The Andromeda Strain (1971)

This sci-fi thriller cleverly builds tension throughout a well-structured plot. It contains wonderful set designs and the actors deliver intelligent and credible performances. A film that stands the test of time.

Directed by Robert Wise
Screenplay by Nelson Gidding
Story by Nelson Gidding, Robert Wise
Based on The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Produced by Robert Wise
Cinematography: Richard H. Kline
Edited by Stuart Gilmore, John W. Holmes
Music by Gil Mellé
Production company: Universal Pictures
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Running time: 130 minutes
Budget: $6.5 million
Box office: $12.4 million

Cast

Arthur Hill as Dr. Jeremy Stone
James Olson as Dr. Mark Hall
David Wayne as Dr. Charles Dutton
Kate Reid as Dr. Ruth Leavitt
Paula Kelly as Karen Anson (nurse, laboratory technician)
George Mitchell as Mr. Peter Jackson (Piedmont)
Mark Jenkins as Lt. Shawn (Piedmont Team)
Peter Helm as Sgt. Crane (Piedmont Team)
Joe Di Reda as Sgt. Burk (Wildfire Computer Technician)
Ramon Bieri as Major Arthur Manchek (Scoop Mission Control)
Carl Reindel as Lt. Comroe (Scoop Mission Control)
Frances Reid as Clara Dutton
Peter Hobbs as General Sparks
Kermit Murdock as Dr. Robertson (White House Science Advisor)
Richard O'Brien (II) as Grimes
Eric Christmas as Senator Phillips (Vermont)
Ken Swofford as Toby (Technician)
John Carter as Capt. Morton (military police)
Richard Bull as Air Force Major
James W. Gavin as Dempsey (helicopter pilot)
Garry Walberg as a scientist
Emory Parnell as Pete "Old Doughboy" Arnold
Georgia Schmidt as Old Lady (Piedmont)
Victoria Paige Meyerink as Additional Character
Don Messick as Alarm Voice
Michael Crichton: non-speaking cameo appearance during the scene where Dr. Hall is told to break scrub, because he has to report to the Wildfire research facility.

Why have nearly all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico suddenly died?

What is ‘Project Scoop?’

What does it have to do with the deaths of Piedmont’s citizens?

Why have a team of scientists been recruited?

What is the role of the top secret sealed and secure ‘Wildfire’ facility?

What is….. ‘Andromeda?’

Trailer

Read on for more.....

The Ωmega Man (1971)

A time capsule of a sci-fi movie that is enjoyable to watch but lacks the impact and sincerity of its 1964 predecessor, "Last man On Earth"

Directed by Boris Sagal
Screenplay by John William Corrington, Joyce H. Corrington
Based on “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson
Produced by Walter Seltzer
Cinematography: Russell Metty
Edited by William H. Ziegler
Music by Ron Grainer
Production company Walter Seltzer Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Running time: 98 minutes
Box office: $4,000,000

Cast

Charlton Heston: Neville
Anthony Zerbe: Matthias
Rosalind Cash: Lisa
Paul Koslo: Dutch
Eric Laneuville: Richie
Lincoln Kilpatrick: Zachary
Jill Giraldi: Little Girl
Anna Aries: Woman in Cemetery Crypt (not actually shown in the film)
Brian Tochi: Tommy
DeVeren Bookwalter: Family Member
John Dierkes: Family Member
Monika Henreid: Monika Henreid
Linda Redfearn: Family Member
Forrest Wood: Family Member
Rachel Benson: Family Member
Stewart East: Family Member
Steve Goldstein: Last Boy
William Henry: Stricken Man
Henry Kingi: Family Member
Tanya Samova: Family Member
Fred Trombley: Family Member

Trailer

(Spoilers Follow Below......Please excuse the liberties taken with characters, dialogue and events!)


Robert Neville’s Audio Diary

Entry

Another day and another way to blow off steam and sooth my nerves by burning rubber in my (now deceased) convertible. Popped in an 8-track tape and let the music and the breeze flush the cares away when instinct suddenly slammed on the brakes and long practiced intent fired a few rounds of automatic fire at a shadowy figure flitting by a window inside a building.

Anyway, off I roared in the convertible but soon after I rounded a corner and as I tried to avoid junk lying scattered on the street, I crashed the car and got a flat tire for my troubles. Well, never mind. Cars are there scattered around ready for the taking, much like everything else: money, gold, you name it. No value, no-one to guard it all and no body to clean up the goddamn mess!

Not to worry. Just a short stroll to a dealership and hey presto – a new car! I found myself a nice little convertible in the showroom but “can’t say I’m crazy about the paint job.”

I also wasn’t too crazy about the corpse sitting at his desk in the showroom or the sight of the three-year old 1975 calendar mockingly marking the final days of civilization, together with the picture of a scantily clad woman. How may more reminders do I need that I’m the last remnant of humanity and of my solitude and loneliness?

Nothing like a visit to the cinema to cure feelings of loneliness so off I went to catch “Woodstock” screening "for the third straight year." Sure I know all the words and the goings on in the film by now – but I also know what those young, poor, naïve, dumb bastards on the screen and those in the audience back then didn’t know. All the peace, love, happiness and flowers in the hair, the new explanation, the people in motion; ALL of it would soon turn to shit ‘coz no-one bothered to listen or see what was goin’ on. And now the message of youth is endlessly repeated to an audience of one in a deserted cinema.

“The fact that if we can't all live together and be happy; If you have to be afraid to walk out in the street; If you have to be afraid to smile at somebody, right? What kind of a way is that to go through this life?” Well, we sure as hell found out, didn’t we? “They sure don't make pictures like that anymore.”

As I sat alone in the darkness of the cinema pondering and ruminating on what has come to pass, sure enough I failed to notice the approach of darkness outside with the setting of the sun. Night-time always heralds the approach of something too dark and terrifying to contemplate – something which can only be held at bay by the light!

Read on for more.....