Artemis 81 (1981) (TV)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Alastair Reid

Writer:

David Rudkin (writer)

Release Date:

29 December 1981 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

The epic battle for the future of mankind is fought between an angel of light and an angel of death.

Plot Keywords:

Supernatural | Cult

Cast

Hywel Bennett	...	Gideon Harlax
Siv Borg	...	Pastor's Wife
Sylvia Coleridge	...	Library Scholar
Roland Curram	...	Asrael
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Library Student
Sevilla Delofski	...	Magog
Cornelius Garrett	...	Pastor
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Dr. Albrecht Von Drachenfels
Ingrid Pitt	...	Hitchcock Blonde
Mary Ellen Ray	...	Sonia
Ian Redford	...	Jed Thaxter
Dinah Stabb	...	Gwen Meredith
Anthony Steel	...	Tristam Guise
Sting	...	Helith
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frode Berg	...	Pastor's Son
Ysanne Churchman	...	BBC Radio Announcer
Eleanor Forsythe	...	Mother
Patricia Gallimore	...	Nurse
Rigmor Moller	...	Old Danish Woman
Phil Parry	...	Subaltern
W. Claydon Smith	...	Cyclist
Michael Tracy	...	Whitecoat
Margaret Whiting	...	Laura Guise

Runtime:

185 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

A battle between good and evil for the fate of the earth

I liked this film. It's got it all, inter-dimensional(or planetary?..you decide)travel, unrequited homosexual love, heterosexual love, journeys of self awakening, the apocalypse, great music played by weird organists with a devilish pact, oh and of course Sting as the good angel(spirit) Helith. The basic gist of the story is Helith and the evil Asrael go head to heads after Asrael wakes the Earth spirit Magog from her slumber.Magog represents the destruction of the earth. Helith and Asrael are then charged with influencing man to save or destroy the planet. Gideon Harlax, a writer of the paranormal, stumbles upon a bizarre series of coincidental deaths on a ferry from Denmark and the weirdness begins from here including being transported to another planet, dimension or future Earth..(it's never explained). Dr Albrecht Von Drachenfels is in unwillingly in league with Asrael and the fate of the Earth and mankind rests with a piece of music he must play to herald the apocalypse........yee har!! I Loved the atmosphere of dread that the film portrayed in a nod to the Danish Film industry and at times you feel really uncomfortable and bewildered which is of course how you're supposed to feel as it reflects the confusion and uncertainty that the main character is feeling. It doesn't lead you by the hand like Hollywood films do, so expect to have to think a little( oh the horror!!). Overall enjoyable for sci-fi fans who like apocalyptic themes.Give it a go for the sake of mankind!