Review of The Andromeda Strain (1971) by Alison O — 08 Oct 2004

Best in Show: James Olsen.

One for the future: n/a.

Stand-out scene: Race to halt nuclear detonation.

Brainer or no-brainer: Brainer.

Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: Repeated.

DVD commentary any good?: n/a.

TV.

Alien owes a debt to this 1971 slice of sci-fi in that it's a similar movie in both tone and pace. The countdown to self-destruct is also eerily reminiscent of Ridley Scott's masterpiece. The Seventies take on 'technology' is as fascinating as ever, and although you have to suspend your disbelief on occasion this is a taut and tense ensemble piece concerning the outbreak of an airborne virus in Piedmont, a small New Mexico town following the appearance of a downed satellite. While the film is ultimately ambivalent on whether the virus is extra-terrestrial or man-made, this has great pertinence in today's climate of chemical warfare. Four top scientists are summoned to Nevada to investigate the outbreak and hole up in a top secret subterranean laboratory split into various levels of decontamination. Their job is to investigate the mystery germ (codenamed The Andromeda Strain) and work out why two Piedmont residents (an old man and a young baby) were immmune to its effects. Beautifully filmed (extreme close-ups ahoy!) and intruguingly-plotted this is a film I could return to again and again.