Saturn 3 (1980)

Two lovers stationed at a remote base in the asteroid fields of Saturn are intruded upon by a retentive technocrat from Earth and his charge: a malevolent eight foot robot.

Directors:

Stanley Donen, John Barry (uncredited)

Writers:

Martin Amis (screenplay), John Barry (story)

Stars:

Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel

5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Farrah Fawcett	...	Alex
Kirk Douglas	...	Adam
Harvey Keitel	...	Benson

Storyline

Two lovers stationed at a remote base in the asteroid fields of Saturn are intruded upon by a retentive technocrat from Earth and his charge: a malevolent 8-ft robot. Remember, in space no one can hear you scream...

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Plot Keywords:

killer robot | female frontal nudity | woman wearing a towel | camp | space ship | 

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Taglines:

Trapped between unnatural love and inhuman desire

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Saturn 3

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

ITC Films, Elliott Kastner Productions, Transcontinental Film Productions (London)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Asked about the original director,John Barry's abrupt departure, Stanley Donen said "It was my fault, not John's. The truth is, John had hardly ever been on a set, which I didn't realize. He was such a terrific talent, but he'd spent most of his time in an office. He knew next to nothing about staging a scene, or handling actors, and since nature hates a vacuum, the actors jumped on him. The film started floundering. Finally, I had to tell him 'It's not working. I'll have to be on the set with you'. I had a moral commitment, after all. I'd make sure the film went all right. But when I did turn up on the set, John said he just couldn't work like that, so he left. There was no question of his being fired."

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Goofs

(at around 56 mins) Benson strikes Adam on the head with a lamp. It leaves a bloody gash that comes and goes during the ensuing chase scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Announcement: Captain James, your presence on pad 73, immediate, urgent.

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Alternate Versions

A scene of Adam and Alex taking a recreational blues pill was cut from the original UK cinema version in order for the film to receive an 'A' (PG) certificate. The scene was restored for the later 15-rated video version.

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Connections

Featured in No Sleep TV3: Classic Episode #5: "Best of A.I." with Fernao (2015)

User Reviews

Does paint ever dry on Saturn 3?

The other day I had absolutely nothing to do. You know that feeling? When you don't have to go to work, it's raining cats and dogs outside, and your only good friend with a car doesn't answer the phone.

You channel surf on the telly, hoping, praying to come across anything even remotely interesting (re-runs of FULL HOUSE or even BAYWATCH?) but the only thing you run into is a documentary on the history of water, and a soccer game between Yemen and Taiwan. You then decide this is a good time to finally get through those first ten pages of THE LORD OF THE RINGS after it's been collecting dust since before you hit puberty. But as you pick it up your eyelids suddenly feel heavy, and you decide to crawl back in bed, looking forward to work the next morning.

A day like that can only *begin* to describe the agony of sitting through SATURN 3. At least PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE had barrels of unintentional laughs. How masters of the trade Stanley Donen and Kirk Douglas got involved in this is beyond comprehension... oh wait, no I remember... Kirk get to shag Farrah and Stanley get to watch. Poor little Harvey, he just needed a career.

This has to be one of the slowest moving 88 minutes in the history of moving pictures.