped build mainstream sci-fi film
with 1951's The Day The Earth Stood Still, but his 1960's
resume had focused more on musicals like West Side Story
and The Sound Of Music. The Andromeda Strain let him
put the emphasis back on things that don't sing and dance.
No one in Piedmont, New Mexico, is singing or dancing, that's
for sure. A government research satellite that was busily, and
secretly, collecting deadly micro-organisms from outer space has
just crash-landed there. Buzzards circle overhead, and
reconnaissance photos indicate everyone is dead.
A crack team of radiation-suit-wearing scientists headed by Dr.
Jeremy Stone are collected from around the country and sent into
the body-strewn ghost town. To the team's horror, all the dead
bodies have powder in their veins, instead of blood. All, that is,
except for the two lone survivors that are found - a crying baby
and the town drunk.
The scientists and the two survivors steal away to an
underground government facility, where "Project
Wildfire" is underway. With the threat of a worldwide
epidemic looming, the science team performs tests, tests, and more
tests - computer printouts are a-printing and vials of blood are
a-taken.
As the team works on a cure, the nasty extraterrestrial virus
begins to mutate and is soon able to dissolve plastics. If this
keeps up, the scientists fear, the killer bug might ultimately be
able to escape the confines of the lab and enter the unsuspecting
world.
Eschewing big-name Hollywood stars, The Andromeda Strain
cast an ensemble of low-key, relatively unknown character actors
in the major roles, and they made for authentic looking and
sounding brainiacs.
There were scenes that were nearly silent, scenes with very
little action (but loaded with tech talk), and overall,
cinematography that evoked documentary filmmaking.
The movie certainly had some melodramatic, "the end is
nigh" Hollywood moments, especially in its finale, but it
explored the not-so-glamorous, real-life world of science, too.
It may not have been glamorous, but it made for a good, solid
thriller.
The Andromeda Strain was one of the biggest hits of
1971, leading to a long string of sci-fi thrillers from author
Crichton (Westworld, Coma, Jurassic Park)
that continues today.
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