The Andromeda Strain (1971)

A team of top scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what has killed the citizens of a small town and learn how this deadly contagion can be stopped.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Michael Crichton (novel), Nelson Gidding (screenplay)

Stars:

James Olson, Arthur Hill, David Wayne

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arthur Hill	...	Dr. Jeremy Stone
David Wayne	...	Dr. Charles Dutton
James Olson	...	Dr. Mark Hall
Kate Reid	...	Dr. Ruth Leavitt
Paula Kelly	...	Karen Anson
George Mitchell	...	Jackson
Ramon Bieri	...	Major Manchek
Kermit Murdock	...	Dr. Robertson
Richard O'Brien	...	Grimes
Peter Hobbs	...	General Sparks
Eric Christmas	...	Senator from Vermont
Mark Jenkins	...	Lt. Shawn (Piedmont team)
Peter Helm	...	Sgt. Crane (Piedmont team)
Joe Di Reda	...	Wildfire Computer Sgt. Burk (as Joe DiReda)
Carl Reindel	...	Lt. Comroe

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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Plot Keywords:

scientist | alien | new mexico | based on novel | new mexico desert | 

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Taglines:

The picture runs 130 minutes!... The story covers 96 of the most critical hours in man's history!... The suspense will last through your lifetime!

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screen writer Nelson Gedding read numerous science fiction books while researching for his work on this film. To further his self education, he attempted to look up all of the items listed in the Bibliography section in Crichton's original book. To his surprise, he discovered they were all made up as the book is a work of fiction. In fact, as you peruse the list you will notice that several items are accredited to characters in the novel. Gedding took this lesson to heart and imaginatively created most of the techo-jargon used in the film, especially for the highly detailed printed props and the station wide announcements heard throughout the lab.

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Goofs

It has already been pointed out about the technical sergeant's stripes being the wrong color. In addition to that, his (and the captain's) name tags and rank insignia seem to be embroidered directly on the shade 1505 uniforms. In both cases the name tags would have been plastic and pinned above the right shirt pocket and the rank insignia a cloth patch sewn on the sleeve, in the case of the sergeant, or metal attached to the shirt collar, in the case of the captain.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sgt. Crane (Piedmont team): Piedmont, New Mexico. Population, 68.
Lt. Shawn (Piedmont team): Come on.

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Crazy Credits

There is no music over the end credits.

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Alternate Versions

The VHS version deletes a few scenes of the "searching the town" scene, including a shot of a topless young woman lying in bed.

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Connections

Referenced in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Rei I (1995)

User Reviews

A Sci-Fi with a capital "S".

I have always been attracted by science, since my early childhood. I remember seeing this movie and being fascinated by the science and technology on display in it. Today, as a MSC EE, I can see that the science in "Andromeda Strain" is accurate. In fact, it's the most accurate of all Sci-Fi movies I have ever seen (and I have seen the great majority of Sci-Fi cinema).

That's one reason I love this movie.

But there are other, probably subjective reasosn for my adulation of "Andromeda Strain": believable people and believable situations (no "last microsecond decision/action/occurance", no over-the-top behaviour, just human quirkyness, no one-man-does-it-all but teamwork and birth of ideas) and the avoidance of the cliche of only-1-will-survive. So, yes, I liked the script a lot.

I also thought the actors were good and the setting was brilliant. I am not put off by dated computer technology: the film clearly illustrates the computing capabilities at the beginning of the '70, and I find something educative and strangely reassuring in that.

I give it 10/10, and am sad that nobody produced a Sci-Fi as scientificly accurate ever since.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Andromeda Strain

Filming Locations:

Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Robert Wise Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 115 min (video)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1